[Rathji]

I wonder how much prices would increase on a per channel basis if there were unbundled options available.

(Just making up numbers here, independent of provider or a particular package)
Obviously if a bundle cost $10 and had 5 channels, it would not cost $2 for each channel individually. Off the top of my head, I would think $4 would be appropriate for an average channel, but depending on the popularity I could see it easily varying from $3-$5. As for letting people drop SD, I imagine it would be a even larger hit. To the point where it probably wouldn't make sense for most people, since there are so many channels that are not available in HD (and likely never will be, unless it became common for TV providers to offer HD only packages.) I am thinking of stuff like Teletoon, Treehouse, and other kids stuff, where the content is all several years old and might not even exist in an HD format.

If you think of it like that, you would certainly save some money if the circumstances were right, but certain bundles would obviously be a better value for some people. Clearly, they should give people a choice, and charge what is appropriate. If they don't want to pay what is appropriate, then obviously they prefer the bundled options.