IP Democracy: The Paradox of A La Carte

The New York Times’ Richard Siklos has this short piece today (Sunday) about a la carte and the debate between cable and the FCC on the unbundling of program packages. What’s interesting, though, is how he casts a spotlight on the current dichotomy of video programming. On the one hand, cable operators — with a few exceptions — are holding tight to the idea that programming economics dictate tiers of channels.

On the other hand, however, programmers are flocking to the web with individual programs, breaking down the video economics model to the level of a single show. But, ABC and Fox and the others aren’t distributing their programs on the web because they believe they will make a lot of money that way.

They’re doing it as a pre-emptive strike against P2P and other forms of video sharing that could totally wrest product control out of their hands.

All this is happening not so much because content makers sense gigantic riches in these new ventures, but out of fear that if they don’t make their programming more freely available, younger audiences will grow up accustomed to getting their favorite shows free via illegal file-sharing services and DVD’s burned by their pals.

So while programmers generate revenue from the video packages available on cable (and satellite), they’re hedging their bets by going online. Maybe Congress won’t have to mandate a la carte after all.

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield on April 15, 2006 10:28 PM to IP Democracy