[opendtv] Re: News: Good news for their customers?
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2007 06:18:46 -0500
At 10:09 AM -0800 2/6/07, John Willkie wrote:
Market forces at work. What does a cable service provide that satellite
doesn't? DBS already pays money to broadcasters on a per-subscriber basis.
The fact that the DBS services have to pay station's subscriber fees
because of the SHIVIA legislation does not make it any more right
that retransmission consent fees. The whole point here is that the
politicians and regulators think it is a good thing for us to
subsidize some of the most profitable businesses (in terms of profit
margins) in the United States.
The DBS systems were not carrying local stations when the Act was
passed; they had no choice but to negotiate and pay the fees. Also,
they are at least up front about what the subscriber is paying for,
charging a monthly fee (typically $5) for the local stations. At
least you can choose this tier; with cable it is a regulatory
requirement. Don't bother looking for this line item on a cable bill
when they raise rates AGAIN.
Regards
Craig
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