[opendtv] Broadcasters Object to Planned Digital TV Bill
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "OpenDTV (E-mail)" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 21 Sep 2004 10:44:32 -0400
Monty Solomon wrote:
=20
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Broadcasters Object to Planned Digital TV Bill
Mon Sep 20, 2004 06:20 PM ET
By Jeremy Pelofsky
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. television broadcasters on Monday
labeled as inadequate planned legislation to ensure millions
of consumers can still watch television once broadcasters
begin airing only in digital.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain plans to offer
a bill on Tuesday that would require broadcasters to only air
the new, crisp digital television signals by 2009 and would
subsidize the cost for those consumers who rely on traditional
television to see those signals.
His measure would provide up to $1 billion for consumers,
particularly lower-income households, to either buy a device
that would convert the digital signals back into a format that
they could watch or to install cable or satellite service.
The National Association of Broadcasters, which represents
scores of local television stations, said it would oppose the
bill because it would not cover all the traditional television
sets in American households, estimated at over 70 million.
...
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=3DtechnologyNews&storyID=3D=
6284773
---------------------------------
In the third paragraph quoted above, the idea of the govt
"paying" for the installation of a subscription service, so
that households previously unable to afford the subscription
fees now will be forced to pay those fees, seems utterly
illogical to me. Or does the govt also expect to foot the
monthly bills?
The article also mentions this:
---------------------------------
Converters now cost roughly $300-$400, but as production and
demand rises, the price would likely fall, possibly to as
little as $50, according to some experts.
---------------------------------
Bert
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