* Operators want to give consumers choice to lower costs
* Programmers will resist attempts to unbundle programs
* Sports rights and retransmission fees are biggest costs
By Yinka Adegoke
NEW YORK, Sept 27 (Reuters) - U.S. cable operators are privately working on a plan to force programmers to unbundle their networks and allow customers to subscribe to channels on an individual basis.
The plan represents a complete reversal from cable operators' long-held opposition to what is known as "a la carte" programming. Over the last decade, the cable industry battled ferociously with regulators to protect the right to bundle programming, arguing it offered customers the best value.
But executives now say the change is a necessary response to shifting dynamics such as higher carriage costs and using the Web to watch programs, as well as a weak economic recovery that has forced many consumers to cancel cable television subscriptions.
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