[opendtv] Re: News: In Retrans, Stations Are Fighting for Lives
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 6 Nov 2008 08:48:08 -0500
At 1:33 PM -0500 11/5/08, John Shutt wrote:
As I have said before, the entire IP infrastructure would be brought
to it's knees if 100 million U.S. TVHHs had to rely exclusively on
IP streaming for their television.
But that's not going to happen over night, and the IP infrastructure
continues to evolve rapidly to support new applications. The reality
is that a growing number of people are using the Internet today to
watch TV and it is not breaking the infrastructure. It MAY be
breaking the sweet deals that the incumbent broadband providers have
in this country, where broadband service is 2-3 times more expensive
than in many other areas of the world.
Use of the white spaces for broadband services could change the
competitive picture dramatically, ESPECIALLY since new ventures will
not be encumbered with billions of dollars of debt for spectrum, as
are the telcos who scarfed up the 700 MHz spectrum. There is a
strong likelihood that we will see new broadband providers emerge
using point to multipoint technologies similar to those that the IEEE
is proposing to standardize. Broadcasters have already stated that
this use of the white spaces would not cause interference problems.
What is more important s that we will be adding more capacity to the
infrastructure at a time when the telcos and cable are also gearing
up to increase capacity - especially in the newly acquired 700 MHz
spectrum. This increased capacity will have two significant benefits:
1. It will put competitive pressure on pricing and on the ability of
the incumbents to put usage caps on their services.
2. It will enable many more homes to move to an Internet
streaming/download strategy for their entertainment fixes. A strategy
that opens up the content playing field as well.
We are already seeing where the media conglomerates are headed. The
content that has been exclusive to OTA broadcasters is no longer
exclusive; and equally important, this content is available on demand
AND in downloadable versions for place shifted viewing. And did I
mention that there are fewer, but better focused ads? Meanwhile,
broadcasters will still be in the business of appointment TV, or
background noise.
So it is HIGHLY likely that some of the new white spaces broadband
services will be used FOR THE SAME PURPOSE as the service being
offered by broadcasters - the delivery of entertainment content!
So maybe this is NOT a case of one industry trumping another. Maybe
it is part the "change" that we are about to experience...
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:
