The Television Programmers versus Distributors Cat Fight

DirecTV subscribers currently do not have Viacom channels, some of them good, as part of their subscriptions. Dish network’s subscribers currently do not have AMC channels, home to the mesmerizing and Albuquerque located Breaking Bad, as part of their subscriptions. The programming providers want more money for their product. Seemingly nothing wrong with that, except that product is bundled as part of larger packages distributed to customers and that more money will come from increased prices for those customers which might lead to canceled subscriptions, resulting in lower revenues to distributors. Both sides have launched cheesy campaigns worthy of a slimy political contest in attempts to blame the other side for their joint issues and distract the consumer from their ever growing monthly television bill. This cat fight is one in which the observer hopes both sides lose leading to a revamped home television entertainment model, one in which consumers can choose the programming they want. Currently, customers only have the choice of packages determined by distributors who have to include packages sold to them by programmers. It’s an outdated and doomed model; the only question is when the transition will take place. The sooner, the better.