XPost: rec.arts.tv, alt.tv.scifi.channel   
   From: Obveeus@aol.com   
      
   "Jim Gysin"  wrote:   
      
   > And without at least one competitor, the company with the monopoly will   
   > *never* have an incentive to sell his widgets at a minimum price of any   
   > kind.   
      
   In the case of TV, competition might improve the quality of the shows (since   
   that is the only way to drasw more viewers), but...   
      
   > Two separate entities producing comparable widgets *is* "true   
   > competition."  This is macro 101 stuff.   
      
   If there are X sci-fi fans then two channels producing comparable stuff will   
   mean that each gets X/2 audience.  That isn't a good thing in a current TV   
   environment that indicates that even the whole X isn't enough people to keep   
   the channel going.  X/2 audience will just mean a quicker transition to   
   additional shows about ghosts and wrestling.   
      
   You economics of getting a cheaper widget for the end user equates in this   
   case with what might simply be a cheaper TV show (as in lower production   
   costs) for the viewer.  Lower production costs likely means the opposite of   
   'higher quality' in most cases.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)