At 3:50 PM -0500 8/26/10, Manfredi, Albert E wrote:
So the fact that "cable won" is only an indication that many consumers are much like door mats. Yes, they could be forced into a business model that they do not like. They wanted that extra programming bad enough that they capitulated.
Nobody was forcing them to do anything Bert.Unlike the U.S., where broadcasters, concerned that cable would use HD as another tool to attract subscribers, got the government to mandate a DTV standard and force ATSC tuners into every new TV.
It is a simple statement of fact Bert. In Canada, the marketplace worked. OTA broadcasters, who had 25% of the market in 1997 when DTV broadcasts began in the U.S., took a wait and see attitude with respect to DTV. By 2006, according to the CRTC, their share dropped to 13%.
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/publications/reports/radio/cmri.htmWhether this was directly related to the availability of HD programming, or simply a matter of programming choice can be debated. That broadcasters left the HD opportunity to MVPDs cannot.
It is ridiculous to suggest that coercing consumers into a business model that maximizes profits for the MVPD means that this is what the (doormat) consumer wants. Unless you are one of those who cheers when they can force someone to grudgingly accept a "least bad" option.
Again, there is no coercion Bert. The FOTA option still exists in both the U.S. and Canada.
Would consumers like less expensive options including Ala Carte? Certainly.Unfortunately, Bert, the government here, and likely in Canada as well, is propping up the media conglomerates, allowing them to operate an oligopoly that is circumventing the normal operation of the markets for content.
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