[opendtv] Re: Mark's Monday Memo
- From: Mark Schubin <tvmark@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 09 Mar 2005 12:33:50 -0500
Agreed except for "meet the 85% criteria."
"Criteria" is plural. Here are the criteria specified by the Balanced
Budget Act of 1997:
- 85%+ in a market (exactly 85% doesn't cut it) with either
- a receiver or converter "capable of receiving the digital television
service signals of the television stations licensed in such market" or
- a subscription "to a multichannel video programming distributor...
that carries one of the digital television service programming channels
of each of the television stations broadcasting such a channel in such
market."
So, if a "market" is defined as a Nielsen Designated Market Area (as the
FCC uses the term), the criteria are not met even in New York. I have
neither something "capable of receiving" those signals nor a
subscription to a service delivering "each of the television stations"
in my market. My cable system, Time Warner Cable of New York City (the
nation's largest, I think) doesn't even carry (by mutual agreement) a
full-power TV station located just eight miles from its head end, let
alone other stations licensed in my market but located at greater
distances from me and my cable system.
Meeting the "each" and "capable of receiving" criteria is going to be
tough in many markets.
But, as John noted, even if the criteria are somehow met, an awful lot
more people could be disenfranchised than the under 0.25% that kept the
FCC from allowing KJLA to turn off its analog transmissions.
TTFN,
Mark
John Shutt wrote:
>I was under the impression that current law regarding NTSC shutoff was
>applied market by market. The "Ferree Plan" simply reiterates current law.
>
>The problem arises when you consider that the largest markets (NYC, LA) meet
>the 85% criteria, but the remaining 15% relying on OTA is a huge number of
>people (15% of 7.3 Million NY homes, or 5.4 million LA homes vs. 50% of
>800,000 Salt Lake City homes.)
>
>So we disenfranchise 1 million New York homes, yet let 400,000 Salt Lake
>City homes remain with NTSC service? Good plan.
>
>The answer is to have a digital service that truly works, either ATSC
>so-called 5th generation, or switch to the
>"other-evil-not-suitable-for-the-United-States" system, then and only then
>can you set a hard cutoff date.
>
>Dreaming on,
>
>John Shutt
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
>
>
>>This suggests that the Ferree plan should be applied market
>>by market. It would give everyone a better feel for just how
>>disruptive analog shutoff really is and it would provide a
>>more gradual demand curve for STBs and a reason to improve
>>them. The gradual shutoff of analog would give the networks
>>some incentive to develop their DTT multiplexes, which in
>>turn might encourage those mostly-OTA markets to switch more
>>willingly. Seems like a good thing.
>>
>>
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