[opendtv] Re: FCC irrelevent??
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2005 22:48:00 -0700
At 5:18 PM -0700 10/24/05, Tony Neece wrote:
>Ok, I understand you do not feel the broadcasters are using their
>channels in the public interest, convenience or necessity.
Not true. I have no problem with the original "deal" for the spectrum:
Broadcasters get to use the spectrum virtually for free (they do pay
fees to the FCC based on market size); in return they provide
television content in "the free and clear." The service has been
supported by advertising, which we pay for in the price of the
products that are advertised. It's not really free, but it is was a
reasonable deal for decades until many of us started paying twice
(more in a moment).
>Are there no TV network programs you like? Sounds like you want all the =
>big productions to fold up and TV to be just run by hobbists.
I watch very little episodic network TV, although I do watch live
sports. I understand that many people do like to watch network shows
- my wife loves the various flavors of CSI. I do believe that the
quality of network television content has declined significantly in
the past two decades as the networks have pandered to what is left of
their audience.
And I believe that the diversity of programming choice has been a
good thing. We no longer live in a world with only a few choices; I
am personally attracted to television content that appeals to my
interests and I have many more interesting things to do than spending
the evening vegging out in front of the tube.
I do not think of the people who create high quality special interest
programming as hobbyists, and I do not think that it takes overpaid
Hollywood stars to create high quality TV content. I AM distressed by
the difficulty that independent producers have gaining access to the
airwaves as the media conglomerates have shut them out in favor of
their own studios.
>Do you really
>like to watch those community access channels on cable? That is my
>impression of what you mean by giving the spectrum back to the people.
You have the wrong impression.
I do not foresee that the demise of the FCC would necessarily mean
the demise of broadcasting. I do see it as a positive step in
elimination of the unnecessary protection of a dying broadcast
business model.
I see no need to artificially limit the use of this public resource
to protect a business model that only exists today because of
political gerrymandering. Broadcasters waste a huge percentage of the
available spectrum by using it inefficiently, and they use their
political clout to protect themselves from competition. The public is
the big loser here, as we have been denied a wide range of new
services that have the potential to be used by virtually 100% of our
citizens, as opposed to the meager 15% that use the TV service today.
>Me, tho I hate a lot of crap on TV, I do really enjoy a lot of it,
>especially watching my fav football team's away games. I don't think =
>some
>guy with his little pc camera is going to give me the coverage of =
>football
>that I would watch!
That guy could not possibly gain the rights to bring you that game.
But he might work with some students to cover high school football
games.
You seem to have the mistaken impression that eliminating the FCC and
using the spectrum efficiently would mean the end of TV broadcasting.
This is not what I, nor the person who wrote the article I posted are
advocating. We are advocating efficient use of the spectrum by
everyone, not exclusive use of the spectrum by a few conglomerates
with a business to protect.
>Does your point of view follow also pertain to the satellite spectrum =
>given away by the FCC, which is being used for commercial purposes?
Not all of that spectrum was given away. But I do not favor
auctioning spectrum for exclusive use either. The DBS systems can
co-exist with other terrestrial uses of the same spectrum.
I am not advocating the elimination of broadcasting...
just the elimination of the political gerrymandering that protects
the current business model, and forces those of us who subscribe to
cable and DBS to pay twice for advertiser supported content.
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:
