3 Shows, 1 DVR: The Complicated Math

The Thursday night TV schedule presents an interesting challenge. The Office and 30 Rock go up against Grey's Anatomy and the Celtics-Cavs game. (I don't need to tell you which one The Baroness doesn't care about.) Our DVR can handle two of the three and we have decided to watch the NBC sitcoms on Hulu. Why is that relevant here? Well, Comcast and Time Warner are experimenting with limiting the number of gigabytes for users and charging a fee above that limit. The writer points out (correctly, I think) that the cable companies may have an ulterior motive here since they still want people to watch on TV. The question is, will there be a point at which we worry about the monthly bill -- similar to the cell phone bill -- when we watch TV online?

If that happens, the cable companies could be courting disaster with the emergence of Verizon FIOS. Cable companies no longer have a complete monopoly and if they start alienating customers -- Comcast has cut off customers who use more than the stated gigabyte limit -- they could be asking for trouble. Plus, cable companies could draw the ire of the networks, who are trying to push viewers online to increase viewership.