After Murdock/Liberty purchase

[bryan27]

Since both own tons of channels and will most likely undercut everyone else (hey they don't need to negotiate with themselves) my crystal ball sees the following package addition:

Basic Choice: 22 Cable Channels ($15.99 or $19.99 w/locals)

FX, FMC, Fox News, Court TV, Discovery, TLC, Animal Planet, Travel Ch, Disc-Health, Disc-Civ, Disc-H&L, Disc-Kids, Science, Disc-Wings, E!, Style, Game Show, QVC, HSN, SAH, Bloomberg, Health, & PI channels

It's basically Fox/Liberty channels (except Fox Sports) added to the Limited Package.

The crystal ball also sees Music Choice being replaced with DMX Music (why carry Music Choice when you own DMX), the price for Starz/Encore going down to $10.00 (wouldn't you rather want everyone paying $10 to watch the Premimums you own, and make them pay more for the ones you don't). Rates for basic packages are slashed by $5.

DirecTV (AKA: Sky America) becomes the Wall-Mart of MVDDS and rases rates SKY High after everyone else is gone or can never recover the losses.

[BrettR]

Wait, wouldnt Disney, AOL Time Warner, Viacom, Universal, YES, Hearst, Scripps, and other providers cry foul that some of their channels arent in the lowest package? The Hearst company insisted Lifetime Movie Network be in AT 100 not AT 150. I know these providers are very particular which package they get into. If DirecTV makes a new package lower than Total Choice but includes all the channels except YES, and starts advertising the new package, YES will cry foul.

If DirecTV gets DMX, could Music Choice then end up on DISH? I know Comcast has Music Choice. InDemand (which is a compilation of cable companies) may try to get an exclusive to keep this in the digital cable only.

[bryan27]

Bret, we don't know what is in the channel contracts. When D* offered Limited we didn't see all those channels crying foul because they weren't included in the package.

Let's just call it a "Sub-Basic" package. It's not basic it's below basic :)

Murdock and Liberty if they go in a partnership can package the channels they own anyway they want.

[Jacob S]

It would then be considered basic. I doubt there will be much if any price drop. I dont see the packages we have now dropping below $20, maybe a smaller package below that though. Maybe a better price when you buy all the channels or combine then together. I actually see a price increase more likely.

Also wouldn't an ownership change have not much changes or none, just the different be a different owner?