[opendtv] Re: Apple's online TV proposal stirs interest from broadcast networks
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 4 Jan 2010 14:14:58 -0600
Craig Birkmaier wrote:
> And remember Bert: Only a small portion of the content that local
> broadcasters deliver generates the revenues needed to cover all of
> the broadcast hours when they lose money.
I would be amazed if exactly the same thing were not true for the MVPDs. I'll
bet that subsription fees alone cannot cover their costs, so that in times of
day when their ads aren't pulling their weight, MVPDs also lose money. And I'll
bet there are multiple program streams on MVPD nets that lose money all day
long, and are merely subsidized by the lucrative streams.
So, no difference there that I can see.
Here's a reality check.
http://www.tvb.org/nav/build_frameset.aspx
For the week ending December 20, it shows that 91 of the top 100 programs
watched in the US are also available FOTA, and are from the major TV networks.
And these beat out the subscription-only shows by a considerable margin.
Furthermore, one of those 9 which are supposedly only subscription shows is
actually nothing more than reruns of NCIS, also available on FOTA stations.
Advertizers can't be blind, can they? Fractured audience or not, people still
flock to these shows that you claim no one is watching.
The reason why Fox and others can make demands of the MVPDs is so simple. When
85 percent or more of US households subscribe to MVPDs, and when the shows from
the major congloms are as desirable as they are, the congloms call the shots.
The MVPD nets would lose lots of viewership if they didn't carry the shows,
EVEN THOUGH those same programs are availablew FOTA. That's capitalism at work.
Inelastic demand creates high prices.
Bert
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