[opendtv] Re: Chairman Pai blog on next gen TV
- From: Craig Birkmaier <brewmastercraig@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2017 08:23:16 -0400
On Oct 27, 2017, at 9:58 PM, Manfredi, Albert E
<albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Picking at Chairman's blog:
A little late don’t you think?
This proceeding opened in March of this year. I suppose it is fair to go back
and see what Pai said when the NPRM was released, as it appears the actual rule
making will be ordered in a few weeks.
I would simply note that Pai is trying to put a “pretty face” on this
situation, having decided going in that the FCC is not going to mandate the use
of the standard. One can easily argue that ATSC 3.0 offers NOTHING that does
not already exist via wireless cellular/data networks, and the current
generation of smart TVs. It is worth nothing that the development of these
networks was entirely voluntary, after the telcos spent billions for the
spectrum.
How much have broadcasters paid for the spectrum they are using?
How much revenue is generated WITHOUT ANY taxation of the service, unlike the
situation with telco and cabled services including voice, data, MVPD bundles,
etc?
Finally, after nearly 7 decades of near monopoly control over TV distribution
in the U.S., broadcasters will have to rely upon themselves to get the public
to embrace their attempt to remain competitive.
Sadly, the handful of companies actually interested in using ATSC 3.0, are
being pilloried by the usual suspects for having the audacity to ask that they
be able to reach 70% of a market, 100% of which has been controlled by three
major broadcast organizations since the inception of the service...even longer
if you go back to the birth of these companies as the content conglomerate
behind broadcast radio.
You can include Fox as a fourth conglom, but lately they have been delivering
“alternative facts” to the “facts” the others are purveying.
That Pai spoke of the new standard in glowing, perhaps misleading terms, is to
be expected. Ya need to put a little “lipstick on the pig,” if you are going to
encourage broadcasters to spend their own money to voluntary upgrade their
service...again.
"Just over two-and-a-half weeks ago, over 111 million people-and 70% of U.S.
households using TV-tuned in to watch the Super Bowl over-the-air on FOX."
Whoa, Chairman Pai! You're saying that OTA usage in the US has reached 70% of
households? The footnote in the blog only shows a Nielsen figure of
viewership:
http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2017/super-bowl-li-draws-111-3-million-tv-viewers-190-8-million-social-media-interactions.html
Nothing in there suggests these were OTA users!
Herein lies the big rub.
Bert is correct...hardly anyone is using ATSC 1.0 to watch television. But the
congloms, who rely on commercial broadcasters to maintain their oligopoly over
high end TV content, are more than happy to let Pai and others talk about how
much they control the market. They are more than happy to push TV viewers to
MVPD services who must pay for the signals that anyone can get for free with an
antenna.
The congloms, and equally important, the actual broadcasters, who enable what
will soon be $20 BILLION in retrans consent payments, still need the FCC and
Congress to let them “pig out” on free spectrum and billions flowing in over
the transom.
The reality is that these companies create and control more than 90% of what we
watch; preserving their oligopoly is critical to them, AND the political
establishment that relies on the social and political narratives they deliver
daily.
And I think it's important to add, "voluntary" "great new ideas" like this
never found any foothold in ATSC 1.0, in the days when Internet broadband was
practically unheard of, what would convince the CE manufacturers to
"voluntarily" bother with them now?
They already support them. Ever hear about Smart TV’s Bert.
The reality is that they need do little more than update the tuner portion of
their TVs to support ATSC 3.0. The rest is already being built into most TVs,
or soon will be as the CE industry adds support for 4K, HDR, WCG, and HVEC.
Did you know that the CE industry voluntarily supports the unlicensed WiFi
modulation standards in almost every new TV Bert?
Don't get me wrong, I'm as intrigued as anyone to test out some new toy like
this. But, if you really want to minimize disruption, DO NOTHING. People will
eventually buy a new TV set, it can certainly be a connected TV, and/or new
apps based on A/90 can be marketed, and there will have been zero disruption!
Just sayin'.
Just sayin what I have been sayin for years...
Broadcasters have always had the ability to upgrade various components of what
they offer via ATSC 1.0...
VOLUNTARILY
There are only two real issues here, one of which the FCC is about to place
into regulations:
1. Any new broadcast service MUST still qualify for retransmission consent.
2. Other than the companies who want to use ATSC 3.0 to COMPETE WITH the media
congloms, will the broadcast networks and their affiliates even care?
I doubt it!
Regards
Craig
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