[opendtv] Re: The rationale for retrans consent from local broadcasters

  • From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: "opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Sat, 3 Oct 2015 01:27:17 +0000

Craig Birkmaier wrote:

The networks spent years convincing the politicians that they
should be compensated by the MVPDs for content they make available
to anyone with an antenna for FREE.

We've been over this a ton of times, Craig. Exactly the same thing happened
with Aereo. The simple fact is, if you charge customers for the use of someone
else's product, particularly if you charge on an ongoing basis rather than a
one-time installation fee only, the owner of the product has a perfect right to
demand his share.

Now, it would have been easy enough for the cable companies to retaliate,
right? Just offer the customer the option of installing and antenna, and then
reduce the subscription fees accordingly. Many customers would no doubt object
to the antenna, which only proves that the congloms have a right to
compensation. If you charge a monthly fee for your cable, and the customer
DEMANDS that the TV networks be represented on that cable, obviously the
customer values that content. Obviously, this helps spur cable subscriptions.
Obviously, the owner of the content that these free-spenders demand has a right
to compensation.

The broadcasters were making huge profits without retrans
consent.

Too bad, Craig. Your argument only makes to those who adhere to Karl Marx's
principles. In our economy, the only reliable control mechanism is competition.

So, boiling this way down, the pretense, that local OTA broadcasters own all
the content they transmit, is needed by the FCC, says Craig:

It was consistent with FCC policy to protect the market structure
of broadcasting they had created.

Whoa, it took a whole lot of words for Craig to finally understand that it's
pretense, for whatever reason. So once again, IMO, local broadcasters can and
should find a meaningful new role in the Internet era, so their continued
survival would depend on natural market forces, rather than, you know, not.

The Title II decision gets the foot in the door on rate
regulation,

The Title II regulation came just in time. Even if content owners and device
makers collude shamelessly, as Monty's posts demonstrate, at least we'll have a
guarantee that the broadband pipe won't participate in this shameful collusion.

Bert



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