Idea for struggling cable companies: Charge per channel [Video]

 

Consumer columnist David Lazarus has an idea for cable companies facing greater competition from the Web: Stop charging customers a lot of money for packages that include shows we don't watch. Instead, he suggests that cable firms take a cue from iTunes and charge for only the channels a subscriber wants. According to the Nielsen Co., a typical cable subscriber watches only about 17 channels, not the hundred or so they pay for.

Read more in his column Friday.

--Pat Benson

Recent columns by David Lazarus:

JetBlue can teach Verizon a thing or two about compassion

Obama needs to add consumer agency to his to-do list

Inflated medical bills mask true cost of care

 

 

 

 

 

Consumer Confidential: Back-to-school prices, telecom tie-ups

Here's your don't-you-forget-about-me Friday roundup of consumer news from around the Web:

-- It's back-to-school time, and it's going to cost you. But many stores would rather you didn't notice. Some are using less fabric for the clothing and calling it the new look. Others are adding cheap stitching and trumpeting it as a redesign. And the buttons on that blouse? Chances are you're not going to think it's worth paying several dollars more for the shirt just to have them. Retailers are raising prices on merchandise an average of 10% across the board this fall in an effort to offset their rising costs for materials and labor. The new strategies come as merchants' production and labor costs are expected to rise as much as 20% in the second half of the year after having remained low during most of the last two decades.

-- More consolidation may be ahead for telecom companies. Sprint Nextel is reportedly in talks with cable companies over a new round of investment that may lead to a full takeover of 4G partner Clearwire. Sprint is said to be in discussions with investors Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks. According to Bloomberg, Sprint may use the investment to fund acquisition of the remaining stake in Clearwire that it doesn't own. Such a scenario could provide relief to cash-strapped Clearwire, which is seeking funding to stay alive and expand its network with faster technology. The company needs $600 million for its network upgrade and additional money to keep its operations going. Sprint, with a 54% stake in Clearwire, is both its largest shareholder and customer.

-- David Lazarus

 

Consumer Confidential: Pay TV, check cashing, federal rentals

Here's your wink-wink Wednesday roundup of consumer news from around the Web:

--One way that people are adjusting to these tough economic times is by cutting the pay-TV cord. Viewers are canceling or forgoing cable and satellite TV subscriptions in record numbers, according to an analysis of the companies' quarterly earnings reports. The U.S. subscription-TV industry first showed a small net loss of subscribers a year ago. This year that trickle has turned into a stream. The chief cause appears to be persistently high unemployment and a housing market that has many people living with their parents, reducing the need for a separate cable bill. But it's also possible that people are canceling cable, or never signing up in the first place, because they're watching cheap Internet video. If so, viewers can expect more restrictions on online video as TV companies and Hollywood studios try to make sure that they get paid for what they produce.

--Wal-Mart is getting deeper into the check-cashing business. Like it does on most products and services, Wal-Mart's check-cashing fees largely undercut those charged by a typical check-cashing outlet, where consumers pay an average of 2% to 4% of the face value of the check to cash it. "This expanded program now enables Wal-Mart to bring everyday low price cashing services to more customers who have a need for immediate access to their cash," says Daniel Eckert, head of Wal-Mart Financial Services. That's nice. But it also highlights the fact that many people don't have access to the banking system and thus have to pay additional fees just to get their cash.

--Uncle Sam may be expanding as a landlord. The Obama administration is considering turning thousands of government-owned foreclosures into rental properties to help boost falling home prices. The Federal Housing Finance Agency says it is seeking input from investors on how to rent roughly 300,000 homes owned by government-controlled mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration. All of the homes are in foreclosure. The government rescued the two mortgage giants in September 2008 and has funded them since the financial crisis. Fannie and Freddie own or guarantee about half of the nation's mortgages and nearly all new mortgages. The homes include single-family homes and condos.

-- David Lazarus

Photo: More TV viewers are saying "no thanks" to cable and satellite subscriptions.