*The American players couldn't agree on any reform or upgrade strategy other than gouging the consumer. There's nothing so special about TV itself, however; predatory mogul capitalism looks like this all over the place.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-08-08/who-killed-the-great-american-cable-tv-bundle
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The TV industry isn’t suffering financially, however, because it keeps raising prices on the remaining customers. The average pay-TV customer today spends $106.20 a month, (((!))) up 44 percent from 2011, according to Leichtman Research Group. Since 1980 cable, satellite, and phone companies have generated $1.8 trillion in revenue from selling TV service, according to Kagan, a unit of S&P Global Market Intelligence. Revenue last year was $116 billion.
But many believe a reckoning for the cable bundle has arrived.
“You’ve got high prices, big bundles, and broadband,” said Warren Schlichting, group president of Sling TV, which has more than 2 million people paying for an online service that starts at $25 and offers about 30 channels. “At some stage, the consumer is going to revolt.”
We interviewed about 20 current and former industry executives and analysts to understand why traditional television has started losing its foothold in America’s living rooms. Some blamed their peers for decisions that made cable too pricey or opened the door to online competition, and many declined to be identified for fear of angering business associates. In reality, almost everyone played a role in jeopardizing the business.
“Everyone has a piece in this story,” one media executive told me. “It’s like Murder on the Orient Express. All 17 players stabbed the person.”...
