[opendtv] Re: Out of market coverage
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 24 Sep 2008 09:21:15 -0400
At 9:52 PM -0400 9/23/08, Albert Manfredi wrote:
Sigh. Maybe that was as far as you took it. My comment was that it's
good to see that the FCC worries, or at least considers, out of
market viewers. As stated here:
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-285330A1.pdf
"A significant number of calls (232) were related to the viewer's
inability to locate the Wilmington NBC affiliate. Prior to the
digital switch, the Wilmington NBC affiliate signal was available to
viewers outside the television market as far south as Myrtle Beach,
SC and as far north as Raleigh, NC. The Wilmington NBC affiliate's
new coverage area does not include these out of market communities.
Some of these complaints were from these viewers who will continue
to receive their local NBC affiliates in Myrtle Beach and Raleigh.
The Commission is continuing to work with those residents who have
unresolved reception problems."
As I said before, I disagree with the FCC's concern about loss of
OUT-OF-MARKET service. The viewers in Raleigh and Myrtle Beach
ALREADY have service - they have only lost a service that replicates
their in market service.
If we want a market based system,
Who's this "we," Craig?
The people of the United States. This is not to say that the people
DO want a market based service Bert. Nor does it say that the people
want all the channels they must buy to get an extended basic
multichannel-TV service. What is says is that We the people are being
screwed by the special interests who use the power of government to
subvert competition.
It is our representatives in Congress and the regulators who
implement their will, who have decided that we need a market based TV
service; and that the broadcasters in these market deserve the
protection of the Federal government to maintain their oligopolies in
the markets that the FCC defines.
My fellow OTA TV viewers and I can assure you that we don't give a
tinker's damn about "TV market." What we want is the maximum choice.
I don't doubt that broadcasters would prefer not to have overlapping
patterns. So what?
It is the overlapping patterns with market-into-market interference
that prevent folks like you from getting what you want...more choice.
The current market-based system is wasteful of spectrum, causing at
least half of the spectrum available to broadcasters to lie fallow to
protect the other half. Unfortunately for you Bert, the broadcasters
LOVE this, as it limits real competition. There is nothing new here
Bert - broadcasters have ALWAYS had enough clout in DC to limit
competition whether it is via TV or radio - remember when the NAB
successfully prevented new low power radio stations from being
approved by the FCC?
Truth is Bert, that most people do not care where their TV comes
from. The main reason for this is that there is VERY LITTLE that is
local about local television. Viewers might get upset if a cable
system cut a better deal with an out of market station and they were
no longer able to watch the local news and weather reports from the
local station that demanded more for their signal. But the reality is
that only a small percentage of viewers even watch the local and
national news from the affiliates of the major networks. Ratings for
the evening news from the major networks are now well below 10% of
the population - local news is not faring much better.
So if you really want more choice, you might consider supporting what
I am saying. But you better get used to the idea that you may have NO
CHOICE but to subscribe to a multi-channel service when the
broadcasters go belly up.
Since Wilmington OTA lacks local MNT, CW, and PBS OTA broadcasters,
and since viewers from markets adjacent to (or even quite far from)
Wilmington were apparently capable of receiving at very least that
one Wilmington station, let's do a "huge" leap of logic here.
Do you suppose that some of these Wilmington viewers are also going
out of market, to get those three missing networks? Do you suppose
that after analog shutoff in those other markets, Wilmington OTA
users might also miss some of those distant networks, if the
affiliates also change their coverage patterns?
No huge leap here Bert. Sure people want content they cannot get from
their local market broadcasters. This just MIGHT be a factor in the
decision of more than 85% of the population to give up on local
broadcasters and subscribe to a multi-channel service.
Regards
Craig
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