[NU Sports] Rose Bowl

[Dennis W. Brandt]

> The only thing that could stop this momentum is federal legislation to 
> force
> "a la carte" cable TV programming, which is a topic that comes and goes 
> from
> time to time - especially when new networks like NFL Network and the Big 
> Ten
> Network make a fuss with their cable carrier fees.

Keep the federal government out of it!  All they will do is screw it up and 
cost us money and/or reduce services.  I present General Motors and Chrysler 
as two very frightening examples of federal hegemony.  It is up to 
subscribers to demand a la carte services and end blackouts.  It's like 
going to Marshall Fields to buy a shirt and be told you can't have it unless 
you buy a suit, too.  There is an economic balance because the 
cable/satellite networks could charge more per channel.  At the very least, 
they need to offer separate tiers of programming.  They are doing some of 
that but not enough.  It just might be that pro players and greed colleges 
just might have to do what the rest of us do everyday and tighten their 
belts.  What a shame if that $50 mil contract would only be $40 mil.  And it 
might be time for some of those cable channels to go off the air if they 
can't draw sufficient viewers.  Anyone's life affected because we no longer 
have the Mutual Broadcasting Network?