If broadcasters multicast OTA in the US now they easily have the
equivalent of Freeview. 10 stations multicasting in a market can deliver
more than 30 free channels now. The problem is there is no will to
compete with cable instead of depend on it. Of those 30 free channels UK
viewers spend 85% looking at only six. Add a few premium channels to
what is available OTA in the US today and you have a viable proposition IMO.
And of course there is the problem of expensive poor performing
receivers in the US.
Bob Miller
Craig Birkmaier wrote:
>At 5:37 PM -0400 7/31/05, Manfredi, Albert E wrote:
>
>
>>So somehow, this cable channel has found it to their
>>advantage to air their content on a newly available
>>FTA band. That's what I've long believed could happen
>>here as well, as more frequency bands and more
>>subchannels become available with DTT (after analog
>>shutdown, and with the relaxation of many of the UHF
>>tabbos, *and* with the existing local ownership cap
>>rules in place).
>>
>>
>
>It remains to be seen what will happen here after analog shutdown. If
>history is any indication, the existing broadcasters will state that
>the FCC interference assumptions were wrong and that it will STILL be
>necessary to protect them from co-channel and market-into -market
>interference.
>
>As we have discussed many times before in this forum, however, the
>real issue is not technology, but the business model. And ANY
>decision by ANY programmer will be predicated by the number of
>eyeballs that they can reach via ANY distribution medium.
>
>There are several reasons why it is becoming attractive for content
>providers to move to FREE DTV platforms in Europe.
>
>1. Large portions of the populations in Europe have never subscribed
>to a multi-channel subscription service. And FTA broadcast channels
>have been very difficult to acquire because of the tight control of
>broadcasting by "state" broadcasters.
>
>2. It has already been proven in Great Brittain and Germany, that
>viewers find the proposition of a free multichannel TV service very
>attractive. Spain originally proposed that DTV be a premium
>subscription service, but pulled the plug when they saw what happened
>to On Digital, followed by the success of Freeview.
>
>3. In the UK, gaining access to Freeview is now an expensive
>proposition. New entrants are paying a premium to get their content
>on this service. In Spain it appears that the same thing is about to
>happen. It just makes sense to invest in this new service, knowing
>that in 5-10 years a sizeable percentage of homes in Spain will use
>the service.
>
>
>
>>I would love to see a clear explanation for how these
>>Sogecable folk have rationalized their request for
>>FTA access, and why that rationale would not work
>>here in the US as well, as seems to be the consensus
>>of opinion on this list.
>>
>>
>
>The reasons why content providers want access to Freeview and now to
>the new service that will be launched in Spain are obvious. As much
>as 50% of the homes in these countries will use the FTA service.
>
>There is NO corollary here in the U.S.
>
>Broadcasters continue to lobby for scarcity, and have little if any
>interest in pooling spectrum to field a FTA service that will compete
>with cable. One of the major problems is that by keeping only a
>limited amount of high value content available FTA, the content
>conglomerates have been able to take control over the multi-channel
>TV programming markets. Why give it away, wen you can get paid extra
>by the cable companies for your ad supported content?
>
>I have no doubt that a Freeview type service would be successful in the U.S.
>
>And I have no reason to believe that the market dynamics here in the
>U.S. will ever let a free multi-channel service exist.
>
>Regards
>Craig
>
>
>
>>Bert
>>
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