The average cable television company

Answer choices

1. A

   Weakens2% picked this

   The initial cost per household of installing new fiber-optic television service will exceed the current cost of

   If the start-up costs of getting fiber-optic TV are high, then people would be less willing to make the switch. So this answer seems to trend more in a Weaken direction.

   2%
2. B

   Correct92% picked this

   The most popular movies and programs on channels carried by cable companies will also be offered on channels carried by the fiber-optic

   Why this is right

   This is strengthening by ruling out an objection. Someone might have said, "Sure, the phone company can offer 100+ channels, but they all suck! I'd rather have the 50 good channels that I can get on cable." This rules out that concern: the fiber-optic package of channels will still let you see your favorite shows and movies.

   Skill tested: Strengthen · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

   92%
3. C

   Weakens2% picked this

   Cable television companies will respond to competition from the telephone companies by increasing the number

   If cable companies will respond by increasing the number of channels they offer from 50 to something more comparable to (or better than) the phone company's 100-150, then people won't have as much incentive to switch. Someone on a cable plan could think, "Why bother going through the hassle of switching? My cable plan will soon have 100+ channels too."

   2%
4. D

   No Impact / Too Weak4% picked this

   Some telephone companies own cable companies in areas other than those in which they

   Answers that only convey "at least one" are almost always wrong on Strengthen, Weaken, Principle-Strengthen, Paradox, and Sufficient Assumption (these are the question types that are asking for the most powerful answer). Learning that there's at least one phone company that also operates a cable company in a different area does nothing for this conversation about whether a consumer would switch from cable to fiber-optic.

   4%
5. E

   Unclear Impact1% picked this

   The new fiber-optic services offered by telephone companies will be subject to more stringent governmental programming regulations than those to which

   Do you want the channels on your TV subject to more stringent governmental programming regulations? Or would you rather your channels have more freedom to say / show what they want? That's a question that different people would answer different ways. The morally conservative might hear "stringent regulations" as a good thing that protects their children from being exposed to risqué content. People that want the sex and violence of "Game of Thrones" might hear "stringent regulations" and think, "No, thanks, I'll stick with cable." Since there isn't a common-sense association between "more stringent regulations" and consumer demand, it's not clear whether this helps or hurts or both.

   1%