Do we really think that AT&T and Verizon are bothered by the fact they have to pretend to adhere to some loosely enforceable conditions crafted by an FCC they've effectively run for the last decade?
I do take issue with this continuing meme that a Google loss was really a "win"....
"What's going on is that your monthly cable bill is actually paying for two things: the programming and the infrastrcture necessary to deliver the programming. What people don't seem to understand is that the infrastructure is by far the largest fraction of the bill."
So if people don't understand this, then break down for us what exactly that rate, raised 5-10% yearly, is being used for. Hint: most of it isn't going toward already laid infrastructure. It's going to\ executive bonuses and grinning investors.
Also keep in mind people are paying between $45-$60 for a broadband pipe as well, and many of these customers have been paying the cable company for decades. It's not as if infrasturcture cost is straining their profit margins.
That said yes, some basic bundle would probably have to exist. But why is it we're not even at the point where sports programming is a package, if ESPN is the most expensive channel?