[opendtv] Retrans consent and the pretend game
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2017 01:45:57 +0000
Craig Birkmaier wrote:
Local broadcasters do not own the content, Craig. Local broadcasters
are not required, to place TV network content onto MVPD systems. The
congloms can transmit this to the MVPDs via satellite, from their
home base, adjusted to time zones if need be, and the MVPDs can
insert whatever number of local ads as required.
You are ignoring the realities that existed in 1992 Bert. The TV
world has fundamentally changed.
In 1992 the cable industry was challenging the broadcast industry,
creating new networks that were attracting viewers AWAY from the
content offered by broadcasters. .........
And Craig goes off on a lengthy thesis, which are his opinions on what might or
might not have motivated the 1992 Cable Act, but have nothing to do with what
I'm talking about here. So instead of an off-the-cuff monologue, let's look at
the real issues involved.
This is the crux of the matter. This document describes the must-carry or
retrans consent choice that stations can elect, and it takes the issue beyond
1992, to other critical decisions made in the subsequent year or two:
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-1994-12-05/html/94-29443.htm
Craig's allusion to "the realities that existed in 1992" only means that **the
FCC was playing just the pretend game I've been describing**. That is, in 1992,
whether and how an MVPD should carry TV network content PRETENDED that the
content belonged to that local station. With exception of public TV and a few
independent stations, this is usually just make-believe, Craig. Aside from
locally-produced news, weather, and local-interest shows, the
network-affiliated station does not produce the high value content of the TV
network. The 1992 Cable Act is only pretending, on this point.
AND YET, even back then, the technical realities were not completely lost to
the FCC. Ain't that a kick in the pants, Craig? You might have missed this.
Read paragraphs 61-65, in the link. The concept of "superstation" was
introduced. Superstations are "stations" that deliver content by other means,
such as satellite or microwave links, from distant locations outside a market
area, to MVPD systems in a given market. And these superstations ALSO have the
right to demand retrans consent from MVPDs.
My contention, in spite of the pretend game, is that the FCC already allows TV
networks that want to, to operate as "superstations." The TV network can demand
compensation for content carried by local MVPDs, without using the local
broadcaster in the pretend game. Oh yeah, just as the TV networks do with OTT
sites!
With retransmission consent in hand, the broadcast industry had the
tool it needed to ....
No, Craig. With retrans consent, the content owner has the right to demand
compensation from MVPDs, who rake in revenues in part because they carry this
high value content. You consistently fall into this trap. It makes NO
DIFFERENCE whether the content may also be available FOTA. The simple fact is,
the MVPD subscribers scream bloody murder when this content is not on the
umbilical. And the umbilical charges monthly fees. The high value content
owners can request whatever they please, until the MVPD subscribers' screaming
stops. This is basic to microeconomics. End of story.
Bert
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Other related posts:
- » [opendtv] Retrans consent and the pretend game - Manfredi, Albert E
- » [opendtv] Re: Retrans consent and the pretend game- Craig Birkmaier
- » [opendtv] Re: Retrans consent and the pretend game- Manfredi, Albert E
- » [opendtv] Re: Retrans consent and the pretend game- Manfredi, Albert E
- » [opendtv] Re: Retrans consent and the pretend game- Craig Birkmaier
- » [opendtv] Re: Retrans consent and the pretend game- Craig Birkmaier
- » [opendtv] Re: Retrans consent and the pretend game- Manfredi, Albert E
- » [opendtv] Re: Retrans consent and the pretend game- Craig Birkmaier
- » [opendtv] Re: Retrans consent and the pretend game- Manfredi, Albert E
- » [opendtv] Re: Retrans consent and the pretend game- Craig Birkmaier
- » [opendtv] Re: Retrans consent and the pretend game- Manfredi, Albert E
- » [opendtv] Re: Retrans consent and the pretend game- Craig Birkmaier
- » [opendtv] Re: Retrans consent and the pretend game- Manfredi, Albert E
- » [opendtv] Re: Retrans consent and the pretend game- Craig Birkmaier
- » [opendtv] Re: Retrans consent and the pretend game- Manfredi, Albert E
- » [opendtv] Re: Retrans consent and the pretend game- Craig Birkmaier
- » [opendtv] Re: Retrans consent and the pretend game- Manfredi, Albert E
- » [opendtv] Re: Retrans consent and the pretend game- Craig Birkmaier
- » [opendtv] Re: Retrans consent and the pretend game- Manfredi, Albert E
- » [opendtv] Re: Retrans consent and the pretend game- Craig Birkmaier