do you consider the internet some sort of cable service? I have always been staunchly against cable/satellite tv because the whole business plan never made sense to me. why would I want to pay $150 a month for 600 channels when I only watch a hand full of channels?
Internet has no official cable alternate. While certain shows and events can be found online, streamed illegally from their original broadcast, there is no way to watch television channels online. Television networks create specially packaged content for their online services. For example, there are only 2 channels I would watch from a cable television service: MLB Network and MSG. Both of these networks (MLB and MSG) do offer online subscriptions. However:
MLB.tv does not offer the ability to stream MLB Network programming. It does allow you to watch all MLB games and special events, but blackout rules still apply. I have no interest in watching entire games, MLB Network channel does a great job at making a general purpose channel for baseball with some games, and a lot of other programming with highlights, history and live-look ins.
MSG's online offering also does not include their television offering, and is catered directly for the NYC market, even though the network supports other markets. So for example, there is no way to pay a service to watch Buffalo Sabres (NHL) games online. MSG's online product does not show those games, and the Sabres recommend interested parties to purchase the NHL's online service... which also includes blackout rules.
For those not aware of blackout rules. Each major sports team has a broadcast zone that is determined by the team, and the television company. This zone can be fit onto a map:
http://cdn2.sbnation.com/assets/3310263/NHL_TV_Markets.jpghttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MLB_Blackout_Areas.pngThis means that specific areas have an exclusive TV deal. You can only watch the team on the exclusive network. If you can't get that network, too bad. If you can get another network that is showing that game specifically to people outside of the zone, but you are within the zone, the game will be blacked out. It is typically called a blackout, because even today, a lot of channel will simply just show a black screen when trying to watch a game like this, but some networks are set up to show alternate programming.
Being a former employee of both the cable and satellite TV industry, I can also talk about why the current subscription system is what it is, and why they don't offer a solution to the "why do i have to pay $120 for 2 channels" but I will post it later.