Is the cable TV business going to get better or worse? The major area of growth for many is still high speed Internet service, but adoption rates are beginning to flatten (although the projections aren't) and price wars with DSL providers like Verizon are possible.
We have a cable modem and love it, but it would be overkill for many of our friends who tend to use a connection for email and very occasional web browsing. If a person wants higher bandwidth and always on, some of the new DSL offerings have more attractive prices and most people would not notice the difference (some people might notice that some of the DSL services are offer better performance than their cable provider) It is also very hard to justify the expense in terms of quality of service. Many people experience regular problems with their service and the industry seems to be sweeping all of this under the rug.
Many cable companies see video on demand as their source of growth as well as a way to prevent the drain of business to satellite tv. While there are compelling features to the service I think they need to worry about their pricing structure, quality of service and a few other issues before increasing the size of their bank vaults. There is some evidence that the most reliable cable customers are from the segment of the public that is currently the most economically threatened.
I've been around two large cable companies and have dealt with a third as a member of a local cable board. All of them seem to be in the field of dreams mode - build it and the public will pay - and pay and pay. Somehow I doubt the public will validate their business plan. No one has cracked dramatically increasing the entertainment budget for the general public.
5:57:37 AM 
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