[opendtv] Re: News: The death of Cable TV

  • From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2010 01:36:27 -0400

At 4:05 PM -0500 11/3/10, Manfredi, Albert E wrote:
As MVPDs also act as gatekeepers for many content providers. It seems inescapable that the same issues will emerge, as the current Fox/Cablevision debacle.
Note what the article I posted just now says about the possibility of an ATSC receiver in future Google TV STBs. Chuckle. 

Kon is really on top of this.
But what did the article say about the possibility of an ATSC receiver in future Google TV products?
It said that the tuner is already there - mandated by law - but that consumers don't use them, even when a congloms pulls their signals.
The reality is that the MVPDs are working with the congloms to operate real "walled gardens." They are not gatekeepers in the classic sense any more than a TV station. Gatekeepers will let anyone pass if they pay the toll.
They are a government supported oligopoly that limits what we can watch, deriving their power from exclusive rights to stuff that some people still want to watch. You can take "they" to mean the MVPDs or the TV stations. The Fox/Cablevision "debacle" was just a publicity stunt designed to make subscribers believe that the MVPD is "looking out for them." 

Since we got our HD STB the cable bill has grown from <$70 to >$90.

Regards
Craig


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