[opendtv] Re: Distribution outside of "the bundle"
- From: Albert Manfredi <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 13 Dec 2014 20:06:32 -0500
Craig wrote:
> All of the services you mention have costs associated with making broadcast
> TV
> content available to subscribers. These costs are increased when they must
> pay
> subscriber fees to the owner of the contenT they are HELPING, by increasing
> their audience.
Craig, broadcasters have no "monopoly" on the MVPD media. So this is a totally
logical situation. MVPD subscribers *demand* the broadcasters' signals inside
their MVPD walled-in distribution pipe. The MVPDs charge subscribers to be
connected to their infrastructure (as Aereo did). THEREFORE, the content
owners, in this case the broadcasters, see that it is their content luring in
these heavy spenders, and they want a piece of that action.
You have a problem accepting a basic tenet of US microeconomics, Craig. Owners
of content (or whatever item), who sell their product or service, set their
rates according to what the demand side is willing to pay. A Chevy rebadged as
a Cadillac sells at higher prices.
> No. Just a government enabled shakedown.
Which is why, when you go on and on about politicians, I end up reading "bla
bla bla." You cannot ascribe some totally tangential excuse like that, when the
main reason for things being as they are is so obvious. In this case, the blame
goes mostly to the sports fans. And also people who got lured in some years
ago, and lack the imagination to break out. (We've talked about this already.
People who can't wrap their brains around the fact that just maybe, you can
watch TV without having to dial a three digit channel number.)
> What if 100% subscribed to the bundle? There would be no
> ability to grow, and the oligopoly would be highly profitable.
If 100 percent subscribed to both MVPDs *and* to "the bundle," then you would
not see any Moonves or Skipper trying out anything different. But 100 percent
do not subscribe to either MVPDs or to "the bundle," and what's more,
subscribership is dropping. So your "what if" simply doesn't apply here.
> I don't watch sports just for the sake of watching doors Bert. There has to
> be
> some level of interest or emotional attachment.
Whatever the reason, in the end it doesn't matter. You won't give it up, so
they can keep raising your fee.
Let me demonstrate a counter example. A couple of years ago, CBS would not put
"Person of Interest" on cbs.com. Why not? My guess is, they wanted people to
watch it only by appointment, or even better yet, to subscribe to an MVPD.
What did I do in response? I just watched other shows. That's "demand
elasticity." Now CBS has "Person of Interest" back on cbs.com, and they've
regained one fan.
I see plenty of competition among the congloms, Craig. If CBS suddenly decided
to shut everything behind MVPD walls, I would replace those shows with others.
Bert
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