Americans are dimly
aware of Canada’s existence, their propensity to say ‘eh,’ and not much
else. But while we were busy shutting down our government
to preserve the right to go bankrupt when we get sick, Canadian lawmakers
have been up to something that American cable operators are watching
with nervous interest.
In 2004, Senator John
McCain noted that our cable TV packages give consumers “all the choice of a
Soviet election ballot.” Most customers don’t realize that you pay
for each channel on your box: C-SPAN: $0.06/month. Comedy
Central: $0.18. MSNBC: $0.21. And the king of the
lineup, ESPN: $5.54. Your grandmother’s paying nearly $70/year for
ESPN, whether she watches or not.
Content providers like
Disney sell their channels as bundles, packaging really popular channels like
ESPN with also-rans (Soapnet). This allows Disney to add new
channels at a whim, and charge for them, all while continually ramping up the
price for the package. This buy-everything-or-nothing approach is
passed on to cable customers. The content providers win. The
cable companies win. Grandma pays for College Gameday.
Which takes us back to
Senator McCain, and his 2006 effort to break up this bundling practice. The
bill failed to emerge from the Senate Commerce Committee, losing on a 20-to-2
bipartisan vote. Why were senators so united on the side of the
media conglomerate, and so against grandma?
Perhaps it something to
do with how adept Disney is at gladhandling politicians. In February
2005, Disney flew the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Joe
Barton (and his wife) down to DisneyWorld. From February 5th to
the 7th, Disney spent $3,354 on the Bartons lodging, $1,616 on
airfare, and $1,200 for meals. At that price, I hope Mickey was
personally feeding the good couple from Texas. Of course, this is
chump change for Disney, but it ensures that politicians vote the right way on
the right votes. Or as McCain described it: “They beat me
like a drum.”
Which brings us back to
our friends in Ottawa. “"We
don't think it's right for Canadians to have to pay for bundled television
channels that they don't watch. We want to unbundle television channels and
allow Canadians to pick and pay the specific television channels that they
want,” explains Canada's Interior Minister James Moore. Note that the
Conservatives hold both the majority in Parliament and a good understanding of
the true definition of Conservatism. Sounds like free market, Adam Smith stuff to me, eh?
The
clout of moneyed interests is at the root of Washington’s dysfunction. While we’re
distracted by heated debates about gay marriage, abortions, and the War Against
Christmas, the votes that would save the 77% of American cable and satellite
households hundreds of dollars a year are quietly killed in
committee.
Think
about that the next time you reach for the remote.
Note: This post was
inspired by an article I read in the August 26, 2013 edition of The New York
Times entitled “To Protect Its Empire, ESPN Stays on Offense.”
