The Future of Video is Not About Convincing Cable Companies to Make Less Money

[Commentary] There's a seemingly-endless debate online about whether pay TV companies are leaving money on the table by sticking with their traditional business models, which many highly digitally-connected people think are obsolete. I tend to agree that they are not.

These are rational companies and they are motivated to make money, and if they could make more money by changing their business models, they would. But the rationality of these companies doesn't strike me as a very interesting question. What's interesting is whether there are market or regulatory structures that are keeping prices high and the business models stagnant. PK has argued that there are. Cable companies, who are also the largest broadband providers, are able to use data caps and other means to limit the potential of online video competitors like Amazon Instant Video and Netflix.