On October 10, Comcast moved Turner Classic Movies from its regular tier of channels and bundled it into a sports package that will cost viewers an additional $9.99 a month.

The disconnect between channels specializing in football, military history, and outdoor activities and one dedicated to spreading the world's cinematic legacy is evident and bizarre enough, but many of TCM's millions of viewers are unwilling or unable to afford the new charges, and some are even cutting the cord altogether rather than pay the exorbitant fees.

The move smacks more of greed than necessity. Comcast claims both that TCM polls badly among its customers (who "watch less than [sic] two movies per month," according to Comcast) and that its contract forbids making the channel available as an a la carte option. The literally tens of thousands of people who attend the annual TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood and the TCM cruises, as well as the popularity of the monthly TCM/Fathom screenings of classic films, would seem to put the lie to Comcast's claim.

The people who are inclined to subscribe to the sports channels would seem to have little interest in classic film, and the fans of these movies have, for the most part, little interest in the sports programming, so bundling them seems designed to cover losses Comcast is incurring in paying for unpopular sports networks.

We call on Comcast to either restore TCM to its more general programming availability or renegotiate its contract with Warner Media to allow a la carte purchase of the channel that is separate from the incompatible sports and shooting programming with which it it's currently bundled.