You guys don't know how lucky you are. We get a certain base package for a monthly fee, but then get charged for each additional channel we pick, which basically is most of the good channels. You want Fox? You pay for it. You want Nat Geo? That's another fee added on top. You want Discovery Channel? That's yet another fee added to the monthly charge. The sports channels are each another charge. Disney is another charge, and so on... It's nice to have flexibility, and if it meant that you only pay for what you want, it would be okay, but add 'em all up (if you pick any!) and you're paying a LOT for what you're getting. In spite of having some of the highest-quality infrastructure (fast cables, etc...) and a population density that makes it cheaper for them to deliver the service (they have lower installation costs than the companies elsewhere do), it's not cheap here! There is one company that provides the connections to all the "competing" companies, so in fact the market is like a cartel. Consumers get gouged somewhat, and the companies laugh all the way to the bank.
While I do pay for a package and have some decent channel options, I've switched largely to streaming off of Hulu and other online sources, using a proxy server to get around their geographic restrictions. Listen to music most of the time, anyway. I moved recently and got a new contract (at the same time I upgraded my Internet connection speed), so I'm locked in for a while, but I may not renew at all next time around.
