Wide World of Women

I'm not sure if this was done elsewhere, but in my area Charter Cable moved CNBC from the basic package to the digital package. In other words, you have to get a box to watch CNBC. People are already paying up to $70 a month just for the basic package, why would they pay more just to get back the channels that Charter takes away?

They have moved plenty of other channels in this fashion over the last 5 years. Just off the top of my head, they have moved...

Golf Channel
NBC Sports Channel
G4
Hallmark Channel
CMT
VH1
MTV2
HSN
QVC
Univision
CNBC
CSPAN
CSPAN2
Game Show Network

And many more which I can't think of right now but I know have been moved.

As far as infobabe networks go, there were channels like Bloomberg and Fox Business which were never a part of the basic package -- they started out on digital.

The business model of cable TV (and probably satellite for that matter) is a bunch of crap and has to go. Once people can get the ability to pick out which 40 channels they want and then pay $50 a month, I suspect most people would be happy with that.

The very reason I left Charter. When they were taking away channels from the basic tier AND raising the price, I switched to satellite (first Dish SD, and now DirecTV HD).