I actually got to say the following to one of our managers over lunch today:

"So, project managers would take the requirements from the client and bring them to the developer. Would you say that's what they would do here?"

It pretty much made my day...

Explanations why channel bundling may actually be good, since you get more channels for a lower price, over at . This doesn't address how some channels are only availble in high priced bundles. Maybe it'd be possible to pick what N (5, 10, 30) channels you get?

More plausibly, price discrimination is at work. Consider a simple example with two individuals. John values Disney at \$100 a year and FoxNews at \$10 a year; Sally has the reverse valuations. Without bundling, the cable company will offer each channel for about \$99, and sell a channel to each consumer, reaping \$198 in revenue (N.B.: I am assuming that the cable company has a good idea of demand in general, although it cannot identify which consumer is willing to pay how much for what.)

A lot of folks have critiqued DC United for not starting Freddy at the DC United home opener. The main point of their argument is that MLS blew a chance to capitalize on the hype around Freedy and the interest of the casual fan by having him sit on the bench during a sold-out and nationally televised event. They sadly neglect that hype alone can not sustain a league - ahem, the WUSA - especially if that hype turns of more devoted fans. Devoted fans, like me, who want the team to play each game to win and the coach to make the best decisions for the Team. Luckily, Peter Novak made the right decisions Saturday.

Apparently, even Freddy agrees:

"It's up to the coach to do what's right for the team. Whatever decision Peter (Nowak) makes I have to go with it. I don't necessarily have to agree with him but you have to respect him because he's your coach and he's trying to look out for the wellbeing of the team. All I can do is to work harder, practice and try to earn a starting spot."