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From: rb@ccivax.UUCP (rex ballard)
Newsgroups: net.video,net.politics
Subject: Re: Satellite Signal Scrambling
Message-ID: <471@ccivax.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 12-Mar-86 18:40:32 EST
Article-I.D.: ccivax.471
Posted: Wed Mar 12 18:40:32 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 16-Mar-86 00:38:42 EST
References: <156@jc3b21.UUCP> <733@ihlpm.UUCP> <453@ccivax.UUCP> <747@well.UUCP>
Reply-To: rb@ccivax.UUCP (What's in a name ?)
Organization: CCI Telephony Systems Group,  Rochester NY
Lines: 25
Xref: watmath net.video:2161 net.politics:13953

In article <747@well.UUCP> tenney@well.UUCP (Glenn S. Tenney) writes:
>... What is a line eater ...
>Since I have recently subscribed to this group, this may have been
>answered before, but...
>
>A cable company charges each customer for a premium service (eg. HBO)
>a fee; the provider (HBO) charges the cable company that same amount, but
>only up to a certain number of subscribers (say 3,000) with the excess
>being pure profit for the cable company.  (These figures were accurate 
>when last I checked.)  Now the question: When a dish owner subscribes
>directly they pay the "full" amount regardless of how many dish owners
>subscribe;  Why can't there be a dish clearing house (a dish "cable"
>company) that pays the fee requested (eg. 3,000 x $13 or whatever) but
>charges each dish owner their FAIR SHARE plus a small profit.   I think
>the amounts HBO are charging dish owners is ludicrous and exhorbitant
>($12.95 for just HBO) when they don't have ANY extra costs expended to 
>provide you that service!

This is actually a very good idea, considering that it actually costs
MORE for HBO to process billings from each subscriber.  Since all that
is required is to have the monthly code change sent/phoned to each
dish owner, there might be a good profit in a "dish code clearing house"!
Actually, a cable company or two could actually start competing in
national magazines for the lowest "dish code" prices :-)
Seriously, it's a good idea!!  Any cable operators like it?