At 9:55 PM -0700 7/11/06, Dale Kelly wrote: > USDTV LANDS IN CHAPTER 7 BANKRUPTCY > TVNEWSDAY, JUL. 11, 2006, 4:03 PM ET > http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2006/07/11/daily.4/ No surprises here. What is interesting is that=20 they are blaming several issues that I have been=20 talking about for years... The need for broadcasters to develop a=20 competitive infrastructure for customer service=20 and billing: > Lindsley conceded that USDTV had problems typical of all >startups. USDTV has trouble with a new billing system and with third partie= s >who had been hired to install the USDTV system in subscriber homes. Who can blame broadcasters for taking asvantage=20 of the infrastructure that cable brings to the=20 table. > =93The overarching reason USDTV filed for bankruptcy is that t= he >industry did not support the initiative,=94 Lindsley said. =93I would say t= he >industry is paralyzed by fear of stepping out and competing with cable. I >don=92t think the industry right now is prepared to do it.=94 Why should broadcasters compete when they can get=20 cable and DBS to do what they cannot? Better yet, with re-trans consent broadcasters=20 can take full advantage of the infrastructure=20 that cable and DBS (and now Fios) provide, and=20 make millions in additional profits. Lindsley hit=20 the nail on the head - the broadcast industry is=20 not interested in competing with the goose that=20 laid the golden egg. What could change this? 1. A decline in ratings to the point that=20 cable/DBS can afford NOT to pay for broadcast=20 content. 2. Cable and DBS offer the content conglomerates=20 a better deal than local broadcasters. 3. The Internet becomes the next big thing in=20 content distribution, killing the Golden Goose=20 AND the broadcasters who feast upon those Faberg=E9=20 eggs. 4. Broadcasters get together and use "their" spectrum to compete. Regards Craig ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.