How often do TV channels and cable providers renew their contracts.

Antenna + tivo = problem solved

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Antenna + tivo = problem solved

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I know I won’t miss a playoff game.

Do people really still pay for cable? Is this is the 1980s?

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Frick Cox. DirectTv Now stream for the win

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frick both. IPTV for the win.

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I get and DVR local channels free. I don't see why cable/satellite providers can't manage the same

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Because you can't rebroadcast someone else's content without permission.

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and I don't see why locals would charge them

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Because they can.

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All of that to say I don't know which side thinks they should get money

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The locals think they should get money from the cable companies, and they do.

The Cable Act passed in 1992 I believe, and it gives local stations the option to charge cable operators for their content (in which case the cable company can decline), or give their content for free (in which case the cable company MUST carry the channel).

The local networks really didn't ask for much until the last 10 or 15 years, but then they realized that they could extract big bucks from the cable companies while consumers would blame the cable companies for the rate hikes.

I post about this a lot, this fricked up market where an increase in competition actually results in higher prices rather than lower. Consumers prefer the locals and cable channels in one interface, so both the networks and the cable providers want the locals in the cable lineup. The networks always have a local monopoly (for their own content), but when a cable provider also has a local monopoly, the cable company has the leverage because they will get the subscribers whether they carry a particular local channel or not. But when a competitor to the cable company moves in (like AT&T's Uverse a little over a decade ago), the leverage shifts completely back to the local station. They can basically start a bid war for their content because carrying the locals is a huge advantage in a competitive market. So then the locals start playing hardball, increasing rates with each new contract, and the consumers get fricked in this type of competitive market.



We are seeing the same shite with the streaming TV services. In most markets, increasing competition results in prices decreasing. Instead, as more streaming services have cropped up, pricing have been increasing. More competitors just means more bidders fighting over the same content, so prices go up.