[opendtv] Re: FCC Eliminates Simulcast Rules
- From: Eory Frank-p22212 <Frank.Eory@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "'opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx'" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 9 Sep 2004 15:36:14 -0700
>From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
>To: "OpenDTV (E-mail)" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Date: Thu, 9 Sep 2004 17:51:03 -0400
>
>Tom Barry wrote:
>
>> What possible use was the simulcast rule?
>
>To promote a smooth transition.
>
>If broadcasters placed all their revenue-making programming
>over their digital channel, then the analog channel could
>be turned off without a problem, once enough viewers had
>made the shift.
This is all rather silly -- the former simulcast rules and this debate about
what effect their elimination will have. It has always been the case that "the
analog channel could
be turned off without a problem, once enough viewers had made the shift." One
can argue that the simulcast requirement would have slowed DTV adoption, or
that it would have accelerated it. All such arguments are speculative and not
universally applicable to all TV viewers anyway.
>
>If instead broadcasters are allowed to use *two* revenue
>producing 6 MHz channels, how easy will it be to yank away
>6 MHz worth of revenue in 2006?
>
How easy? As easy as an act of Congress, possibly made more palatable by
subsidized STBs for low-income households. But what does this have to do with
the content being broadcast?
The day before the NTSC plug is pulled, the programs on the NTSC channels will
be whatever makes money for individual stations -- the 10th Law & Order
spin-off, stupid reality shows, or whatever content craze is in vogue on that
future date. One day later, when OTA is 100% digital, individual broadcasters
can choose to carry on with those same programs in digital form, or different
programs, or some sort of multicast mixture. It's their business, and it's up
to them to decide what they think will bring in the ad revenue. Shows get added
and shows get dropped based on ratings, not based on the particular
broadcasting technology used to deliver them.
Having said that, I think it would be unfortunate if a particular new show that
wasn't doing well was canceled on or about the same time as the NTSC shut-off.
Fans of that show might get the mistaken impression that the two events were
related.
-- Frank
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