The leagues could charge me half what I’m paying to DirecTV and easily make twice as much as they receive from the providers. Win/Win.

It has to be a blend of broadcast and broadband video (OTT TV), and why not? The combination would be killer IF the networks would unbundle their content. Hell, operators are asking for it for their own reasons, and as consumers we should demand the same–and from both the networks and the operators. Many people hate Comcast (yet still subscribe to it) and they are an easy target for blame. But the networks are just as guilt as, as they are the ones that confine operators to purchase only bundles of channels, which are then super-bundled into the tiers from which you choose today. Build are guilty, but you have to know where to start to break the bundle.

The first bottleneck is the network; loosen that and the operators have more a la carte flexibility. Let’s try not and put the cart before the horse, but do both as soon as possible.

True in theory but…take a look and find out the *stunning* percentage of video content (TV and films) owned solely by the big 6 (Disney/ABC, Paramount/CBS, Fox/Fox, Comcast Universal/NBC, TW/CW, and … Sony).

I don’t think it is a stretch to say that 95% of older content is owned by one of the biggies (indie films and documentaries being an exception).

That is the major reason why Netflix Online mostly blows in terms of content – Netflix can’t afford the extortionate prices demanded by the Big 6 to have a fully stocked library (DVDs are much “cheaper” for Netflix due to the first sale doctrine that allows Netflix to lend and lend and lend the same DVD many, many times).

The Big 6 will never freely/cheaply make their content libraries available – they know that if they open the floodgates, their current lucrative subscription models for pay TV will collapse.

What keeps customers continuing to pay Cable TV Operators for premium services like HBO? Original Series. This has been the case for 20 years and still the number one answer on all consumer based Cable TV programming research. This is why Netflix, Amazon Instant Studio and others are highly focused in that arena. If inroads with Hollywood’s biggest producers are successful (and I am sure they will be) premium content will be in big trouble. Can the current Internet streaming services afford the per episode price HBO is paying now? That is why I mentioned the two examples above. Some can. Some cannot. Those that can are probably already attempting to aggregate those that can’t through buy outs or partnerships. This would make that chart conservative.

On an a la carte, basic Cable TV networks (like The Discovery Channel) are not in step with being bought this way. Its the entire network getting a per subscriber fee from the Cable Operator that allows for enough revenue to pilot new shows. There will be support from newer struggling networks, but the intrenched ones will push back hard and prevail. The one exception is ESPN. At $4.50 per subscriber, it is one of the largest costs for a Cable operator. I cannot see how this can be maintained. The operator will have to spin it out as a mini-pay service. Then the industry will be the “perfect storm” for a major realignment