A couple years ago CBS threatened to pull the plug on High Def programming if the FCC didnt push forward rules supporting the Broadcast Flag.
For those that dont know, the Broadcast Flag is basically a digital switch that over the air broadcasters, the major broadcast networks, can set to potentially prevent viewers from recording their broadcasts. If they dont want you copying their show to your Tivo/PVR hard drive, the switch could prevent it. Or they could set it so you could copy it one time, but not make any further copies.
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Now the momentum has flipped. The HDTV cat is out of the bag. Its not that the majority of homes have high def sets, they dont and wont for a good 5 years. However, the number of people who do have HDTVs LOVE THEM. When you have millions and millions of consumers who have paid their hard earned money for a product they love, the only thing that would happen if a network broadcaster pulled the plug on their HD feeds is that their would be a switchboard meltdown at that broadcaster and the number of complaints the FCC would get would dwarf the Janet Jackson response.
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But lets just say, for the sake of example that one of the network broadcasters did stop broadcasting in HD. They could do it in one of two ways. They could stop all of their broadcasting, which I dont they are stupid enough to do, or they could seperate their broadcasts. They could offer an HD feed to the cable and satellite distributors they already have HD deals with, and then offer only a low definition feed for over the air broadcasts.
The irony of the impact should make the FCC smile, if not blush.
By offering HD feeds only to cable and satellite, it would push viewers who had previously relied on antennas, but were buying a new HDTV (for those that dont know, you can buy a 27” HDTV ready set for under 300 dollars and falling now), or that already had an HDTV, towards signing up with an HD sat or cable provider for not just their HDTV, but also to support their analog TVs.
Anything that transitions TVs from receiving signals over the air , via antenna reception to utilizing a digital cable or satellite box pushs the analog to digital transition one baby step closer.
So if one of the networks threatens to pull their HD signal because of the broadcast flag… call their bluff.
The same applies to the Movie Industry. MPAA has been quoted as saying that “without the flag, high value content would migrate to where it could be protected.” Yeah right. Just like the music industry switched their content back from CDs to cassette tapes and LPs. I havent seen a movement on the part of the music industry to switch from DVDs and their digital image back to VHS… “where it could be protected”. The movie business complained about DVDs and threatened to not support them…. until they started making more money from DVDs than theatrical release.
Protect the MPAA members from themselves and their lies. Its all BS. Call their bluff.
We dont need the broacast flag. It accomplishes absolutely nothing other than to set a precedent that the content industry can intimidate the FCC….
That said, although the broadcast flag is bad for consumers in every possible way, it would be great for my content businesses. . . . .
They all would benefit because we wouldnt use the broadcast flag. While the big networks would create confusion and anger with their customers, our businesses could be the knight in shining armour and provide content in exactly the means consumers want it, unencumbered and available to watch, where and how they like.
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