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Fund this: Koo Dey Ta promises a la carte TV service
Watch your back, Comcast. An Indiegogo campaign wants to let customers pick and choose the TV channels they want -- and charge them accordingly.
by Rick Broida October 19, 2012 9:00 AM PDT
Follow @cheapskateblog
With Koo Dey Ta, you'll be able to pick and choose the TV channels you want.
(Credit: Koo Dey Ta )
My Comcast cable TV subscription gives me access to roughly three gazillion channels. Of those, I routinely watch maybe 15. So why am I paying for channels I don't want?
Because I have no choice, that's why. Indiegogo campaign Koo Dey Ta promises to change all that if it hits its $150,000 fundraising goal. The service aims to deliver a la carte TV channels, meaning you can pay just for the ones you want to watch.
Intriguing, no? Although it seems like a long shot at this point, even the promise of such an option seems too tempting to ignore.
Koo Dey Ta ("coup d'etat," get it?) will offer its service across "almost all platforms: Android, iOS, Xbox Live, PS3, Roku, Boxee, and whatever else comes out along the way, although initially at launch we will focus on browser, iOS, Android, and Roku."
That Roku option is key, as it would give you that live programming on your TV rather than just on a computer or mobile device. KDT doesn't know yet how many channels will be available at launch, but says it's "negotiating with the major networks" and hopes to charge an average of $3 per channel.
For someone like me, that would work out to $45 per month -- or perhaps less if I deactivated channels I wasn't using for long stretches. (For example, I don't usually watch AMC except when "Breaking Bad" and "Mad Men" are on, so it'd be great if I could pay for it only when there's a new season to watch.)
This might also be an ideal solution for cord-cutters who manage just fine with the likes of Hulu Plus and Netflix, but still want local channels (or ESPN) for sports and the like. Of course, it remains to be seen whether, say, the NBC channel would deliver local content.
Actually, there's a lot that remains to be seen -- like whether KDT can get any networks at all to buy into this. But for as little as $1, you can show your support for an a la carte subscription option. For $25, you'll be able to participate in the closed beta test, while $50 buys you into the "better beta," with more channel/device testing and other perks.
Of course, KDT is already facing competition from the likes of Aereo, which offers live TV streaming to Apple devices, Roku boxes, and Web browsers -- but only for those who live in New York City.
The video below offers a bit more detail on how KDT will work. Take a look, then let me know if you think this is a campaign worth funding. Personally, I'm all in favor of anything that breaks -- or at least weakens -- the cable TV stranglehold.
Definitely interesting. I wonder if they can reach their goal of $150k in 37 days! Thay only have $1k so far. Do you know when the campain started? I'llprobably make a small contribution.
Not possible, the media companies force the bundling, not the providers.
They are going to spend that 150k on beer and women.
This will never happen in practice. Why would any media company participate in this?
ABC isn't going to say "well you hate Disney, so here, just have ABC and the ESPN". Nope, they want to sell you the whole package, in an all-or-nothing bundle. And most people who want ESPN (for example) will just accept it.