4 ms·

The headline is very misleading. CBS is threatening to stop broadcasting over the airwaves and become cable-only, like USA, TNT, TBS, etc. That's a far cry from

The headline is very misleading. CBS is threatening to stop broadcasting over the airwaves and become cable-only, like USA, TNT, TBS, etc. That's a far cry from "internet-only". Which is too bad, because my first reaction to the headline was "great, let's get beyond the broadcast/cable model of television". But moving CBS to cable will only strengthen the status quo. Moonves comes across as a whiny, powerless loser in the quotes in this article. Any time you hear powerful people in a position of strength throwing a tantrum over interference with their revenue streams by small-time players with a tiny audience, you can bet it'll be in your best interest to favor the little guy.

bluedevil2k 13y ago
They won't - their most valuable assets are their spectrum, and broadcasting free content on them is a requirement for owning them. They're looking to reap billions when they "sell" the spectrum back to the FCC in the upcoming wireless incentive auction. (I use "sell" in quotes since they never really bought them and in theory, the airwaves are owned by the government).
- evgen 13y ago
  They do not own most of those assets directly, only a small fraction of their local affiliates are actually owned by CBS. Additionally, they are not mandated to broadcast their main money-making content on that spectrum either -- they could provide 24x7 wheel of fortune re-runs and a simple re-broadcast of the local morning and evening news would probably be sufficient for them to maintain the license.
jack-r-abbit 13y ago
He said "we could go OTT with CBS." Over-the-Top Content (OTT) refers to delivery of video, audio and other media over the Internet without a multiple system operator being involved in the control or distribution of the content.[1] [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over-the-top_content http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over-the-top_content
- arbitrage 13y ago
  Thanks for the clarification. I thought he was making a reference to World War I, and the idea of being the first to go over the top meant they would be mowed down by machine guns.
  - gknoy 13y ago
    Can we send Comcast first? ;-)
deleted 13y ago
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bluedevil2k 13y ago

They won't - their most valuable assets are their spectrum, and broadcasting free content on them is a requirement for owning them. They're looking to reap billions when they "sell" the spectrum back to the FCC in the upcoming wireless incentive auction. (I use "sell" in quotes since they never really bought them and in theory, the airwaves are owned by the government).

evgen 13y ago
They do not own most of those assets directly, only a small fraction of their local affiliates are actually owned by CBS. Additionally, they are not mandated to broadcast their main money-making content on that spectrum either -- they could provide 24x7 wheel of fortune re-runs and a simple re-broadcast of the local morning and evening news would probably be sufficient for them to maintain the license.

jack-r-abbit 13y ago

He said "we could go OTT with CBS." Over-the-Top Content (OTT) refers to delivery of video, audio and other media over the Internet without a multiple system operator being involved in the control or distribution of the content.[1] [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over-the-top_content http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over-the-top_content

arbitrage 13y ago
Thanks for the clarification. I thought he was making a reference to World War I, and the idea of being the first to go over the top meant they would be mowed down by machine guns.
- gknoy 13y ago
  Can we send Comcast first? ;-)

deleted 13y ago

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