Time Warner, CBS Are Daring Us to Cut the Cord

Time Warner might soon regret its feud with CBS. Despite howls from consumers and the FCC, "a cable operator already reviled for its skyrocketing rates can't cut a deal with an entertainment behemoth that just trumpeted its best financial quarter ever," writes J. Max Robins at the LA Times. Which should raise a few questions, like, do cable operators really need to carry networks anymore? And do consumers need cable at all?

"We live in a time of many alternatives, and the war between Time Warner and CBS provides an impetus to explore them." There are direct cable replacements, like FiOS, and lots of ways to stream content online—Time Warner subscribers desperate to see CBS' Under the Dome, for instance, can find it on Amazon Prime. Even some live TV is migrating online. It's time we all found our own ideal media mix, because the Time Warner-CBS brawl has "already made one thing clear: We can't count on the combatants to have our best interests in mind." Click for the full column. (More Time Warner stories.)