[opendtv] Re: FCC Eliminates Simulcast Rules

Craig Birkmaier wrote:

> Consistency says that you don't get something for
> nothing.  The conglomerates are not going to kill
> the goose that laid the "latest" golden egg. With
> the current model they get both advertising and
> subscription revenues for the non-broadcast
> networks. And they get to keep charging more for
> these networks every time a contract comes up for
> re-negotiation. Why would they give away something
> that people are paying a premium for today?

I think all of this debate boils down to what you
wrote above. You believe that the major networks
prefer for OTA users such as me to become subscribers
of a multichannel network. So it makes sense for them
to make their OTA network unappealing.

If they really think along those lines, they would
be p*ss-poor business people. Some of what's listed
below is repetition, but seems to apply again:

1. Other forces, such as Sinclair, will work
against any such "OTA death wish" on the part of
networks, assuming it exists. These guys *want*
the OTA system to work.

2. After NTSC shutoff, there will be available TV
spectrum for others to enter, where there was none
before. So other enterpreneurs could come in to
compete. Will the major networks just roll over?
Don't forget to re-check the FCC local restrictions
on broadcasters, before coming back with any idea
that the major networks will just buy up these
competing new guys.

3. Folk like me would certainly resist any enforced
subscription, and a sizable number of us still
exist. Say whatever you like, but it makes no sense
for networks to ignore 18.9 percent (or even 15
percent) of the viewing households. If DTT gives a
given network a way of becoming more attractive than
the other networks competing over DTT, to 18.9
percent of TV viewers not to mention DTT users who
also subscribe to a multichannel service, it seems
incomprehensible that the networks won't use this
tool.

4. The content they use to make their DTT multiplex
"more attractive" than the next guy's is
negotiable. You're stuck on the idea that it
must be an exact replica of streams they have
on cable or DBS. Maybe not. At the very least,
being as unimaginative as possible, they could
show old movies or old versions of cable programs.
But that's just an example, not to be taken as
the only possibility.

5. A 24 hour news multicast in an SD subchannel?
Sounds good to me. CNN seems to have made a go of
that format. One DTT station per market might
be able to justify such a stream.

In short, to me anyway, your obstacles continue to
sound unconvincing. It's like arguing that Detroit
is deliberately making cars unappealing, because
they want everyone to buy the more profitable SUVs.
But that's not the case. Because some people get
road rage just looking at one of those behemoths,
and would much sooner buy a foreign car than an
SUV. I doubt Detroit will ignore that market.

Bert
 
 
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