Sirius Raises Basic Plan 12%

[Casey]

Why doesn't XM offer a true "A-la-carte" package: no sports, just 10 music channels for $5/month?
Why doesn't cable TV offer a "non-sports" 'a la carte' package, again, you pick your 10 channels for $10 a month.

I would go for both, but neither will do it, even though they clearly have the ability to lock out all channels except a few based on your XM serial number or digital cable TV box.

In this economy, I don't know why these guys wouldn't rather keep the same or more subs, but with less income? Screw ESPN and their $3.95 a sub they charge my cable co - and I don't watch them, yet subsidize the rest.

Is Mel Karmazin and your local Cable Co as stupid as NetFlix - I'd say "yes" on that one, sorry to say.

They do offer an a la carte package without sports, $7 per month for 50 channels of your choice, but it is limited to very few compatible radios.

http://www.siriusxm.com/subscriptions/packages/sirius/alacarte

Technology limitations are definitely a major factor here. Very few radios are capable of A La Carte offerings. I'm not sure that both the Sirius and XM systems are capable either, it may only be possible on one or the other.

 

[nocomradio]

The reason cable/satellite companies do not offer al-la-carte is simple, there is no money to be made, they would go out of business. Plain and simple, as much as I wish they would be able to offer it, it will never happen. I NEVER watch any sports channels, could give a damn about the over paid sports channels. Everything is dollars and cents, ESPN will never allow DISH to make it a seperate sub channel, like HBO and movie channels, because it would loose BILLIONS. DISH has 14 million subs, if half (including myself) would not subscribe, it is a HUGE loss for ESPN, verses making everyone pay. A-LA-CARTE will NEVER happen, in satelitte, or cable etc simple economics.

The sad part about that is that a Corporation like ESPN will never know what its like to actually get paid by their merits, programming quality, content, etc, rather than being paid simply because they are tacked onto some service that people are required to buy to get something else. Great for them when it comes to the bottom line of course, but the consumer is who gets the shaft in the end.

 

[TheBigA]

The sad part about that is that a Corporation like ESPN will never know what its like to actually get paid by their merits, programming quality, content, etc, .

That in one single sentence explains why cable TV is the mess that it is.

Although the fact is that Monday Night Football is among the highest rated shows on cable.