Think of television. If the Golf channel had to be purchased separately, it might not exist. But by bundling the Food channel, the Golf channel and a few more in with other selections, they can all get a slice of the revenue and find ways to survive.
I have to take HUGE exception to this. There are 6-7 companies that control 99% of ALL cable/dish channels. Their negotiations with the cable companies is less like a negotiation and more like a dictation of terms. Things like ESPN SHALL BE in basic cable. Something like 40% of the people want ESPN and it IS the single most expensive channel the providers carry, even over the movie channels. But when the folks who own ESPN can order them to put it in basic service and not treat it as a pay channel then the other 60% of us have to subsidize it and cable/dish rates go up so ESPN can pay more and we can pay our players even more.. Also, if you want say Syfy channel you will take this new woodworking channel, no choices.. Cable companies claim ala carte will kill some channels and prevent most from being created, that may or may not be true, but how about we stop the abuses of the channel owners who can basically tell the operators what they WILL do. This is the real problem and ala carte probably isn't the best way to solve it..
Note: I do not work for the cable or dish companies, nor have I ever. My wife worked for a cable company for about 5 years taking calls from people irritated about cable rates and such, my information is based on her experiences and knowledge of the workings of the cable industry.
CEWII