CABLE TV MONOPOLY: what can be done to break this? whatever happened to the "free-market"? Suggestions?

Question

I live in Reno/Sparks, Nevada: extreme northwestern part of the state, about 30 miles or so from its capital, Carson City.

We have only one cable provider - their name I want mention(question removal-?). It bought out its only competitor.

Is this the situation all over the country? Throughout the world? Even Europe and elsewhere?

They are just like the financial institutions; no meaningful political constraint whatsoever: love their commercial, "When banks compete, you win". Ha!Ha!Ha!

Have we as consumers lost complete, total control of our economic future?

Other than vote - the efficacy of which I have long doubted - is there anything we can do other than an armed revolution, to change this? Is there a legal recourse, or remedy available that I'm unaware of?

Do any of you Einsteins out there, have any good ideas?

Alberich

Answer 1

You are right.  The practice is anticompetitive.  The distributors will say that it is so expensive to provide cable to every household in a community, that they can't make any profit if they have a competitor split the market.  I don't know if that is supportable or not but that is the prevailing argument for a protected market for cable providers.

Answer 2

No Einstein here, but if we all switch to satellite...............

If we're willing to pay them for the programming, they're wallets will continue to fatten.  When it gets too fat, they have to spend.  Maybe buy out another cable company?  hmmm?

I don't know which cable company you're referring to but the one I'm taking about begins with the letters COMCAST.  hehe

I HATE their lying commercials!

Answer 3

The cable systems are actually real legal monopolies at the municipal level, conferred on certain providers by the municipalities in which the cable systems operate.  The reason for this is, as someone above says, the cost of laying the cable to your home.  To persuade a cable company to wire the entire community, each municipal government anointed a provider to have the franchise for the entire municipality.  So it is legal.  That's why, for example, we have Comcast here in north DeKalb County, Georgia, others have ATT, etc.

The cable company, which provides just the "pipe" through which television shows flow to your TV, is really like the telephone, gas, electric, etc.  It has to be a monopoly because that's the only economically efficient way to get the cable to your home.

This is the same all over the country. I believe that in Europe and South America, the satellite services predominate.  

There are two current answers:  1.  Satellite and 2.  Internet, if your broadband internet service is not linked to the local cable provider as ours is. Of course, you could rely on old-fashioned broadcast TV--however in the remote areas, this is perhaps not an option.  Cable, interestingly enough, was originally proposed as a means of bringing television to remote and mountainous areas that the broadcasts don't reach.

Overall, I've been generally satisfied with the cable.  What I would like to see is "ala carte" cable pricing:  permitting us to choose and pay for only the channels we want to see.  Comcast is moving that way now.  I am a soccer football fan, and called Comcast about whether I could get a couple of channels.  For about $10.00/month, I get four or five soccer channels and about 25 other Spanish language channels--primarily Mexican and South American.  The economic obstacle to "ala carte" is that many of the cable stations--particularly the "home shopping channels" pay the cable companies to carry them, and pay based on the number of homes.

Answer 4

as long as you have a clear southern sky, there s a dish or direct tv feed that can be brought in.

Answer 5

I am a sub contracter for the cable company you are probably talking about. As some one said, the company that has the letters C O M C A S T. Now what that means is I work for a company that contracts to them for the work. I am not really a cable tech as what we do is Collections and Recovery. If I am knocking at your door You are about 60 days behind on your bill. I am looking for your equipment too. Now we do some dailey stuff such as volentary disconects and down grades. We also try and save accounts, which means after CC has pissed them off they want us to save the account. And other stuff such as downgrades and box deliveries. We also do sales such as if some one moved and another moved in before we get to them we can sign them up.

So... I got a little insite to this. And I don't think it will be a quick fix. Talking with the guys at the office, we think eventually, there will be small cable companies to give CC a run for their money, or TW and any others that may own the systems. Much like when the phone companies were broken up you saw little companies come in and offer cheap rates. They were allowed to use the main company line and offer substancial savings. I think that will happen with cable. I just don't know how soon.

Here is what you do. I don't know what your problem is, service, price, reception, anything. If it is a pricing problem you can just flat out tell them to cancel your service. The last thing they want to do is loose you. They will immediatly offer you a cheaper rate to save the account. It may only be good for 6mo to a year but at least you have that. after that period of time lapses then do it again. you have to keep playing them to save money. I promise they are not going to offer it with out being forced.

I dont know if this is to your specific problem but maybe it will help some one else.

Sorry for any mispellings my spell check doesnt seem to be working

Answer 6

You can't really fight the system.

A. We pay for cable, already a rip-off.

B. We pay the franchise fee that the county makes the company pay to have exclusivity.

C. The cable company that laid the cable has to recoup some of the investment.

D. Until you get Verizon Fios, you're up the creek.

Answer 7

I'd like to say there is... and there might be some obscure, long forgotten legal action that can be taken... but chances are the large pile of brown stuff I see, is in fact the **** hitting the fan.