Topic: Carriage Fees

Google's YouTube TV has announced a price hike, raising the monthly subscription from $72.99 to $82.99 effective January 13th. The service, which originally launched at $49, continues to increase costs due to rising carriage fees paid to major networks. Despite the price increase, the platform remains popular for its "unlimited" cloud DVR capability, though users must still pay an additional fee for 4K content.

Comcast's decision to move MSNBC into a separate LLC is interpreted as a move to distance the parent company from a "cancerous" asset. The financial viability of cable news is questioned as cord-cutting reduces the carriage fees that sustain these networks. Listeners are encouraged to cancel cable subscriptions to accelerate the decline of legacy media.

The hosts explore the idea of launching a "Value for Value" cable TV network (V4VTV). They analyze a spreadsheet of cable carriage fees, noting that networks like ESPN receive over $10 per household, while smaller channels like Magnolia or the Food Network receive significantly less.

A proposal is made to launch a No Agenda cable channel to capitalize on industry carriage fees, which are estimated at one dollar per household. The plan involves lobbying providers like Comcast to host a stream featuring various podcasters. Historical references to the launches of MTV, CNN, and TechTV provide context for the difficulty of securing network distribution.

A host recounts an appearance on Tom Merritt's Daily Tech News Show, which involved technical difficulties with Google Hangouts and Mac drivers. This leads to a discussion of the website "What You Pay For Sports," which exposes how cable subscribers pay nearly $80 a year for ESPN through carriage fees regardless of whether they watch sports.