[opendtv] Re: News: NBC chief says Apple 'destroyed' music pricing
- From: "John Willkie" <johnwillkie@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2007 23:25:00 -0700
Okay, so you recognize that in response to my challenge, but you didn't in
your initial post I quote:
> But it seems equally obvious to me there is also oligopoly control of TV
> content on cable, OTA, and satellite by 5 companies that control
> virtually ALL channels on those media.
Shouldn't the cable companies be able to acquire the highest-quality content
they can afford?
Should they be forced to carry lower quality content?
I need to point out that cable seems to only want to carry new channels that
are either 1) offered by the major content companies or 2) in which they
have an ownership stake (or both.)
One thing I would like to see -- and this might be able to make 'ala carte'
work -- is for cable customers to have 'some type of say' in what new
channels are added to their system.
Cable's business model is to be a gatekeeper, and to collect monopoly rents.
Their model is unsustainable. Instead of forcing content in which they have
a stake on their victims, they could empower them and end the victimhood.
FCC commissioner Kevin Martin, appearing on nipper (NPR) yesterday, noted
that cable had doubled in cost in the last decade, but while the number of
channels had gone up by around 50%, the number of channels watched by the
average household had gone up from 13 to 15.
The sad truth is that large companies like to do business with large
companies, sometimes even when what they are buying is defective or
derivative. I see this in my field.
It's at least one of the reasons that the Outdoor channel isn't seen on
major cable systems. Somehow, Charter, Comcast (majority owner of the
Versus channel) and Cox Cable don't think that people want to watch tv shows
about hunting, camping and the outdoors.
However, I'm not going to say that the quality of the Outdoor channel is the
same as any other cable channel. It's a chicken-versus-egg thing. When new
channels are backed by major companies, they have good marketing, solid
financing, and high production values.
I also need to point out that the recent trend in 'reality programming'
means that much smaller producers can do the same or better quality than any
other producer.
John Willkie
-----Mensaje original-----
De: opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] En
nombre de Tom Barry
Enviado el: Tuesday, October 30, 2007 10:23 PM
Para: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Asunto: [opendtv] Re: News: NBC chief says Apple 'destroyed' music pricing
Those are not channels. The five companies (GE, News Corp, Viacom,
Disney, AOL/TW) control virtually all the channels. The cable companies
control the cable companies.
- Tom
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