[opendtv] News: NAB Ad Targets Cable Monopolists
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: OpenDTV Mail List <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2005 07:58:29 -0400
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA624596.html?display=Breaking+News&referral=SUPP
NAB Ad Targets Cable Monopolists
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 7/10/2005 5:52:00 PM
Local broadcasters will attack cable companies in an ad they are
taking out in several Capitol Hill papers next week.
The National Association of Broadcasters is arguing in the ad for
congressionally mandated cable carriage of all of a broadcaster's
multicast signals.
The FCC has refused to mandate such carriage, but suggested Congress
could weigh in on the subject if it felt differently. Broadcasters
see that carriage as the key to having a multi-channel arsenal to
compete in a multi-channel world.
The ad features a remote control with the buttons arranged in a frown
and only "on" and "off" buttons labeled. "Here is the only choice
cable companies want you to have," the ad begins, ending with
"Congress should require the cable monopolies to give viewers all the
choices broadcasters offer."
In between the ad says: "You should be able to receive three, four,
five, or even six channels from each local station. So consumers
might get a channel for 24-hour local weather, another with your
prime time lineup, another with foreign language simulcast, and still
another with expanded coverage of local news, entertainment or even
high school athletics.
"But you won't get these choices no matter what you pay for cable or
satellite service if the giant cable monopolies get their way."
National Cable & Telecommunications Association VP Brian Dietz
responded: "Instead of providing a constructive plan to help American
consumers move into the digital TV era, NAB is continuing its long
legacy of pointing fingers at others and looking for government
handouts to help compensate for their own failure to compete in the
marketplace like everyone else. While the cable industry has
invested nearly $100 billion to bring consumers into the digital TV
and broadband era, broadcasters have spent hundreds of dollars taking
out advertisements with plainly false allegations. It's time the
broadcasters tell Congress how they will move the digital transition
forward and stop using these delay tactics."
Cable companies have also argued that they do not have the capacity
to carry all the multiple channels of the multiple stations in a
market (potentially 100 broadcast channels in the largest markets)
and not have to bump some programming it might prefer to carry, like
niche networks or the "third rail" of cable public affairs
programming--C-SPAN.
They also argue that rather than local weather, high school sports
and a House of Delegates version of C-SPAN, broadcasters will air
infomercials and other programming of little interest to their subs.
The broadcasters' rebut the capacity issue in the ad: "They claim
they lack the capacity to carry these additional channels," says the
ad. "That's just not true. Theyr'e charging you for 'system
upgrades,' but refusing to let you see anything other than what they
choose."
The ad coincides with two planned Senate Commerce Committee hearings
on the digital transition July 12, including the contentious issue of
multicasting must-carry. The first hearing will feature
representatives of both NAB and the cable industries, so some sparks
could fly.
There was no draft DTV legislation at press time, and probably won't
be at the hearing either.
The House Commerce Committee has the rough outlines of a bill, but
the Democrats have yet to sign off on issues including multicasting
must-carry, a hard date for the give-back of analog spectrum, and a
possible subsidy for digital-to-analog converter boxes for viewers
without DTV sets.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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:
- » [opendtv] News: NAB Ad Targets Cable Monopolists
