[opendtv] Re: Moonves: We're Willing to Talk to Aereo | Broadcasting & Cable
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 19 Jul 2014 01:02:28 +0000
Craig Birkmaier wrote:
> The issue that the Supremes addressed is the protection of content
> copyright. What Aereo did was not illegal per se' - Aereo simply
> bypassed the copyright protection afforded to FOTA signals.
I'll buy that. Aereo should have made its case being an example of a building
or old-school rural community OTA antenna system, stressing the OTA-only
content availability, the hands-off the ads by Aereo, and the local market area
subscriber limitation. Instead of trying to push this dime-sized antenna
nonsense.
In short, I thought it was really bad that Aereo's lawyers could not explain to
Justice Sotomayor, who asked, why or how Aereo was different from an MVPD. The
lawyers should have had those answers ready (and oh by the way, the reason
should have been obvious also to the justices). The legal matters of copyright
protection had to be viewed IN THAT CONTEXT.
> You should look more closely at what Moonves said. 90% of consumption
> of CBS content takes place via some other infrastructure than FOTA
> broadcast. This may include the 83% that subscribe to the bundle, and
> those who have cut the cord. But it also includes MVPD subscribers
> viewing content delivered via the Internet. And it includes all of
> the ways that the congloms license and distribute content to
> international markets.
Well, you know, that 83 percent INCLUDES the MVPD subscribers who watch on the
Internet from MVPD-authenticated sites. So his 90 percent number was probably
overstated.
Here is what I would have said, in his shoes:
"While in the past, our programming was reaching perhaps close to 90 percent
via walled garden MVPDs, we have seen in recent times that this figure is going
down. Therefore, we want to keep our options open, without Aereo forcing our
hand."
Or, more truthfully from his point of view,
"If Aereo had won, we would have given them a run for their money. But since
Aereo lost, we can now relax, continuing to deal with (anachronistic) MVPDs at
home and abroad, DVD sales, and similar non-Internet options." I'm hoping he'll
not shut down their own portal.
I realize that you're still not beyond thinking in terms of MVPDs, Craig. The
six justices who voted against Aereo too.
Bert
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