[opendtv] Re: Pace 'turns the corner' and returns to profit
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 8 Feb 2007 08:10:10 -0500
At 4:26 PM -0500 2/7/07, Manfredi, Albert E wrote:
If Pace returns to profitability primarily by selling cable/DBS boxes to
the US market, as well as STBs for by-subscription HDTV in other
countries, this means that before doing so, it was not profitable.
http://www.dtg.org.uk/news/news.php?class=countries&subclass=0&id=2221
There is nothing in this article that tells us why they were losing
money before. As Bob Miller already pointed out, there are many ways
for companies to lose money, and a return to profitability can be
accounted for in many ways as well. Clearly Pace is now doing
something right, and part of what they are doing is selling DVB-T
STBs.
So my simple question is: what is it that keeps them making DVB-T STBs
but not ATSC STBs? Is it okay to be operating in the red, or on the
margin, for DVB-T but not ATSC? Why?
You are drawing unsupportable conclusions here. You do not know
whether they are making a profit on DVB STBs. What we DO KNOW is that
there is a healthy market for DVB-T STBs in Europe and other parts of
the world such as Australia. We also know that there is VERY LIMITED
demand for ATSC boxes.
Perhaps companies such as Samsung, which have a home market for ATSC
STBs and a business interest in the ATSC standard may be in a better
position to sell these boxes. Again, we don't know if they are making
a profit on the ATSC boxes they are selling.
But we do know that it is difficult to build a business around a
product that is in low demand that carries the risk of a high return
rate to retailers.
Also, who or what continues to convince Pace (and others) to stay out of
the US DTT market?
If you have been operating unprofitably and are now turning the
corner, why in the world would you risk developing a product that is
almost certain to lose money?
Also, why does it take an FCC Order to make DVDR companies come out with
ATSC models of their existing products? We wouldn't have, and still
don't have, any ATSC DVDRs except for the 1 March 2007 milestone coming
up. Yet, NTSC receivers have been in DVDRs from the beginning. And they
are available everywhere, in NTSC form. If companies came out with DVB-T
DVDRs on their own, why do they need the FCC to make them do this for
our market?
What part don't you get about the fact that the market for ATSC
products is too small to attract the interest of manufacturers. The
only reason that ATSC receivers are available at all is because the
FCC mandates them.
These are really simple questions, Craig. You can say all you like that
there's no market for ATSC products, but that's just a political
opinion, not fact. Samsung STBs continue to sell out, in spite of NO
advertizing whatever. Stores insist on understocking. Explain why,
please.
No Bert. It is a proven fact. The market for stand alone ATSC
products is small and there are risks in terms of product returns. To
make matters worse, it is now relatively easy to buy a TV witn an
integrated ATSC receiver. I talked to a salesperson at the local
Circuit City about this. He indicated that they were selling several
stand alone ATSC boxes per month, when most sets did not have
integrated receivers. Now that they are required in most models (all
next month), the demand has dropped below the low level that existed
before.
If you don;t believe me, go ask some of the stores in your area why
they do not stock ATSC receivers, or the stores that do, why they do
not stock more.
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:
