[opendtv] Re: 5 Reasons Why Apple TV Is (Still) Boring
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 9 Sep 2010 19:24:47 -0500
Craig Birkmaier wrote:
> TV is ALSO heavily regulated in the U.S. This includes all forms of
> broadcasting and cable, which operates under local franchise
> agreements. The 1992 Cable Act re-regulated cable allowing them to
> perpetuate their walled garden advantage and for broadcasters to
> get on the gravy train with re-transmission consent.
In spite of what you say, OTA TV is standardized, your water, sewage, and power
utilties are standardized, and yet the FCC could not manage to get MVPDs to go
to something like CableCard. So you, the MVPD subscriber, should have known
from the start what you were getting into.
Imagine the uproar if your local power company had the option of feeding your
home with 270V and 75 Hz, just so they could then mandate that you use their
appliances and/or their various transformers and phase converters.
So, you accept this way of operating from your MVPD, you accept and support
their proprietary in-network DVRs, and then you're surprised that the prices
are too high? Hello?
> Those who want to watch sports, have little choice but to subscribe
> to an MVPD to watch ESPN.
That's the way the market is supposed to work, Craig. If the sports fanatics
are happy to do this, and absolutely all indications are that they are happy
enough to increase, if anything, their subscriptions, then they deserve to pay
those prices. As long as demand does not level off and start declining, the
umbillicals can go on raising their fees.
What you seem to not acknowledge is that it's not all or nothing. The
supply/demand model is continuous. The curves have no sharp edges. So all it
would take is for SOME restraint from SOME of these subscribers, for ESPN to
change its tune. Start driving those MVPD subscriptions downward, just a few
percentage points, and it would be amazing to see just what "choices" become
available.
I guess I'm saying, as long as you show no restraint, you are part of the
problem. And when you say "little choice," my sense is "no restraint."
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.
Other related posts: