A la carte cable: Pat Robertson's scared that people won't pay to watch him

[RTFirefly]

Awww, poor baby! I mean, geez, the Religious Right had been all for a la carte cable, since that would mean they wouldn’t have to pay for ‘immoral’ cable channels like MTV. (FWIW, I’m for a la carte cable, since my wife and I could confine our menu to C-Span, ESPN, TBS, Animal Planet, and the Comedy Channel.) But now the religious broadcasters are thinking, “what if even our own followers don’t want to pay to watch us?” and it’s got 'em scared.

Pay-per-channel pricing “would have a devastating effect on the inspirational programming we currently provide” and “decimate both the audience and financial support for religious broadcasting,” according to the Faith and Family Broadcasting Coalition. The group includes Pat Robertson ’s Christian Broadcasting Network, which is based in Virginia Beach.

much of CBN’s revenue is generated by telethons, and that income might suffer if CBN’s cable-based audience shrank under per-channel pricing. The network’s latest tax return showed that 68 percent of its revenue came from contributions, gifts and grants.

Additionally, Robertson’s own influence as a prominent conservative could be reduced if per-channel pricing caused CBN’s viewership to slump.

“People would notice his audience share dropping and they’d comment on it and say, 'Look, religious broadcasting is declining,’ and some people would assume that’s because Robertson is no longer popular,” said John Green , a University of Akron political scientist who studies the “religious right.”

Even Christians may skip a la carte religious channels, said Megan Mullen , a communications scholar who wrote “The Rise of Cable Programming in the United States.”

“People may say, 'Well, we go to church on Sunday, we try to teach our kids good lessons, we can tune-in’” to Christian programs “'on the radio, and it would be nice if it was cheaper, but it cuts into our budget,’” Mullen said.

If their viewership were to sink, religious broadcasters worry that cable and satellite operators would drop religious networks from the menu of channels offered to subscribers, the Faith and Family Broadcasting Coalition said.

They could always offer video downloads over the Internet. It’s not like they can’t get their message out; they’d just lose their advantageous access to cable viewers.

[SteveG1]

I guess Robertson has a right to be scared. I bet there are plenty of people jsut like me, who won’t even watch the son of a bitch now, for free. Pay to watch??? Stop making me laugh

[Captain_Amazing]

I see his point. A la carte cable would hurt smaller, niche cable channels, like religious channels, foreign language channels, or classic movie channels. Most people are still going to subscribe to TNT or ESPN, for example, but not so many will subscribe to TBN, Turner Classic Movies, or the Vietnamese language channel I always flip past when channel surfing.

I mean, if Robertson had come out for a la carte cable in the past, he’s clearly changed his mind. But in his position, I don’t think you can blame him.

[John_Mace]

I’m surprised. I thought the scary part was that so many people would pay to watch his show. :eek:

[Anaamika]

A la carte cable! How did I miss this? I want it.

Not Robertson’s show, however!

[Voyager]

If I understand it correctly, a lot of the push for this comes from the moralists, who claim they resent having to subsidize those immoral channels like MTV, Comedy Central, Spike and the NASA channel. I was on the fence, but now I’m all for it.

Especially if I no longer have to pass HSN and its ilk.

A modest proposal - offer a package of Robertson and the Playboy Channel.

[HPL]

Why is Robertson so upset?

Just ask for more money during the telethons.

Hell, ask God to send him some money. He keeps acting like he and the Lord are so Buddy Buddy. I’m sure the Creator of the Universe has it well withen his power to keep a true believer like Robertson afloat with some approrpriate donations.

Then again, God could probably cause the 700 club to be projected onto every wall in the universe if he wanted to.

[Mayo_Speaks]

@Voyager

<snip>
A modest proposal - offer a package of Robertson and the Playboy Channel.

Perhaps only viewable in a split-screen mode?

[HPL]

@This space intentionally blank

Perhaps only viewable in a split-screen mode?

It would be rather hard to be excited while Robertson’s face was taking up half the screen all the time.

[Miller]

@This space intentionally blank

Perhaps only viewable in a split-screen mode?

“Since when has the Playboy channel just been a bunch of shots of someone’s asshole?”

“No, honey, that’s Pat Robertson. The Playboy channel is on the left.”

[Taber]

even better, have the audio from Robertson’s channel, and visuals from the playboy channel. everyone wins!

[Antinor01]

And there’s this gem from that infamous right wing group, AFA. (american family association) This is from the discussion of offering family packages as a tier to choose from.

Family-friendly tiers are a bundle of 30-40 channels that include: Animal Planet, The Science Channel, CNN Headline News, the Outdoor Channel and the Food Network. Noticeably absent is ESPN. Her theory is the cable giants are mostly interested in keeping real programming choice off the table.

Because of course it’s a huge conspiracy!!! What family-friendly tier would be complete without sports!! I only keep reading their ‘news’ because it makes me laugh, well sometimes other things but mostly laugh.

[Guinastasia]

Well, he could always pull an Oral Roberts-warn his viewers that if they don’t subscribe to his network, God will “call him home”.

[Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor]

@Guinastasia

Well, he could always pull an Oral Roberts-warn his viewers that if they don’t subscribe to his network, God will “call him home”.

OH PLEASE! OH PLEASE! LET IT HAPPEN!

I mean, let it really happen. If God called Pat home, I might even start going to church, if only to thank Him for taking out the trash.

[What_Exit]

@HPL

It would be rather hard to be excited while Robertson’s face was taking up half the screen all the time.

A little Creativity with Cardboard and Masking tape should take care of your problem.

Jim

[eleanorigby]

Think of the photo-shop opportunities!
I say go ala carte and let them die. Please. Plus, then I could afford BBCAmerica and other nice things…

[TVeblen]

@Guinastasia

Well, he could always pull an Oral Roberts-warn his viewers that if they don’t subscribe to his network, God will “call him home”.

Anybody else picture God changing the locks?

[JRDelirious]

Heh. Biggest break religious-TV programmers ever got was the “must-carry” rule, wherein the cable company has to include every broadcast channel that’s on the air within a certain distance.

OTOH, I am not too sanguine on a-la-carte cable, because (a) I just know that OneLink Communications will find a way for that to mean that for the price I pay now for “Basic plus” I’ll only have access to rock-bottom local garbage and (b) the same way as everyone expects that having to face the marketplace w/o a net will take out the likes of Robertson, I expect it will also take out TCM, Comedy Central, and other “niche” channels. If to get Jon Stewart I must let Pat Robertson live, I’ll take it.

[What_Exit]

@JRDelirious

Heh. Biggest break religious-TV programmers ever got was the “must-carry” rule, wherein the cable company has to include every broadcast channel that’s on the air within a certain distance.

OTOH, I am not too sanguine on a-la-carte cable, because (a) I just know that OneLink Communications will find a way for that to mean that for the price I pay now for “Basic plus” I’ll only have access to rock-bottom local garbage and (b) the same way as everyone expects that having to face the marketplace w/o a net will take out the likes of Robertson, I expect it will also take out TCM, Comedy Central, and other “niche” channels. If to get Jon Stewart I must let Pat Robertson live, I’ll take it.

Boy do I agree with your accessment. I really think A-la cart would end up costing the consumer more for the same choices.

JIm

[carnivorousplant]

Analog C-Band satellite has ala carte and packages. Packages obviously include some of the crummy stuff that folks usually don’t pay for individually. Cable should be the same. C-Band also has free programming, like ARTS and a bunch of religious stuff. Someone buys the satellite time, so I don’t see why someone couldn’t pay for their stuff to be free on cable. Perhaps the bandwidth restriction; the cable providers may insist on making more money with a limited number of channels.