FCC Chairman Michael Powell called Tuesday’s decision “an important step toward preserving the viability of free over-the-air television.” Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy said that “by protecting against digital piracy, we also encourage entertainment companies to deliver, via free over-the-air broadcast, (their) most valuable programs.”
Gee, this makes it sound as if entertainment companies have a lot of really good programming sitting on a shelf and not being broadcast – ’cause they’re afraid of piracy.
What a load of crap.
They’d have you believe that once they get their broadcast flag, the media conglomerates will suddenly be airing all kinds of great programming. But you and I know that what we’ll get is more high brow shows like Fear Factor and Who Wants to Marry a Marmoset? Again, I have to ask – just what in the hell are they trying to protect? Are they worried that people might tape and share copies of Law and Order, and then get tired of seeing it broadcast twelve times a day?
And does anyone really believe the line about the “viability of free over-the-air television?” It makes me chortle heartily to think of a media conglomerate threatening to stop broadcasting over the air – NBC made comments about this a couple years ago. Gee, do you think that the local broadcasters, with their big profits and billions of dollars invested in stations, transmitters, and equipment, would look kindly on this idea?
I put this post under the “War With the Customer” category, but you should remember one important thing – we are not the media company customers. The advertisers are their customers. We are, in fact, their commodity. We are their product. They deliver us, like the Eloi to the Morlocks, to the waiting hands of the advertisers by attracting us with flashing lights, loud music, and startling footage.
And they don’t want us to have any control over that.
