[opendtv] Re: O&O comparison, ABC vs Fox

  • From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2010 07:58:41 -0400

At 3:20 PM -0500 7/22/10, Manfredi, Albert E wrote:
Craig made this comment: "Nope. The number of stations is irrelevant. It is the number of homes that these stations reach that establishes the national cap. ... Fox may have more station in smaller markets but they are NOT over the cap."

The "irrelevant" number was 10 O&Os for ABC and NBC, compared with 25 for Fox (on and before 2007, when they sold off a few).

There is no requirement that a network must own enough stations to reach the national cap. Keep in mind that thew cap has been raised several times. Early on the networks were limited to owning 7 stations. Some networks have tried to own as many stations as possible - CBS was OVER the cap for a period of time.


So does Fox only cover small markets? It looks like no. As I said beofre, they cover the SAME large markets, by and large.

NO. Fox owns stations in both small and large markets and takes advantage of the UHF "discount" which allows them to exceed the cap. This came about primarily because it was VERY difficult to buy VHF stations in the larger markets by the time Fox got into the business. The UHF discount was created to allow station groups to hold more stations without going over the cap.


Sorry, no way are the bottom six listed for Fox smaller markets than the bottom six listed for ABC. So if Fox, with 25, is close to the 39 percent limit, no way can NBC and ABC also be close. If ABC was ever close to the limit, it must have sold off a lot of O&Os before 2007.

NOBODY ever said that every network is close to the national cap.

Regards
Craig


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