By Douglas V. Gibbs
Time-Warner Cable is the second largest cable provider in the nation. Negotiations with fees are not going well, and it is possible that the cable company will be dropping FOX, the Weather Channel, and Scripps Networks from their lineup. Broadcast channels were once offered to cable carriers for free, but not in the struggling market FOX is asking for a per-subscriber fee to be paid by Time-Warner for the privilege of carrying the FOX Network.
Come the first of the year, if an agreement does not materialize, Time-Warner subscribers will be missing their favorite shows, and some of the NFL playoff games.
There has been some rumblings that Congress should get involved, which is a mistake. Not only is it unconstitutional, but giving the federal government any say over the private sector right now is already a worry, and we don't need to be handing the feds another part of our lives. Besides, Time-Warner and NewsCorp are entitled to their business dealings, and as a private corporation, Time-Warner can make any decision they wish. After all, the best regulators of business is not government, but is the people, and if Time-Warner drops FOX, they will drop like a rock, and the next cable system will take their place at number two.
That is how the free market works. Survival of the fittest, and survival of the businesses that make the consumers happiest.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
Time Warner Cable, Fox negotiations near 11th hour - CNN Money
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