I won’t renew.

Send me a cheap enough offer and I’ll subscribe to your magazine.  Assuming I’m interested, hell, I’m not a doctor’s office with a waiting room.  If it’s only ten bucks and I read a few good articles a year, it’s worth it!  I won’t keep your publication from going under, but I’m a magazine addict, I live to read.

So, getting "National Geographic Adventure" (recently deceased), since I saw an issue somewhere and I enjoy "Men’s Journal" and "Outside", and digging it, I subscribed to "Conde Nast Traveler" when they sent me a cheap subscription form.

And they immediately sent me four back issues and credited them to my account.

Huh?

And who you gonna call, GHOSTBUSTERS?

I mean it’s only ten bucks, but they fucked me.  Because they could.

And they keep on trying to get me to renew, but I won’t.  On principle.   They’ve lost my trust.  My subscription expired months ago, and I only got one good tip, for a ski travel agent, but I’d renew for the ten bucks if they hadn’t screwed me.

So, if you don’t think overpriced CDs with one good track had an impact on the public, you’re dreaming.

Same deal with overpriced concert tickets with all kinds of add-ons.

If the public hates you, you’re heading for a fall.

Yup, Cablevision pulled these channels over pricing concerns.  But if you think people are going to cancel their service and sign up with someone else…

There is no other cable provider.  That’s what monopolies will give you.  You’ve got no choice.

Unless you want to go to satellite.  But then you’ve got an Internet access problem.

You see everyone’s signed up for a triple play.  They’re deep in with the cable company.  They’re getting their TV, Net and phone in one place.  And content providers don’t realize that by arguing with the distributor, they’re losing face.  Because the consumer is locked in!

To retain customers, cable companies should focus on delivering what they sell well.  I won’t sign up for Time Warner triple play, my only option, because the service in general is so shitty.  I’m sticking with Verizon for voice.  As for leaving for Direct TV…  I’ve got ultra high speed cable Internet, I don’t want to sacrifice that, or give TW even more money to buy it individually.

As for going with Verizon…  I’d jump in a minute for FIOS if it was offered to me.  I’m not going for shitty low speed DSL, but FIOS was just rated the number one triple play in the new "Consumer Reports".  And I may not trust CR on stereo, but I trust them on this.

Distribution is king.  Don’t ever forget it.  Anyone who tells you otherwise is a content provider.