Wendy's to try "Dynamic Pricing"

[Brian Elfert]

Not quite sure I want to know how that worked. Seems like it would screw up the scheduling rather badly, as in "We'll watch 'Jeopardy' on ABC and switch over to CBS for 'Law&Order' at, um, whenever...". And I assume everything was delayed several hours so they could remove ads from the network feeds.

My parents got basic cable in 1991. This included just the broadcast stations plus QVC and the like. The broadcast stations still had commercials. I think when people say cable originally had no commercials they are talking about cable specific networks, not broadcast networks.

[Dave Zellers]

That was how cable was marketed in the earliest days- no commercials.

Edit- yes to Brian's post above

[Bill Howatt]

...

There are also the economics to deal with, as I assume the content providers still needed to get paid. At least there were a lot less of them back in the day.

Don't know what the deal is now and if it varies by region, haven't heard it for a while but it was not uncommon to hear, "the providers don't pass on (much?) money to the TV stations they carry".

[Kent A Bathurst]

Dynamic pricing works very well on Atlanta expressways. Dedicated lanes. In general, charge changes wih congestion - the site says it is set using a "proprietary scientific algorithm", and gives a list of factors that are "included" in the calculation.

My recollection is that the pricing adjusts to target a minimum 60mph in the express lanes. Rush hour traffic backups can make a 20 minute trip last 2 hours, while the toll lanes zip right along.

My strategy is different - live in the city. Nearby things are always near by. Otherwise drive out while everyone else is driving in. And vice versa.

[Dave Zellers]

Plus back in the 70's it was the only option for very rural areas.

[Brian Elfert]

Don't know what the deal is now and if it varies by region, haven't heard it for a while but it was not uncommon to hear, "the providers don't pass on (much?) money to the TV stations they carry".

I pay $25.30 per month on my cable bill for broadcast networks. It seems crazy that I can watch broadcast TV for free with an antenna, but it costs me $25.30 for broadcast TV just because I have cable. I'm considering changes to my TV subscriptions including booting cable, but I haven't done it yet.

[Lee DeRaud]

Plus back in the 70's it was the only option for very rural areas.

I recall even earlier (mid-'60s?) visiting relatives in a rural area. Their TV was "cable", but it was effectively just a boosted feed over coax from an antenna 10-15 miles away, same 3-4 broadcast channels we got in the city.