The number of independent network start-ups has consistently decreased over the past several years, as the finite amount of bandwidth available to any given MSO approaches zero. In addition, starting up a linear network is more of an uphill battle than ever before. Consider the large amounts of cash programmers pay for carriage and the challenge of closing agreements with multichannel operators to achieve critical mass, even as nets like CNNfn and Trio are being shut down and the number of programming streams not yet captured by existing nets dwindles. All these factors raise high barriers to entry for future start-ups and have forced most of them to VOD-only access or a la carte status. The latter provides an undesirable introduction to the market due to low take-up rates.
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