For some, cable and satellite have become irrelevant

On Monday, I wrote about the difficulties that I had in figuring out what AT&T's U-Verse is.

But what about the people who figure out what U-Verse is, and then decide that they don't need it?

In another blog, I have written extensively about the issues surrounding cable and satellite pricing - basically, a whole mishmash of issues that emanate from both the cable/satellite services and the content providers. See my 11/28/2007, 1/12/2008 [1] [2] [3], and 8/5/2008 posts on the topic.

Most importantly, look at my 11/1/2008 post, which detailed how one could dump cable/satellite altogether. At the time, I wondered if this would cause the cable/satellite companies to react:

Is it possible that a move away from cable and satellite to online viewing will cause the cable and satellite companies to offer a la carte pricing?

Well, the cable/satellite companies took action, but it was slightly different. Baratunde Thurston in a follow-up:

Since Ken [of the New York Times] interviewed me, Boxee had to remove the Hulu service from it’s software. Boxee has acted as my primary cable TV replacement, allowing me to sit on my couch and use an apple remote to watch video, much like… television!

It seems like many cable companies pressured Hulu into blocking boxee, hoping to force us back to their monopolistic teet.

But Baratunde isn't going back, and made this telling comment:

A business model built on exclusive access can only last so long.

Read the rest here.