(Community Matters) Lots of conversations lately about media convergence and how content + distribution channels = product.
Politico Playbook — “Tech upstarts threaten TV broadcast model,” by Reuters’ Liana B. Baker and Ronald Grover: “Two fledgling technologies could dramatically reshape the $60 billion-a-year television broadcast industry … On April 1, a U.S. appeals court rejected a petition by the major broadcasters including Comcast’s NBC, News Corp’s FOX, Disney’s ABC and CBS, to stop a service called Aereo, which offers a cut-rate TV subscription for consumers by capturing broadcast signals over thousands of antennas at one time. … In November, a California court struck down Fox’s request to ban Dish Network’s ad-eliminating video recording device called the Hopper. The two services strike at the heart of the TV broadcast model, whose future will be up for debate at the National Association of Broadcasters show, which 90,000 people were expected to attend in Las Vegas this week. …
“[B]roadcasters fear the services will continue to expand, cutting into their viewing audience and advertising revenue. Even though courts have made preliminary decisions in favor of Dish and Aereo, both cases are still in the early stages and those decisions could ultimately be reversed. … A favorable outcome for Aereo and the Hopper in court would push TV operators to dramatically reshape themselves. It could even force them to trade in their broadcast towers and become cable channels alongside networks such as Bravo, AMC and ESPN, says Garth Ancier, who has been the top TV programmer at Fox, NBC and the WB networks. …
Community Matters 