[opendtv] Re: Users as Toast: The Blocking of Google TV

  • From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Mon, 15 Nov 2010 18:40:49 -0500

At 4:22 PM -0600 11/15/10, Manfredi, Albert E wrote:

Craig Birkmaier wrote:
The congloms, owners of the material, THEMSELVES agreed to create the Hulu gatekeeper for THEIR OWN content, under their control. Fine. They agree on how the programs are presented to the public, whether to charge or not charge, the ad breaks, etc. It's entirely their right. (And btw, if Internet distribution becomes mainstream, I wouldn't be surprised if the congloms decide to go their own way, instead of using this Hulu gatekeeper.) 

Ever heard of Hulu Plus?
The congloms are not obligated by any law to allow other gatekeepers into the Internet distribution of their OWN content, or other search engines to rearrange the way they display their offerings to the public. If such additional gatekeepers set themselves up, to deliver the same conglom content, the congloms are perfectly eithin their rights to say no.
Neither Google TV nor Safari or any other browser I know of rearrange the way they display their offerings to the public. They simply connect to the Hulu website like any other browser. At the moment Apple TV does not provide open access to any website - this will probably be added in an upcoming software release. 

The quote from the French CSA spokesman says volumes.

"Tomorrow, Google will inform the viewers as to what TV programs to watch."
Tivo already does this. All of the popular search engines let you search for video. IT should be obvious that the congloms DO NOT want you to roam outside their walled gardens, where THEY tell you what to watch.
As I said earlier, if you and your fellow TV subscribers had been less anxious to jump into the exclusive umbillical distribution model, you can be sure that ESPN would have been available without bundling. Even OTA, for free or for a subscription fee. Instead now, you are championing a similar model for Internet distribution, again creating unnecessary umbillicals. Makes no sense at all.
Bundling has been a fact of life with cable since they started creating programming to compete with the broadcast networks. The cable guys created the second revenue stream of subscriber fees to help fund cable networks when it was nearly impossible to sell ads against the broadcast networks.
The congloms REALLY LOVED THE IDEA. So they started complaining to Congress that the cable guys were stealing their signals, when in fact most people were paying the cable companies to get more reliable access to these signals. In 1992 they got Congress to re-regulate the cable industry, and add retransmission consent so they could force the cable companies to pay them for the same signals that are free with an antenna. Most of the networks used retransmission consent to start their own cable networks and to gain preferred placement in the extended basic cable tiers. Then they started buying up cable networks.
The reality is that the congloms and the MVPDs LOVE this arrangement and rates have gone up MUCH FASTER since re-regulation than before 1992.
Consumers have had one choice. Pay the ever increasing rates for extended basic or watch ONLY broadcast TV, the quality of which has been declining for three decades.
Consumers also have the ability to use candles and wood stoves rather than paying for electric service, and can put out rain barrels if they do not want to buy water and sewer services. But the government can force you to get water and sewer service for public health reasons.
As you have seen in recent threads Bert, consumers help to create monopolies when they are perceived as being desirable in the early days. Only later do the monopolies use their power to demand monopoly rates from the consumer. 

Regards
Craig

Regards
Craig


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