Now that TV programmers are demanding (and getting) more carriage fees from TV distributors (satellite, cable), the TV distributors' profits are going to drop, right?

Of course not.

The distributors are just going to pass the costs on to you.

Thus, Time Warner Cable is celebrating its new deal with FOX, in which it will be paying for content that used to be free, by jacking up rates for its cable customers.

The average digital cable customer now pays $75 a month. People get Internet, too, usually pay something like $150 a month.

This won't last. The current TV business model is a dinosaur, and the Internet asteroid is coming.

There is no way today's teenagers will be paying $150+ a month to get 500 channels they don't watch. This is like being forced to buy a whole magazine stand when all you want is People. This TV business model, which drives gargantuan profits for both programmers and distributors will eventually go the way of the newspaper. The only question is when.

Judging by the amount this household has reduced its live TV viewing in the past three years, the answer is "soon."

What do we do instead? Netflix DVDs, streaming, iTunes downloads. The only thing we're paying cable for right now is live sports. And we're preparing mentally to cut that cord, because we're just can't justify paying $150 a month for a couple of football games.

The NYT's Brian Stelter has more on ever-increasing carriage fees and cable rates, including the latest Time Warner Cable increase.

See Also:

Time Warner-FOX Spat Shows Why The Death Of TV Can't Come Soon Enough

Sorry, There's No Saving The TV Business