PrepTest 104, Section 4, Question 2
The average cable television company offers its customers(49 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(8 more words not shown)
- AThe initial cost(18 more words not shown)
- BThe most popular(25 more words not shown)
- CCable television companies(16 more words not shown)
- DSome telephone companies(14 more words not shown)
- EThe new fiber-optic(23 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Would you trade the 50 channels you actually watch for 150 channels you don't want? More channels aren't automatically a better deal. The new service could offer hours of obscure programming while leaving out your favorite shows.
Even if its programming is better, people still have to switch. They might keep the service they already have because changing it is a headache. So the move from “more channels for the same price” to “cable companies will be displaced within a few years” needs some help.
What we’re looking for
We're asked to strengthen the argument. Our main prediction is that the new service will include the content people want to keep watching. Evidence that customers are willing to switch for a better deal could also help. Either would address a reason to doubt that the extra channels will win customers over.
Working the answers
- A
This gives people a reason to resist switching. The monthly price may buy more channels, but installing the new service costs more than installing cable. Imagine having to pay a large upfront bill before getting that better package. The extra installation cost makes the predicted displacement harder to establish, so this weakens rather than strengthens the argument.
- BCorrect
People won't have to give up the most popular movies and programs to use the new service. That answers our main objection: what if the extra channels don't carry the content people want? Notice that the answer promises the popular content, not necessarily every cable channel. That is enough to help. Getting more channels for the same price is more appealing when the shows drawing viewers to cable are available there too. It doesn't prove everyone will switch within a few years, but a strengthener only needs to improve the argument.
- C
Cable companies can respond. The argument treats their 50-channel packages as the alternative to a new 100-to-150-channel service, but this says they will increase their own offerings. That could narrow the new service's advantage and help cable companies retain customers. It supports their ability to compete, not the prediction that they will be displaced.
- D
Who owns which company doesn't tell us whether customers will abandon cable television for the new service. A telephone company could own a cable company elsewhere while customers in both areas keep their existing services. We need information about the new service's ability to attract customers, and this ownership arrangement doesn't provide it.
- E
Stricter programming regulations could make it harder for the new service to offer attractive content. We aren't told exactly what the regulations require, so we shouldn't invent a particular restriction. But nothing here establishes a competitive advantage for the telephone companies. If anything, this adds a possible obstacle to the programming advantage the argument needs.
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