[opendtv] Re: Forbes: Why FCC's Move To Relax Market Share Caps For TV Stations Makes No Sense
- From: Craig Birkmaier <brewmastercraig@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2017 08:22:12 -0400
On Aug 16, 2017, at 10:54 PM, Manfredi, Albert E <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
To me, the piece read as if he thought that broadcasters wanted ownership cap
limits, and here he was trying to convince them otherwise. And never mind
that the title contradicted his own arguments.
The reality is that many broadcasters DO want ownership limits...
Maybe MOST broadcasters.
The networks have tremendous leverage over affiliates, and the affiliates are
entirely dependent on the networks for the content they embed their commercials
in.
Artificial scarcity and localism have been the defining characteristics of TV
broadcasting in the U.S., as I pointed out while sharing the history of the FCC
as told in The Political Spectrum.
The networks managed to create a commercial broadcast tri-opoly that they
protected for years, while controlling the best TV spectrum in major markets,
when people still relied on antennas for their TV fix. These stations have been
EXTREMELY profitable. Affiliates did the hard work of building the broadcast
industry in smaller markets where profits were thin, or non-existent.
If the caps are lifted, that balance could disappear.
There is no way to know what will happen moving forward, but it would be a poor
bet to believe that FOTA broadcasting can compete with the Internet.
Regards
Craig
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