Craig Birkmaier wrote: > Here is another way to look at this Bert. You have become a fan of > Hulu; no need to program your DVR, just watch the shows when you > want via the Internet. I have already pointed out the shift from > "appointment TV" to VOD. In truth, I rarely watch Hulu. Only when the conglom portals don't have anything interesting. And too, I haven't used "by appointment TV" since the early or mid 1980s, so the VOD aspect Internet TV is more added convenience and no need to plan ahead, rather than a change in how I watch TV. > So is Aereo a "antenna service" for appointment TV, or a VOD > service to replace your antenna and DVR? > > If the answer is antenna service, you are correct, the "local > broadcaster" gets more eyeballs. If the answer is a VOD service, > then Aereo is competing with HULU, and any other VOD service to > which the congloms sell their content. Perhaps both. Aereo allows people to watch live TV on devices that otherwise wouldn't be able to receive TV. The VOD aspect is mostly already available to these Internet appliances, via the congloms' own web sites. So perhaps the antenna service is the most unique aspect. > If the real end game here is to sell ads, or ad free subscriptions, > to a VOD service, then the congloms may have a point that Aereo is > using their content illegally. The local broadcaster may actually > benefit from Aereo; they get nothing for the eyeballs that are > moving from appointment TV to Internet VOD. Okay, it makes sense that the local broadcaster gains eyeballs. Depending how ad dollars flow to the congloms, which I don't know exactly, they too may gain. > If Aereo wins, the congloms may move broadcast network content > behind the pay walls, where it can be protected and revenues no > longer need to be shared with local broadcasters. > > If the congloms win, local broadcasting gets a temporary reprieve, > until the Internet has scaled to deliver both appointment TV and > VOD to the masses... If Aereo wins and the congloms kill off OTA broadcasting out of spite, it would be interesting to see whether they also kill off their FOTI option. As Aljazeera did, belive it or not. All the while hyping up this Aljazeera America, like it was something new and better. These are examples of "too much greed for their own good." Bert ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.