[Rally]

Well, sure... but you could make the same argument re: the newspaper and magazine business.

And now that the Internet has made it practical, newspapers and magazines are largely coming unbundled. Dabigv can read Miami Herald stories on the Dolphins without having to pay for the Herald stories I write.

Indeed, the different delivery options, bundled or bundled, are themselves components of a free market.  The choice of suppliers between these two options is driven by the demand side of that free market.  What makes a market free is not the form of products delivered.  It is the existence of willing buyers and willing sellers with relatively free and equal access to all relevant information.

There has never been a free market in cable television. Cities treated cable TV as if it were a public utility and granted monopolies in return for substantial franchise fees. If my city allowed competition between multiple cable systems, I would bet dollars to mini-donuts that we'd have at least one company offering its channels unbundled. Then we'd see what buyers really would prefer.

In my area we have 4 choices:  Time Warner, Fios (just changed from Verizon to Frontier,) Dish and Direct.  None offer unbundled channels.  Even HBO comes with Showtime.

[Rally]

Well, sure... but you could make the same argument re: the newspaper and magazine business.

And now that the Internet has made it practical, newspapers and magazines are largely coming unbundled. Dabigv can read Miami Herald stories on the Dolphins without having to pay for the Herald stories I write.

Indeed, the different delivery options, bundled or bundled, are themselves components of a free market.  The choice of suppliers between these two options is driven by the demand side of that free market.  What makes a market free is not the form of products delivered.  It is the existence of willing buyers and willing sellers with relatively free and equal access to all relevant information.

There has never been a free market in cable television. Cities treated cable TV as if it were a public utility and granted monopolies in return for substantial franchise fees. If my city allowed competition between multiple cable systems, I would bet dollars to mini-donuts that we'd have at least one company offering its channels unbundled. Then we'd see what buyers really would prefer.

In my area we have 4 choices:  Time Warner, Fios (just changed from Verizon to Frontier,) Dish and Direct.  None offer unbundled channels.  Even HBO comes with Showtime.