Verizon’s plan to shake up the TV industry: Only offer channels customers want to watch

Cable service providers in the United States are obligated to offer lesser watched channels if they want to carry some of the more popular names. Companies such as Viacom (VIAB), Comcast (CMCSA) and others have bundled these smaller, more niche channels to service providers for years, however cable companies are starting to fight back. Cablevision (CVC) recently filed suit against Viacom over this practice and other providers such as Verizon (VZ) are looking into new and “disruptive” payment models. The Wall Street Journal reports that Verizon is seeking partnerships with several “midtier and smaller” media companies about paying for channels based on the number of subscribers that actually watch them, rather than a set rate. The company’s strategy will allow



via Tech News Headlines - Yahoo! News http://news.yahoo.com/verizon-plan-shake-tv-industry-only-offer-channels-025619912.html