[opendtv] Re: Sony U.S execs: Expect a robust holiday season
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2005 23:21:49 -0500
At 11:07 AM -0500 11/22/05, Manfredi, Albert E wrote:
>Craig Birkmaier wrote:
>
>> So when did "Free TV" become a citizen's right?
>>
>> Telephone service costs money too. Where is my free
>> phone service?
>
>Free TV and radio may not be a "right," but they are a
>historical FACT. Just like public parks and public
>beaches.
>
>Free telephone service, or more accurately telephone
>service that creates almost no marginal cost over your
>broadband connection cost, is on the way.
>
>You are apparently trying to turn TV service today into
>what telephone service was yesterday.
>
All I asked is when did broadcast TV become a right?
It is simply one possible use of a public resource.
I personally have no problem with the use of the spectrum for
services that benefit consumers, including both public and advertiser
supported TV broadcasts. For the public broadcasts a good case can be
made that they provide a service that justifies the free use of the
spectrum and the subsidies that we provide for operation of the
service. For advertiser supported television broadcasts it is very
difficult to justify the virtually free use of the spectrum, while
more than 30 billion in revenues are being generated by the
licensees, many of whom operate with profit margins that more than
double the national average for large businesses.
And IF we are going to allocate spectrum for commercial broadcast
applications, the services should be optimized to benefit consumers.
We now have the technical ability to deliver a free-to-air service
that would be highly competitive with cable and DBS, putting some
pressure on pricing, which has skyrocketed out of control. Frankly
there is no excuse for NOT creating a service that delivers 30 or
more channels of advertiser supported content, along with both free
and premium services that can be delivered to local cache during
off-peak hours.
The reality is that the current system discourages real competition -
sorry Bert, but stations competing with each other for ratings is not
real competition. It is just a bunch of privileged, over fed
companies, dividing up a huge pie, that is not accessible to
competitors, who might provide a better deal for both the government
and consumers in return for COMPENSATED use of the spectrum.
TV service has become what telephone service was yesterday. It is an
oligopoly with little incentive to compete, extracting a huge amount
or money from advertisers AND competitor, while the service becomes
the 21st Century equivalent of a buggy whip.
Regards
Craig
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