> That's a great deal for the consumer... Remember Hulu Plus? The deal there used to be that you paid the major "Content Providers" a monthly fee and in exchan

> That's a great deal for the consumer... Remember Hulu Plus? The deal there used to be that you paid the major "Content Providers" a monthly fee and in exchange, you got advertisement-free access to a small slice of their catalog. Shortly after people started paying for the service the advertisements crept in, but the monthly fee stayed the same. The truth of the matter is that today's great deal can be eliminated at a CRO's whim tomorrow. Moreover, "great deals" such as these throw substantial roadblocks in the way of non-favored players who which to participate in the marketplace. This substantially reduces competition, and substantially reduced competition has lead to the sorry state of the US's consumer telecommunications and Internet service "market".