Born Free 2: Comcast And Local Access

Comcast Gallery of Art

"The Infinite Regress of Quality= The Infinite Progress of $"

artist: Benny Hill

Cable TV rates are going up again. Comcast has removed the local access channels from the single and double digit numbers and boosted them up into the triple digits in order that they may charge $ for viewing them.
If memory serves, local access channels were supposed to be mandatory and free in return for the lucrative grant of monopoly for cable in an area. I have decided to get DVDs of the things I like and create my own Media company, where I shall schedule the programs without advertisements.

For C-Span I shall go to the Internet, at least until they screw that up. I shall read the BBC, as always, the NY Times, The Times of London, The Asia Times, The Hindu Times, something-something from Australia, some Frenchy tabloid and I shall be richer by $60 per month. I calculate my intial investment as follows: (1) super media type stuff= $ 2200 (2) not-so-super stuff= $600 At a savings of $60 per month, my pay back period for (2) is 10 months. My pay back period for (1) is 36.67 months. However, since rates are usually increasing every year, using expected rates of increase modifies the pay back period of (1) to 30 months. Incorporating extra charges for DIGITAL DESPOTISM ( which is where they force digitality down our throats), the pay back reduces further to just under 2 years, or 21 months. In fact, allowing for the possibility of a Bush-like administration that lets the Media giants do whatever they wish, the future costs of digital access could be substantial. Hence, the present value of that possible future, adjusted for the probability of a Republican administration, reduces (1)'s pay back period to 18 months. It's either a Win-Win situation, or a Winn-Dixie situation, I forget which applies here.