In spite of agreeing in the past that over the air TV is doomed, Babbage describes how cable has caused him to erect an antenna and “cut the cord.” He writes:
… As part of its broadband plan this year, the FCC sponsored a study that revealed when poorer Americans made choices about information services, they would rather keep their mobile phone connection than an internet connection. Cable television runs a distant third. …
Then, later:
So here's what I don't know. Am I, with my free broadcast television, enjoying a subsidy that won't be sustainable in the future? Television stations may yet decide to auction off their licences to deal with the (very real) spectrum crunch. The antenna atop my house would then be just as large, but much, much sillier. Or is there a way to program television channels better? What if channels not only accepted, but embraced digital video recorders? What if a broadcast channel saw itself not as a stream to be tuned in to, but as a stream to be recorded? …
Link: The Economist. Thanks to @TVTechnology for the tip. --Dennis
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