1 edit | reply to fiberguy
Re: The most SILLY part of this blog.. Stations negotiate cable and local stations as a package, so a la carte locals would not be possible anyway. The whole fox/cablevision dispute was about the whole package of fox cable channels and the local O&O, not just one or the other.
Like I said, if the cable companies don't like the price, they can make their own content. Then you would end up with quality channels owned by cable companies such as G4 *snicker*
Don't be fooled. Time Warner is probably going to raise rates anyway. They just have a convenient excuse now by blaming station owners. |
fiberguyMy views are my own.Premium
join:2005-05-20
kudos:3 | You're replying to a post which speaks of the way things SHOULD be with the way things are. Not quite sure the logic there. 
Seriously.. the rules are seriously outdated, they are bought and paid for, and are meant only to benefit business, not the consumer. This I will agree with.
What I won't agree with are statements like "so a la carte locals would not be possible anyway".. and "cable can make their own content"..
Here are some basic beliefs I have:
1) Delivery carriers should not be in the business of content creation or ownership. (For the same reasons why deposit and investment banks never should be allowed to be owned by the same hand - conflict of interest.
2) Local re-trans agreements should come with certain restrictions such as if they opt for a retrans/pay agreement, then they lose their mandated Tier 1 status and become an ala cart channel the same as HBO and Showtime. (Unlike discovery networks who sell the same packages of the same exact programming nation wide, locals stations are granted a license to operate in a single city AND also fought to protect their local broadcast status. They have to play on different rules that they asked for)
Personally, I see locals as THE most predatory of all content providers.
3) Rates go up and down all the time for various reasons. People tend to believe that it's always one thing that causes rates to rise when it fact it can be a number of things. One only has to run a business to understand that. |
