What Business Model Is This?

I currently do no have cable TV. I would like to have cable TV. However, the current business model for Cable TV, among other industries, confuses and angers me. We are expected to pay an initial fee to hookup to the service, we need to buy the materials to use the connection (TV, etc), we must pay a large monthly fee to use the service (with little options), AND we must view both commercials and in-show ad placements. What kind of a business model is this?

It seems that the cable companies are using a subscription-based, monopolistic, ad-based business model. We must pay for the right to subscribe to the service, waste our time watching commercials (that should pay for the service in themselves), and even pay ADDITIONAL money if we want to watch pay-per-view events. How is it that these companies can get away with charging the consumer so many times for the same service? There should be only one model in place: subscription or ad-based. If we are forced to watch ad-laced programs we should not have to pay a monthly fee as well, and vice-versa. This is in addition to the fact that they give you little options for choice of channels you want to watch. You have basic and full cable packages, but no control over what those packages include. You are expected to buy the most expensive package just to get the channels you want, even if you only want a few.

Now there are Internet companies trying to copy this scheme to make more money themselves, leaving the consumer with even less power. Certain ISPs are looking to restrict access to content based on your service provider (i.e. only access cnn.com if you use Telus - net neutrality!) so you have to subscribe to many providers to have access to the entire Internet. There is also further talk of restricting bandwidth and making consumers pay more money to get a "fast" connection, while others with a "slow" connection will have their access speeds lowered from current levels. This in an effort to make more money by charging customers more for what should be a universally affordable product.

The larger companies like Bell, Rogers, and others are all looking to increase their already large profits while consumers are given fewer options and are forced to pay more for the same, or even lower-quality, services.