At 6:31 PM -0500 12/23/04, Manfredi, Albert E wrote: >(If most markets out there have no more than >six local OTA stations, wouldn't carriage of >the entire DTT multiplex only constitute a >total of 3 6-MHz cable channels (256-QAM)? It >is difficult to believe that there isn't room.) > Space is not the issue. Control of your own property is. Carriage of broadcast signals is but one possible source of content for cable systems. And it comes with some baggage, like retransmission consent payments, or in-kind "payments" such as the preferred carriage of non-broadcast networks. Alternative sources of content often come with additional income for the cable system. Each program from a broadcast multiplex may take up as much room as another service that can generate revenue for the cable system, such a delivery of a pay-per-view event. So the issue is NOT that cable systems do not have enough room. The issue is that they have no economic incentive to continue helping broadcasters build their business. As you noted earlier in this post, the real test SHOULD BE consumer demand for the content. But with this "test" the broadcast networks do not get the benefit of forcing content on the cable system and demanding payment for it. The NCTA notes that the primary programs from more than 450 DTV stations are now being carried by cable systems, and that many PBS multiplexes are being carried. ALL of this is based on voluntary carriage based on the marketplace, rather than FCC regulations; and most of these stations are ALSO being carried on the analog tiers. I "agree" with Bert, that the marketplace should decide. Regards Craig ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways: - Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at FreeLists.org - By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word unsubscribe in the subject line.