MSNBC becoming a subscription service?

[npincus]

Thom Hartmann just mentioned this... I haven't found anything on The Google. Anyone know anything about this? So, on top of the pile-o-cash I send off to Cablevision every month for basic cable and HBO, it's going to cost even more $$$ to watch KO, Tweety, etc.etc. etc.? So goes MSNBC, so goes CNN?

Any info available on this?

[Warpy]

1. Well, it would be a nice way to silence Olberman

by restricting his audience. It would also pretty much kill MSNBC, period.

I know Comcast now has it as a premium channel. I still get it with the second tier package on Direct TV.

[npincus]

3. It's Premium on Comcast???? How much do they charge?

Is FUX a premium channel too? WTF.

[Warpy]

11. No, Pox News is favored and is offered in basic packages

Even my dad's bare bones satellite service had Pox News along with 2 basic ESPN channels (which were all he watched, to hell with news).

[MissB]

19. MSNBC is moving to digital cable in Hartmann's market.

[Atman]

2. Nonsense. It doesn't work.

CNN tried it, New York Times tried it, any major player who has tried it quickly realizes that if you have a web site compelling enough to draw big traffic, that traffic always takes a hit when you go subscription, and it makes more sense economically to run an ad-based model. Unless Hartmann is just blowing smoke, I think MSNBC would be absolutely foolish to go this route. I don't see it happening.

.

[meegbear]

4. The story is that Comcast is moving MSNBC off basic cable ...

and onto their next "tier". I think it's bullshit - when they took over the Boston market, the moved Turner Classic Movies off basic and onto a premium tier; I miss that channel.

[npincus]

7. Ridiculous! I'll bet FUX stays on the lowest tier (basic).

[meegbear]

9. You got that right ...

if they add that new business channel, I'm going dish. Bad enough they offer the "FOX reality channel" - 24 hours of fox reality show repeats.

[librechik]

13. They did it here in Denver Months ago--even MORE infuriating, however

they also moved all three C-spans off basic cable and onto the digital pay extra service.

I think that's a crime. How are poor citizens going to be informed about congress?

[MissB]

16. Around here, Comcast is moving it to digital cable.

So you have to have a digital cable box to receive it. More $, of course.

[meegbear]

22. Thats what I have now is basic digital cable

[MissB]

23. I'm too cheap for that.

:rofl: I have basic cable, plus high speed internet. The combined bill is way too much. I can't imagine adding to it.

I think we'll be weaning ourselves more and more from tv as the stations start moving to digital channels.

[meegbear]

24. LOL I have high speed too ...

if I cough up another 10 bucks, I'd have about 20 more channels, but need the moolah and don't need about halfof them anyways.

[_testify_]

5. Not a subscription service per se.

One or more of the cable providers are moving it from their basic cable package to the next tier of service. So you'll have to pay for all of the channels on the next tier just to get MSNBC.

[CatWoman]

6. If I may

I've always had to pay to access MSNBC -- I upgraded my basic cable in order to watch Donohue when his show was on.

I'm on Comcast Atlanta.

On another note, Comcast is slowly and steadily moving other channels to Digital Cable -- Oxygen and Hallmark are two such channels that were moved just this month from basic to digital.

[ellacott]

10. The same with Dish Network

I had to upgrade to get msnbc, cspan and other news channels. Fox was not on my basic cable

[LisaM]

8. We have CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, and FOX all in the same tier

Not basic cable.

I did read yesterday that Comcast needs to allow some of its lower-tiered channels to be open for the HDTV switch. I'm not pretending to understand this, but isn't there some mandate that everything has to be digital by 2009? Cable is more restricted in the number of channels it has available than satellite is.

[NightWatcher]

12. this is not a conspiracy,

I've had to pay extra for tons of channels for a long time.

Now when MSNBC was taken off of XM radio, that pissed me off

[Dr.Phool]

14. I was just in South Carolina and MSNBC wasn't available at all.

Horry County TV. Myrtle Beach area.

[jdadd]

15. It's not on my basic cable

I had to subscribe to the next tier to get it. (Time warner cable)

[MissB]

17. MSNBC is going to digital cable here. Hartmann lives in Portland.

So he's probably grousing about the change. Comcast here in Portland is moving a couple of channels to digital cable. Most of them are pretty much crappy channels - Oxygen is one of them I think.

I'm not upgrading my cable service to get MSNBC. I don't watch enough tv to have anything more than the basic package.

[haele]

18. I think it's just Comcast that is doing this, most likely

because that Comcast is now defining MSNBC as a digital only channel therefore a specialty channel to be put into the other digital channel packages - like BBCAmerica, Biography, IFC, or Sundance - channels that aren't on a basic or standard cable package.
Since the most of the local channels, CNN, and Faux are not yet fully digital per FCC changes that will be taking effect in a few years, many providers are trying to gouge their customers by identifying any channel that upgrades early as a specialty channel and try to force the customers to upgrade to the more expensive digital services if they want those channels.
As there are still lots of news channels around, making it more difficult for the general public to receive the few upgraded news channels is not considered unreasonable or discriminatory, even if most non-digital news services are little more than entertaininfomercial channels.

Cox still has a few digital channels on their standard ($40 a month for poor working folks and businesses) service, but I don't know how long that's going to last now that Comcast is moving to eventually drop their lower cost packages and force their customers into the higher digital packages.

Haele

[IDemo]

20. Minus Olberman and Abrams, there is nothing to see besides Predators n' Prisons n/t

[Cassandra]

21. Time Warner just gave it a better spot.

14 instead of 43, and still part of the standard package. And, I just realized I have Current TV, which I hadn't been aware of.

[Johnny Noshoes]

26. Home from work today

pulled a muscle in my back and turned on the box this morning and Time Warner had moved everything around it seemed odd at first. Now I have to remember how to block out Faux Biz news which is right next to Faux Noise Channel which I've already blocked.

[Cassandra]

27. I think that better ratings give them leverage...

to get a better spot on the "dial". It may also open them to cheaper levels of service (basic) so that more people can see them, but I'm not sure about that. I have to get used to Bravo being on 18 instead of 38.

[Zavulon]

25. If they go to subscription, it'll last less than six months before they

throw in the towel or fold the network entirely. If they simply go back to three, it'll be a bitch to get back the people they'll lose, including me.

When the NYT announced their "exciting changes" and went subscription, I stopped reading it and never came back.