Think a la carte options from the newly formed Sirius XM Radio will pave the way for the same type of thing from your cable provider? Think again.
The cable industry, which has long abhorred the idea of allowing customers to pick and choose which cable channels they would like to receive, reiterated its opposition to a la carte programming in a Wednesday blog post.
Ownership, advertising, and delivery issues prevent cable from adopting the same subscription offerings Sirius XM will now offer, according to Michael Turk, vice president of industry grassroots at the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA).
“Most XM/Sirius channels are produced and owned by XM/Sirius so they do not compete with each other for listeners or access to the satellite radio lineup because the company only produces channels that they launch," Turk wrote. “In the video world, most channels are not owned by the distributor so they compete against each other for access to viewers, ratings and advertising dollars."
The cable industry, which has long abhorred the idea of allowing customers to pick and choose which cable channels they would like to receive, reiterated its opposition to a la carte programming in a Wednesday blog post.
Ownership, advertising, and delivery issues prevent cable from adopting the same subscription offerings Sirius XM will now offer, according to Michael Turk, vice president of industry grassroots at the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA).
“Most XM/Sirius channels are produced and owned by XM/Sirius so they do not compete with each other for listeners or access to the satellite radio lineup because the company only produces channels that they launch," Turk wrote. “In the video world, most channels are not owned by the distributor so they compete against each other for access to viewers, ratings and advertising dollars."
