[opendtv] Re: News: The Real Fight Over Fake News

At 5:37 PM -0400 5/30/08, Manfredi, Albert E wrote:

Craig Birkmaier wrote:


 As if to confirm my response to Bert last night...


How odd that you think this confirms what you wrote.


How predictable that you find it odd.



All the article says is that cable-only shows are just now beginning to
stream online, as OTA shows have been doing for quite some time. How
does this have any relation to the subjct of the FCC giving the congloms
the same sort of control over OTA pipes as they get over MVPS pipes???
You've got this backwards. The FCC and Congress enabled to conglomerates to take control over the multi-channel pipes via retransmission consent. The congloms no longer need the OTA pipes because they control 90% of what people watch via the multi-channel pipes, and they rake in billions in direct payments from consumers (via the multi-channel services) for advertiser supported content. SWEET!
What this story tells us its that the conglomerates have enough power now to have it both ways. They can go direct to the consumer, even as they use the multi-channel services to collect subscriber fees. The tipping point will happen when it is cheaper to buy the content you want via the Internet than to pay for extend basic cable. And we are ALREADY very close. All that is needed is pervasive bandwidth, which should be available in 3-5 years. 



If anything, Craig, the opposite of what you think is the trend. This
article is talking about MORE online distribution of cable shows, not
less, which is a threat to the walled garden subscription model, not the
FOTA model. Quoting:


Wrong.

The FOTA model is already on life support.
This is about going direct to the consumer. What is remarkable is that the congloms can get away with the double (triple) dipping as they migrate to direct distribution.
The reason that they can get away with this is that it does not affect the profitability of the multi-channel services...yet. These services simply collect the subscriber fees for the congloms along with the money they need to operate and make a profit. They do not get paid for eyeballs, except for the local ads that they insert.
IF everyone started using downloading their content via they Internet, they would still be paying the subscriber fees. Until, that is, they wake up and say: "Hey, I don't need cable or DBS anymore." 




"The Webcasting trend is not pleasing the large cable operators. Indeed,
when Glenn Britt, the chief executive of Time Warner Cable, was asked
recently how he feels about the cable networks putting more content
online, he said 'Guess what? We do mind.'


Sure they mind. They can see "the dark" at the end of the tunnel.



"Webcasting a program the same day it is broadcast, 'will erode your
other business model,' Mr. Britt said at the Cable Show in New Orleans
earlier this month. If this happens, he said, 'we have to intervene at
some point.'


And exactly how do they intervene?

The congloms own 90% of the content the multi-channel services carry.

What do they say?

"We won't carry your programs anymore."

Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place.
But they can still survive without multi-channel TV services, IF they can hold onto a large percentage of the Internet pipe business. 


Seems pretty clear that these issues have been resolved for some time,
when it comes to online streaming of OTA shows, eh?
When you operate a huge oligopoly that is propped up by the government you have the power to do pretty much anything you want. But they don't have the power to force us to watch their crap, and I doubt that they will be able to convince the politicians to force independent producers to deliver their content via the Internet portals they operate. 

Regards
Craig


----------------------------------------------------------------------
You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways:
- Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at FreeLists.org 
- By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word 
unsubscribe in the subject line.

Other related posts: