As I recall, at one point the channel was owned by the Moonies. Comcast had it in a special tier and told me that they wanted an exorbitant amount for them to carry it. If that is still the case, fat chance they'll get by Charlie 
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Still is. (Owned by the Unification Church, that is.)
As far as "exorbitant"
...what do you want to bet they invested a ton in new programming, and then had the gall to ask for 4 cents a month per subscriber. instead of 2. Can't you just see Charlie..."They doubled their fees, so we had to drop them." Then, they turn around and raise rates $3 to cover ESPN's increases.Cable and Satellite tiers work exactly the opposite of every other business model. They put the most expensive channels on the cheapest tier. The most expensive channels DEMAND to be on the cheapest tier. If they are so popular and valuable, then people should be willing to pay more for them.
Note...I don't support a-la-carte, because I have a brain and understand economics. I just think that something like ESPN which is SO out of line pricewise should be a premium channel.
I just noticed that my cable company offers this (Charter). Wow! Lou Grant, The Green Hornet, Newhart, WKRP, the Honeymooners 1 Hrs from the '70s, all of the Irwin Allen's, holy crap!
I wish this was on Dish! I don't have a DVR with my cable (which I have primarily for HS Internet). This would be a great channel to "feed" a DVR.
I'll have to check it out and see if they cut the shows up real bad.
I wish this was on Dish! I don't have a DVR with my cable (which I have primarily for HS Internet). This would be a great channel to "feed" a DVR.
I'll have to check it out and see if they cut the shows up real bad.
I think that any channel that wants a per-subscriber fee over a certain wholesale price ceiling (perhaps $1/month, indexed to inflation rate) should automatically either be "opt-in" or at least "opt-out" - I would be happy to drop several expensive overrated networks in this fashion.
Combine this with a requirement that allows MVPD (cable, satellite, IPTV) providers to require a complete package subscription (no opt outs) for no more than 24 months after purchase (ideally 12 months).
And, the kicker - all networks have the choice to make themselves available free for 30 days out of each 365 day period, which all providers must pass thru to all customers as a free preview that cannot be charged for, as long as the customer subscribes to *something*.
The only exception would be if a channel airs content rated higher than TV-G for more than 5% of its broadcast day, averaged over the past year, then providers would not be obligated to offer free previews of it to those who have bought a "family package". Also, any subscriber would be able to opt out of free previews if they really did not want them.
This would allow niche services a fair chance to be seen, without forcing anyone to pay for them.
Combine this with a requirement that allows MVPD (cable, satellite, IPTV) providers to require a complete package subscription (no opt outs) for no more than 24 months after purchase (ideally 12 months).
And, the kicker - all networks have the choice to make themselves available free for 30 days out of each 365 day period, which all providers must pass thru to all customers as a free preview that cannot be charged for, as long as the customer subscribes to *something*.
The only exception would be if a channel airs content rated higher than TV-G for more than 5% of its broadcast day, averaged over the past year, then providers would not be obligated to offer free previews of it to those who have bought a "family package". Also, any subscriber would be able to opt out of free previews if they really did not want them.
This would allow niche services a fair chance to be seen, without forcing anyone to pay for them.
