Verizon wants to charge people for TV they watch

Nature, and the Screen Actors Guild, do not approve. (SyFy)

Television viewers would only pay for channels they watch under a plan proposed by Verizon Communications.

The Wall Street Journal reports Verizon, the sixth largest pay-TV provider in the U.S. wants to tie fees it pays to carry TV channels to how many people actually watch them.

Those who watch popular programming like sports would presumably pay more than couch spuds who enjoy Syfy reruns of Sharktopus or maybe even Dinocroc vs. Supergator.

Verizon is discussing its plan with “several ‘midtier and smaller’ media companies, reports the WSJ. The change would not lower Verizon bills, but may stabilize them, said Verizon’s chief programming negotiator.

Even though Verizon’s fiber optic internet and TV service is not available locally, the a la carte idea could change the industry.

Cable companies typically charge users for a cable package that likely includes dozens of channels no one in the home will ever watch.

ESPN, for example, is one of the more expensive channels for cable providers. ESPN pays the NFL almost $2 billion per year to televise football.

That huge cost is passed on to millions of people who never watch sports.

Is that fair?

Not really, but it’s the way it works.

Computer chip maker Intel is currently testing a set-top box that allows consumers to pay per channel. Forbes says that business model may “kill the cable industry as we know it.”

I doubt that. But giving people a choice would be disruptive.

I know I would pay for only four or five channels, other than the ones I can pick up via antenna.

How much would those four or five channels cost? No one knows, yet.

Which channels would you pay for? Which ones would you ditch?