Time Warner vs. FOX - Who Will Blink First

The current deal between News Corp., parent company of FOX, and Time Warner Cable expires at midnight Thursday. The negotiations have been at an impasse for some time. They are not close to a deal. News Corp. is asking for one dollar per subscriber while Time Warner is offering 30 cents. Here is FOX' side:

News Corp. President and Chief Operating Officer Chase Carey said: Fox's "requested compensation is about equal to what Time Warner Cable pays TNT, a network with a fraction of the ratings and original programming of Fox, or about a quarter of what they pay ESPN, a network we again dwarf in ratings. Time Warner Cable will claim they cannot afford the rates we are requesting and try to blame us for rate increases to their customers."

Cable Companies pay the various networks a fee in order to carry their signal. My guess is the fee's frequently don't line up very well with the volume of viewers. Or a better way of putting it, how much of my monthly bill goes to pay for networks I never watch? Over the years there has been talk of an al a carte billing for cable. Quite a few networks would cease to exist if people got to pick and choose which ones to pay for individually.