Fox vs. Time Warner: Who stands to lose?

The holidays have kept me away, but my rants continue endlessly and relentlessly in my head. The most recent thing bugging me in this Fox vs. Time Warner Cable fiasco. Apparently their behind the scenes contract is up for renewal and News Corp. - owner of channels such as Fox Broadcasting, FX and Fox Sports - is reportedly seeking an increase of $1 per month per subscriber. Of course Time Warner Cable isn't going to foot the $14 million bill every month, so its just going to trickle down to its 14 million subscribers/viewers as a rate hike. So what's new, right? Same old, same old. Not quite.

Like all cable companies, Time Warner Cable pays networks to air their content. But broadcast stations like NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox have traditionally been licensed to cable providers for free. Until now that is. Fox is the first to demand a fee. Will the others follow the trailblazer? We'll just have to wait and see. If so, what will happen to TV as we know it? Will it become a complete luxury item? But the question that's really been bugging me is who really stands to lose the most if this deal goes bust at midnight on Dec. 31 and Time Warner pulls the plug on Fox in January?

Will it be viewers when they can't get their fix of Fox programming unless they make the switch to satellite? Will it be Time Warner Cable when upset subscribers ditch them? Or will it be Mr. Rupert Murdoch, a stake holder in DirectTV and owner of News Corp., when advertisers walk away when he can't deliver the audience they have come to expect?

Get ready Mr. Rupert Murdoch. My guess is your ego has a blow coming its way. I really doubt enough Time Warner Cable viewers will miss Fox programming, and those who do will just get their fix online for free at their leisure and convenience. Also, maybe to meet your high demands Time Warner Cable could offer Fox as a "premium channel" alongside HBO, Showtime, etc. Let's see just how many people are really willing to pay extra for your content. I love the Simpsons, but not that much. Good luck buddy. Just a thought.

Spend That Gift Card People!

You know those gift cards lingering deep down inside an underwear drawer somewhere? Find them and spend them. Now please! And the ones you're bound to receive this year too. Talk about a good way to revive some spending in this economy. It's real money people, I promise. And if you don't do anything about it and just let them be, here's what happens: the money those well-meaning givers shelled out on those gift cards for you reverts right back to the retailers and banks that loaded them up! It's easy profit for them! In fact, nearly $5 billion in gift cards will go unspent this year alone. To that I say: Chase down those old gift cards and use them! Now!  Hey, it's already the holiday season and though I don't recommend re-gifting them, why not put those unused gift cards to good use by using them to finance your holiday shopping? Got an old Blockbuster gift card and not sure what to do with it? They're liquidating several stores - take that gift card in and get some DVDs. There are still 11 days until Christmas - how many gift cards can you dig up and spend? Just a thought.

Full Recovery Relies On Us, the Consumer

I want to stay positive about the future of our economy. I really do. I think its necessary for recovery. We need to believe that it will get better, that it is getting better, in order for it to get better. Full recovery relies on us, the consumer. But its difficult when you start to experience first hand things you imagined were part of the Great Depression, today.