Will cable go a la carte

Today, FCC chairman Kevin Martin, appearing before Senate committee on Commerce Science and Technology, called on the cable and DBS companies to offer a la carte channel option for consumers. Basically, consumers should have the choice to choose what channels they want to subscribe to and pay for.

I have long thought a la carter is only reasonable and fair. Why do I have to pay for channels that I never watch. Besides, many channels are garbage anyway. If consumers can choose, we can let the market force weed out low-quality programming.

But the cable industry is strongly opposed to this idea. They thought this would result in less viewership, and therefore, less ad revenue. That is so short-sighted. I think offering a la carte option will increase viewership because those are the channels they want to watch anyway.

The other issue is about the programming content. I am not subscribing to cable or DBS, because there are many channels there I deem unfit for my two young children. I believe there are many out there who are like me. If a la carte option is available, I think cable companies will see increase in subscription.

If cable and DBS keep resisting to this, they will dig a grave for themselves. I believe there will be companies which will offer a la carte video service over the Internet using IPTV technology. Yahoo and Google can do that. If SBC and Verizon are smart, they should start offering a la carte, to differentiate themselves from the cable and DBS companies.

IPTV technology, in theory, can offer infinite number of video programming channels. It will be up to the consumers to choose what they want to watch. Consumers have total control and choice. Finally, we consumers are not only lectured on by the media. We can "vote" out the bad media. That is what I call "democratization of the media".