[opendtv] Re: 20040510 Mark's Monday Memo
- From: "John Willkie" <jmwillkie@xxxxxxx>
- To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 11 May 2004 13:56:36 -0700
If you are not a content provider and you do not own distribution, you are
simply an agent. Or worse.
Their major task is to acquire outside financing, and to try to fight off
the (for broadcasters) superior Emmis proposal. The history of VC-backed
operations working in broadcasting (including the financing of stations) is,
well, VERY BLEAK. (With the possible exception of NBC, since GE can be
viewed as a venture capital firm.)
John Willkie
-----Original Message-----
From: opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Manfredi, Albert E
Sent: Tuesday, May 11, 2004 1:34 PM
To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [opendtv] Re: 20040510 Mark's Monday Memo
> - USDTV - Here much more from an interview in CED:
> <http://www.cedmagazine.com/ced/2004/0504/05d.htm>
Here's an interesting excerpt:
--------------------------------
Lindsley: The strategy for the company really is very well
expressed and highlighted as you take a look at what's going
on in the airline industry, where you've got the discount
airlines offering acceptable alternatives at a far reduced
price. People are gobbling it up. Case-in-point: JetBlue
Airways (became) the number-one airline out of JFK in four
years. Our strategy is to be able to provide an acceptable
alternative to consumers at a greatly reduced price and give
them great service.=20
Under that scenario, as we add channels, I think that
compression and storage is going to work in our favor, so
we'll be able to add and experience greater amounts of
content, but our goal is to keep our cost of business...
streamlined and focused so that we can continue to offer
this low-cost package. We're not in a hurry to add channels.
But having said that, we have had several content providers
come to us and view us perhaps as a way to get distribution.
That doesn't hurt our economic model, because it's likely
that those content providers will pay us for the distribution.
--------------------------------
I'm not sure I understand why this service would be different
from ONdigital/ITV, for instance. But it seems to me that
OTA broadcasters *on their own* could use this same strategy?
Why couldn't an OTA broadcaster rent out part of its 6 MHz
spectrum to "content providers" who view them "as a way to
get distribution"? If USDTV can hope to make this work without
even owning the transmission facilities, I'm just not clear
why the OTA broadcaster couldn't do likewise, and for no
subscription fee.
Bert
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