It took two weeks, but the stand off is over and Fox is back on the air in Cablevision homes. "Cablevision begrudgingly ended its dispute with News Corp. Saturday after several weeks of contentious negotiations over fees, getting Fox 5 back on the air just in time for the first pitch of the third game of the World Series." And in getting to agreement, I am confident in saying that some increase in fees occurred. How soon that increase to Cablevision customers remains to be seen, but I will make a first guess and say that it will happen between January 1 and February 1.
And it is leading us down the path to a la carte pricing, for both networks and individual shows. As bundled fees get more pricey, the customer is cord cutting. Moving toward content that is less expensive. And asking to pay less to get only the networks and shows they want to buy. Consumers will pay less at the end, but get less at the same time.
But back to the present. Cablevision customers were without their content for two weeks and will still end up paying more. The end didn't justify the means. The result for them is the same, an increase in fees. And as predicted, the customer continues to lose.
