[opendtv] Re: Fewer than 2 Million have OTA DTV in US

The "re-tiering" is what caused me to cancel DirectTV about 20 years ago and to cancel my Comcast PVR and digital subscription about one year ago.
But my most recent bitch is the phone call I received a couple weeks ago from the Comcast "Compliance (Conformance?) Dept.". I was informed I had downloaded too many bytes for the month and had risen onto some watch list. If I was noticed again I would be punished and suspended for one year. But they refused to tell me how much was actually allowed and I had used only a small fraction of their advertised bandwidth, assuming 24/7 usage. The phone call reminded me of the humorous Lily Tomlin "Ma Bell" skit of some decades ago where she threatened they would "send a huge burly repairman to rip it out of the wall". The cable companies are the new Ma Bell. Needless to say I canceled Comcast. I probably would have done so even if I hadn't been moving anyway. ;-) 

- Tom

John Willkie wrote:

If you've never subscribed to cable in your life, how do you know what
people complain to cable systems about?

Here's what people complain to cable about: when the cable goes out, or a
"big game" or event is interrupted, or when the channels are re-tiered and
favorite content is moved to a different (more expensive) tier, or when they
otherwise lose a source of programming they had become accustomed to.  Of
course, if they have a cable/telephone bundle, and assuming no phone back-up
systems, they don't complain to the cable company when their cable and phone
goes out.  When it comes back on, they are usually happy.

They don't complain much about missing programming they've never seen.

John Willkie



-----Original Message-----
From: opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Albert Manfredi
Sent: Sunday, December 24, 2006 12:09 PM
To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [opendtv] Re: Fewer than 2 Million have OTA DTV in US

Tom Barry wrote:



The numbers I'd like to know have more to do with what is the value
added of a local channel? Do people really want local channels because
they are local? Or do they just associate the more popular local
channels with the network channels?

The national network content obviously has a vastly greater economy
of scale and basically can have a lot more money invested in it based
upon the expected number of viewers.


I don't think there's much question on this. What people holler about to
their local cable systems is when the local system refuses to carry the
major network content, for whatever reason. It' loss of prime time content
people get upset about, not the local ads from the used car dealership
downtown. Not the insipid infomercials that broadcasters love to transmit
off prime time.

I'd expect a local source of weather and occassional news would satisfy
most
people.

But this doesn't change anything about the viability of DTT. A viable DTT
system does not depend on "localism" at all, as abundantly made obvious in
Europe. It does depend on offering a "wide enough" variety of content,
though. *If* it's true that people are abandoning OTA TV and going to
cable
or DBS, the oh-so-obvious solution to that is to use DTT's new features to
make it more attractive than OTA analog is and was.

Assuming, that is, that broadcasters have any interest in doing so. It's
equally obvious to me that if broadcasters prefer to get people addicted
to
umbillical services, no one and nothing will stem the erosion of OTA TV.
I'm
actually lucky to have two Sinclair stations within reach, since they seem
to be about the only ones using their hours productively.

I'm often amazed that OTA TV is as successful as it is. I'm always amazed
when my friends explain how they use OTA TV, without having anyone shove
it
down their throats as other TV media do.

Bert

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--
Tom Barry                       trbarry@xxxxxxxxxxx     
Find my resume and video filters at www.trbarry.com


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