[opendtv] Re: FW: USDTV Lands in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
- From: Steve Wilson <stevenjwilson@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 11:09:52 -0400
Can anyone recommend a book that I could read that would shed some light on
the relationships and money flows between content owners, broadcasters,
affiliates, service providers, etc? The technology seems quite secondary as
compared to these issues....
Tom Barry wrote: Craig Birkmaier wrote: >By maintaining the status quo they
protect re-transmission consent >and get the multi-channel service to handle
the customer service and >billing. Why compete when you can lean back and
geta check from your >competitors? But that state can only persist as long
asthe OTA broadcasters are seen as a value added middleman between the
networks and cable companies. The content owning networks can now easily
switch content from OTA to cable-only channels, thus greatly limiting the
power of the local broadcasters to negotiate at each successive renewal of
affiliate contracts. And they can schedule every rerun season to advertise
OTA and then switch customers to those cable channels. (anybody watched
Psychor Kyle XY recently?) How long can this continue if the locals don't
offer anything special besides an expiring claim they have the right. This
declining state may continue until the content cartels are allowed to
purchase the rest of the affiliates (I think sort of what Bert says). - Tom
At 12:14 PM -0400 7/12/06, Manfredi, Albert E wrote: The point is, IMO,
USDTVis the one trying to compete against cable here, not the broadcasters.
USDTV, to an OTA broadcaster, is not a whole lot different from a cable
system. USDTV does rent a piece of the broadcasters' transmission
infractructure, unlike cable and DBS, but USDTV installs their own reception
systems at customer premises, just like cable. And USDTV acquires
broadcastercontent, just like cable. The problem, as we have discussed many
times is that to compete effectively with cable you need to offer virtually
the same content, at least in the extended basic tier. This is nearly
impossible in most markets due to the limited amount of spectrum available,
which is further reduced by the need to use in excess of 10 Mbps for the
primary network when it is delivering HD programming. To compete effectively
with cable, broadcasters will need to: 1. Pool ALL of their spectrum and
develop the marketing, customer service and billing infrastructure to
compete; 2. Use the spectrum they have much more efficiently - aka single
frequency networks that allow improved spectrum re-use in adjacent markets;
3. And develop a platform that incorporates PVR capabilities to push non
timecritical content. My take on this is that broadcasters aren't the ones
killing USDTV, in spite of the CEO's assertion. My take on this is that
USDTVis no different from Quiero or from ONdigital/ITV. People who want to
subscribe to any sort of TV service prefer to go straight to cable or DBS,
where they can begin with something cheap, maybe, but have lots of growing
power. You're on the right track here Bert. People ARE looking for lower
costalternatives to cable and DBS, but they are not willing to give up the
NON-BROADCAST programming they have become addicted to. USDTV and On Digital
failed because the content offering was too limited to justify the cost.
Freeview has succeeded in part because of the improved channel line-up, but
MOSTLY because it is FREE (after buying the receiver). No amount of
AVC/H.264migration hype was capable of changing that picture for USDTV, even
though when constrained for spectrum, of course, you look for any help you
can get. One thing we have not mentioned is that the reason many of their
installers had problems is that there is still a high percentage of homes
where it is difficult to establish ATSC service. I know you will come back
with glowing tales about the improvements in ATSC receivers, but the reality
is that they deployed an earlier generation of receivers that did not work
well in marginal areas. If USDTV had deployed better receivers with built in
PVRs they could have pushed more content to subscribers, which MIGHT have
made a difference. Too little... too late! And broadcasters do compete, for
OTA audience. As evidenced by the very interesting new lineup Fox seems to
beconcocting for next season, just as a "for example." If Fox thought they
didn't need to compete for the OTA audience, why don't they go back to EDTV
and reduce power of their transmitters? (You know, behave more like UPN,
still impossible for me to receive in OTA digital.) Sure they do! But this
has nothing to do with the reason they rely upon cable. The OTA audience is
composed of a small percentage of laggards such as yourself, and a large
percentage of bottom feeders who cannot afford a multi-channel service. But
this audience is not sufficient to support the business. The congloms need
the other 85% to be economically viable. By maintaining the status quo they
protect re-transmission consent and get the multi-channel service to handle
the customer service and billing. Why compete when you can lean back and get
a check from your competitors? Regards Craig
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