[opendtv] Re: Commentary: Be Wary Of FCC's Cash-For-Spectrum Plan

At 5:44 PM -0600 11/3/09, Manfredi, Albert E wrote:
3. They talk about "transition." What transition? After a broadcaster has given up his 6 MHz channel, why would anyone expect that "broadcaster" entity to survive? You don't need a "broadcaster" for the cable content, any more than you need a "broadcaster" for, say, the A&E channel or ESPN. People on MVPDs want certain content, and aside from the occasional local news and weather, after OTA broadcasters give up their OTA spectrum, they can be history. Don't need no OTA-deprived "broadcaster" for my NCIS fix, thank you very much. (Parenthetically, I am not suggesting that "broadcasters" SHOULD continue to exist. I just don't think that these realities should be camouflaged with words like "transition." It's no tranbsition. It is elimination.)
There seems to be some consensus that local content will still exist and will need distribution outlets to reach consumers.
We are seeing local newspapers dying in front of our eyes. Our NYT owned Gainesville Sun is a shadow of its former self - looks more like a thin tabloid now.
THere is lots of talk about how many news organizations can survive in a local market. We have already seen a few examples of stations getting a divorce from a major network trying to exist a a local 24/7 news source - KRON in San Francisco and WJXT in Jacksonville are the best examples, and they are both struggling.
What is clear, is that whatever survives, it probably won't look like today's TV or newspapers, and it will by necessity be delivered primarily via the Internet, and PERHAPS via other means such as broadcasting. 

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.

Other related posts: