Support for Cable Providers?  Why?

by Seeker7

It has always been assumed that big companies such as cable providers are out to control the flow of information and make it harder for everyone to get what they want.  Most times this is true, especially with bandwidth caps and/or throttling that takes place when someone "steps out of line" with their ISP's terms of use or just proves to be a nuisance on the network.

However, it should also be recognized that in some cases, good has come from some of these network providers.  The good thing about large corporations is that they have money and lawyers, which the average person would not have access to.  They can choose to fight certain battles with content providers to allow said content to be made available in additional ways.

For example, several years ago a cable provider in the northeast wanted to release a new product called network DVR.  The concept was that people should be able to record content that they pay for, store it on a decentralized network drive, and then play it back in whatever room they wanted.  However, the content producers didn't like this idea and wanted rebroadcast rights every time their content was played.  The case went to court and the cable company won.

Now, obviously, this service would be charged at an extra fee, so, sure, the company made money.  However, what people overlooked was the achievement that took place.  By winning this battle, it opened up the ability for other companies to offer a streaming network DVR solution as well.  It wasn't limited to the one cable company.

This is only one example and there are others.

Yes, content wars between cable companies and content providers always suck and always put the customer in the middle.  Both sides use propaganda in the hopes of making people see things "their way" and, in the end, it gets resolved and many times the resolution isn't even made public.

I am not trying to say that this is a good thing, and I actually think that more competition and flexibility would be nice.

All that being said, if content providers had it their way, the customer would be charged every time they viewed a particular movie or show.  Yes, anyone can get access to anything illegally through BitTorrent or USENET newsgroups.  However, for those who want to go the legal route, things can sometimes be limiting.

Recently, several cable providers have come out with streaming apps, allowing customers to view all of their TV channels on an iPad or other device within their home.  Viacom isn't happy about this and has sued said companies over license fees.  The cable companies are fighting this.  Is there clearly something for the cable companies to gain by winning?  Yes.

However, there is also something that the average people gain by that kind of win as well.  Customers can then view content on whatever device they please within their homes and not have to pay higher prices for this.  In the current cases that I know of, the app is provided for free as part of the TV service, so, there is an extra feature without extra cost.

I know that it seems like I am in the pocket of the cable industry right now, but I'm not.  I don't even have cable TV.  My Netflix does everything I need.  However, I am not John Q. Public.

Sometimes we must consider that, occasionally, there are some things that big companies do to increase our freedoms, although only within their networks.  However, the average person only plays in those networks.

Yes, if the content creators would get a better business model, the cable companies wouldn't be needed.  But, until that day comes, someone needs to fight for more content rights on behalf of the average person.

The cable companies want people locked in to their pricing scheme and want people to stay with their services.  As a result, they need to evolve and give people what they want: content everywhere, all the time.

It is the cable companies that will have to fight the uphill battle for the common person and, for once, if only in these rare cases, we should probably support them.