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RichardCoulter · 07-10-2016, 17:56

The argument has always been that the more popular channels subsidise the more niche channels.

If people were allowed to drop the niche channels that they don't watch, they would either close or be forced to need extra revenue per subscriber to survive.

This would lead to less choice for the same money and/or the niche channel/s* that you do watch closing or actually costing more.

* We all are in the minority on some occasions. It's not the case that lots of people are always in the majority and a small group of people are always in the minority, these groups are interchangeable.

For example, I don't need the children's channels any longer. If I and others could pay a little less, they may become unsustainable and close or the remaining viewers would need to cough up more. This would negate any savings made by them getting rid of any channels that they don't want.

In essence, pack prices wouldn't go down (as if they would ever do this anyway!), but the number of channels available to you (whether you watch them or not) would reduce.

If any channels were removed due to being unsustainable, this would make the platform less attractive, meaning that VM may well have to actually increase prices for less channels as customer numbers dwindle & the benefits of economies of scale are reduced.

Having said all this, I've voted "don't know" as the emerging OTT services are gaining more and more popularity and could be a game changer.

07-10-2016, 17:56	#10
RichardCoulter cf.mega poster Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 10,792	Re: Large bundles of Channels The argument has always been that the more popular channels subsidise the more niche channels. If people were allowed to drop the niche channels that they don't watch, they would either close or be forced to need extra revenue per subscriber to survive. This would lead to less choice for the same money and/or the niche channel/s* that you do watch closing or actually costing more. * We all are in the minority on some occasions. It's not the case that lots of people are always in the majority and a small group of people are always in the minority, these groups are interchangeable. For example, I don't need the children's channels any longer. If I and others could pay a little less, they may become unsustainable and close or the remaining viewers would need to cough up more. This would negate any savings made by them getting rid of any channels that they don't want. In essence, pack prices wouldn't go down (as if they would ever do this anyway!), but the number of channels available to you (whether you watch them or not) would reduce. If any channels were removed due to being unsustainable, this would make the platform less attractive, meaning that VM may well have to actually increase prices for less channels as customer numbers dwindle & the benefits of economies of scale are reduced. Having said all this, I've voted "don't know" as the emerging OTT services are gaining more and more popularity and could be a game changer.