I noticed today that my DirecTV bill was a few dollars higher this month, so I set out to investigate.\u00a0 Logging into my account, I found that the cost of my plan increased by 4% and my so-called 150-channel service has now shrunk to 140 channels.<\/p>\n
As if!\u00a0 As if I ever watch 140 channels.\u00a0 As if most of them could even be called channels<\/em>.\u00a0 Most of the channels<\/em> (italics used to indicate irony) that DirecTV offers its viewers are dedicated shopping sites or run infomercials the better part of the day.\u00a0 If you are a cable or satellite subscriber, this is not news to you.<\/p>\n Dear DirecTV: Just for the record, here are the channels we watch, of the one-hundred-and-forty you so proudly beam down to us, for that sizable monthly payment of ours you so reliably collect:<\/p>\n That’s all I can think of.\u00a0 Sixteen channels that we even think of watching, six of which comprise 90% of our television viewing.\u00a0 All this for $1200 a year.\u00a0 What a bargain.<\/p>\n ___________________________________________________________<\/p>\n The price of content<\/em> keeps increasing.\u00a0 It costs more every year to attend a baseball game or see a movie or watch ordinary television, all because content<\/em> (and now bandwidth<\/em>) is being marketed as a scarcity rather than as a commodity.\u00a0 Historically, we have been accustomed to seeing items that were once considered luxuries (think anti-lock brakes and smartphones) become low-cost commodities — we are not so used to seeing traditionally low-cost commodities such as television being treated (and priced) like specialty items.\u00a0 Yet that is what is taking place.\u00a0 The price of content<\/em> is destined to rise until the profits of the content-providers are maximized. \u00a0 They will keep raising prices to see what their customers are willing to pay, month after month, until their revenues reach a plateau.<\/p>\n Now that this process has begun, the conclusion is inevitable.\u00a0 Fewer people will be able to afford once-commonplace services, and those who can afford them will pay the difference and more.\u00a0 This is what happens in an economic system that promotes income inequality.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I noticed today that my DirecTV bill was a few dollars higher this month, so I set out to investigate.\u00a0 Logging into my account, I found that the cost of my plan increased by 4% and my so-called 150-channel service … Continue reading \n
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