Wlady, perhaps my post wasn’t clear enough, but you are mistaken. Government does not mandate the 5-cent contribution. It’s totally voluntary. That is, it’s up to the individual cable companies to decide whether they want to carry C-Span. It’s only mandated in the sense that if your cable company chooses to offer C-Span, you have to pay the five cents. Just as you may have to help subsidize other stations you may not care to watch. It’s a bundled service, not offered a la carte–that’s why I made the analogy to the buffet.
