According to Reuters, terms of the new deal will placeMTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, Paramount Network (presently Spike) and BET on Spectrum's basic
cable tier once again.
who aren't going to pay for HBO as a $15 charge on top of a $70 basic
cable tier, but will pay for HBO Go on top of a broadband subscription.
Charter initially expects to launch the network on its expanded basic
cable tier in time for Saturday's Big Ten college football openers.
The consumer cannot continually absorb increases for marginal programming, microprogramming or nanoprogramming." An additional obstacle for start-ups is that new channels would be added to the digital
cable tier, which currently has a national reach of only about 30 percent of cable subscribers.
Polka noted, "Many consumers that want to opt out of the big cable bundle in favor of a less expensive alternative are gravitating to a bundle that includes just the basic
cable tier (essentially local TV stations), plus broadband Internet access, and then relying on over-the-top video services to gain access to a more limited amount of cable programming more narrowly tailored to their specific interests."