By George Anderson
Consumers are evidently willing to accept hundreds of cable channels on their televisions, but four home shopping channels is at least one too many.
Joe Bonner, an analyst with Argus Research Co., told The Tennessean, "You have QVC, you have The Home Shopping Network, you have ShopNBC, do you really need a fourth home shopping network?"
The answer from consumers and E.W. Scripps Co. was clearly no as it was announced that the Shop at Home television business will go off the air and internet by the end of June.
Scripps' spokesperson Tim Stautberg said a lot of Shop at Home's problems came down to where it was on the set top box. "We just found it exceedingly difficult to get really strong channel positions on the cable lineups," he said.
"We've been looking for someone to buy the business since January,' he said. "We were in line to lose money in the second quarter with little hope of stemming those losses."
Moderator's Comment: What do you see as the future of home shopping via television? Do these types of channels or targeted infomercials hold the potential for traditional retailers to grow their business? - George Anderson - Moderator