Channel Surfing Cut Short

A FCC study on cable television concluded that charging consumers per cable channel does not save consumers money, but, in some cases, will actually cost more than a whole cable package.
Consumer groups argued that this finding is wrong, and it actually is cheaper to pay by the channel. It's hard to know who is right. On average, each household watches 17 channels, and the study found that monthly rates would increase 30% to pay for seventeen channels separately rather than a cable package.
Some disadvantages of pay-per-channel cable are higher prices (perhaps), fewer choices, and less diversity.
But don't worry, all you coach potatoes. For now, it is government-mandated that cable companies must offer basic cable services that include local programming.