[mythtv-users] Comcast Digital transition Denver

[Brian Wood]

On Sunday 21 February 2010 08:23:43 am Tim Ashman wrote:

> I totally agree however how is going to stick up for the OTA crowd.  What
>  big lobbyist is going to be fighting for our voice.  I don't see any.   I
>  see local channels (OTA) having very little power and content to continue
>  if the cable companies all get a network.  The writing is on the wall I
>  would just enjoy OTA until it is gone.  This is not the america I was born
>  into.

Some very powerful companies own terrestrial broadcast stations, and make 
considerable money from them. They can be expected to fight hard to keep them. 
Many of these companies are powerful media outfits, like Gannett for example.

I agree that OTA will probably go away eventually, but it will be a long hard 
fight. This is a rare case where the interests of the general public coincide 
with the interests of large corporations.

The real problem is the virtual monopoly on cable and satellite distribution, 
break that and the problem becomes very different.

Back in the 1930s there was the "Great Divorce", when the movie studios were 
forbidden to own theaters. Good idea, but somehow the link between the media 
producers and the distribution mechanism has re-established itself.