[opendtv] Re: NBC turning flagship O&O into 24/7 news channel
- From: Albert Manfredi <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 12 May 2008 21:18:05 -0400
Dale Kelly wrote:
> NBC is forcing OTA viewers to subscription services in
> order to view Networks entertainment programming.
No big loss for me, since the only show of theirs I watch these days is Medium.
They do have the Law and Order franchise, that seems popular enough.
I agree with them that localism is a handicap. Although I'm not positive this
is what Wallace really meant here:
"Wallace told the 'New York Times' that local television 'has a perception
issue right now as to whether it is a sustainable business long term.” Once a
huge generator of cash for media companies, local stations now have an 'eroding
and aging' audience and have become a 'slow-growth business.'"
Maybe by "local television" he really means OTA television. Hard to say. Then
here's a bit of double-talk:
"The reasons for reshaping WNBC are tied to the coming expansion in digital
capacity for local broadcasters, as well as the sharp decline in profitability
for local stations."
How those two orthogonal concepts are tied together here is a real mystery. One
would think that the coming "expansion in digital capacity for local
broadcasters" would create all sorts of opportunity for improving OTA TV, as
was done in some European countries. For example, there's nothing wrong with
making a 24 hour news channel available on NBC O&Os and maybe affiliates too.
OTA could use a 24 hour news channel. But the "expanded digital capacity"
SHOULD mean that this doesn't need to be the ONLY programming available OTA
from NBC. Instead, the "expanded capacity" is used here as an excuse to devalue
that NBC OTA data pipe completely.
When I see inconsistent, contradictory ideas like that from senior executives,
which has happened more than once to me, it always sounds like they are trying
to bamboozle their people so they won't bitch. Sort of lull them into
submission. Another euphamism for demolishing a company is when they say, "Our
first priority is to the shareholder."
Anyway, if they're trying to coerce people into something these people don't
want, may they fail in peace.
Bert
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