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Broadcast TV will be around for a long time just as AM/FM is still around. Over 33 million cable users have cut the cord. About 45 million Americans will have abandoned pay-TV by 2020, with many going to streaming, netflix etal. A big percentage are going back to OTA.
Networks are still making money hand over fist with their OTA model but IMO their main cash cows are their cable networks.
Looking at the latest quarterly report for Disney, Cable seems to be their most profitable segment, while broadcast is the least profitable segment. Revenue for Parks and Resorts is higher than cable, but operating income is slightly lower.
Quarter Ended June 30,2018
Segment operating income out of Revenues ($millions): 33%: $1,383 out of $4,188 Cable Networks 18%: $361 out of $1,968 Broadcasting 26%: $1,339 out of $5,193 Parks and Resorts 25%: $708 out of $2,878 Studio Entertainment 32%: $324 out of $1,001 Consumer Products & Interactive Media
----: $78 "Equity in the income of investees " 28%: $4,193 out of $15,228 for Disney Corporation total
Keep in mind that Disney is special as all their sports revenue is in cable, while the other networks get their sports revenue from broadcast.
Even though Broadcast is only 8.6% of Disney's operating income and 12.9% of revenue, I don't think they have ever seriously considered selling the division. They have gotten pressure to sell the 8 owned and operated TV stations to a new organization like Bloomberg.
Owned by ABC since the 1940s
New York City WABC-TV
Los Angeles KABC-TV
San Francisco - Oakland - San Jose KGO-TV
Chicago WLS-TV
Owned by ABC since 1986
Philadelphia WPVI-TV
Houston KTRK-TV
Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville, NC WTVD
Fresno, CA KFSN-TV
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In 2010 Wunderlich Securities analyst Matthew Harrigan got headlines by estimating that USA Network is the most valuable part of NBC Universal at $11.7 billion, but the NBC network is worth a negative $600 million. Harrigan's $32.7 billion valuation for the NBC Universal cable networks, including nearly $6.3 billion for Syfy, $3.9 billion for CNBC, $2.8 billion for MSNBC and $2.6 billion for Bravo.
At the time NBC was mired in the #4 network position. It is ranked #1 for last season.
Last edited by PacoMartin; 09-20-2018 at 09:38 PM..
There are still a few shows that do well in the ratings and/or critically acclaimed on network TV-This is Us, Young Sheldon, Big Bang (final year) to name a handful. Networks also air the World Series and the Super Bowl.
Broadcast TV will be around for a long time just as AM/FM is still around. Over 33 million cable users have cut the cord. About 45 million Americans will have abandoned pay-TV by 2020, with many going to streaming, netflix etal. A big percentage are going back to OTA.
They may have abandoned OTA and cable but they are still paying for TV via the services you noted. My son pays for Netflix, Apple TV, and others while sponging off my Amazon Prime Video.
Broadcast TV will be around for a long time just as AM/FM is still around. Over 33 million cable users have cut the cord. About 45 million Americans will have abandoned pay-TV by 2020, with many going to streaming, netflix etal. A big percentage are going back to OTA.
Receiving signals Over the Air or by terrestrial means as the British say, is having a comeback
Amazon just introduced Fire TV Recast, Over-the-air DVR, for $225 or $275. while not the first such device on the market, the Amazon name is sure to sell a lot more units. https://www.amazon.com/Fire-Recast-O...rds=amazon+dvr
The frugal consumer who is trying to cut the price of cable might find that he can easily replace "entertainment' channels with a streaming service. AT&T has a 31 channel service which is free to people who spend $70 to $80 on unlimited cell phone plans, and priced at $15 for everyone else. But Amazon Fire TV Recast may provide people with an easy way to watch sports (particularly football) and add a time delay. At $225 that is the same as 9 months for a $25/month streaming service.
I would be surprised of OTA went away completely, at least in the immediate future. Local stations have a large presence in their communities. Most of the stations in my town have at least four local newscasts everyday. Yes I know they stream them too, but not everyone embraces streaming or some areas don't have broadband internet. Even cell coverage is spotty in certain parts of my state. Most cable and satellite companies get the local channels via OTA too.
I guess it would depend if the FCC decided to auction off more broadcast spectrum, but I think there would be a public outcry over that.
Receiving signals Over the Air or by terrestrial means as the British say, is having a comeback
Amazon just introduced Fire TV Recast, Over-the-air DVR, for $225 or $275. while not the first such device on the market, the Amazon name is sure to sell a lot more units. https://www.amazon.com/Fire-Recast-O...rds=amazon+dvr
The frugal consumer who is trying to cut the price of cable might find that he can easily replace "entertainment' channels with a streaming service. AT&T has a 31 channel service which is free to people who spend $70 to $80 on unlimited cell phone plans, and priced at $15 for everyone else. But Amazon Fire TV Recast may provide people with an easy way to watch sports (particularly football) and add a time delay. At $225 that is the same as 9 months for a $25/month streaming service.
I bought 5 DTVPal ota DVRs from Sears a few years ago, when they were clearance priced. Seems they were not selling. I don't think most people want free tv.
I guess it would depend if the FCC decided to auction off more broadcast spectrum, but I think there would be a public outcry over that.
Originally there were 70 UHF channels numbered 14 to 83. they are down to roughly 36 now since channel 37 is reserved for radio astronomy and since August 22, 2011, the United States' Federal Communications Commission announced a freeze on all future applications for broadcast stations requesting to use channel 51.
But cutting the channels in half is offset by the ability to squeeze two HD digital channels into the frequency space reserved for one analog channel. The vast majority of OTA stations have chosen to instead opt for one HD digital channel, and multiple Standard Definition ones.
I sincerely doubt that the FCC will try to reduce the number of UHF channels below (#14-#36), although the House of Lords made that suggestion in the United Kingdom. They felt that the frequency space would create more jobs if it was allocated elsewhere, so they wanted to convert all television to Internet Protocol. The idea was about as popular as their proposal to abolish paper cheques.
Over the Air television is like the penny. Most people think society would function just fine without it, but no politician wants to put his career on the line to get rid of it.
First of all, the Emmys have nothing to do with quality television. The Emmys, just like the Oscars and the Grammys and the Golden Globs, is just a publicity stunt.
But if you mean that quality programming is basically dead on the Big Four (ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX), then yes, you are largely correct. The traditional big four networks are walking corpses. None of them have produced a single great television show in an extraordinarily long time. PUSHING DAISIES maybe? And that was years ago.
The traditional big four networks are walking corpses. None of them have produced a single great television show in an extraordinarily long time. .
I guess you never heard of This is Us? That show is incredibly popular. Or maybe you mean *you* don't like the shows they air.
I cancelled cable almost 2 years ago and never looked back. I also cancelled Netflix and HBO too. Their shows are overhyped and always underdeliver. I wouldn't watch Game of Thrones if you paid me.
Considering OTA TV is completely free it's hard to argue that they don't have any "good" programming. This is just a sampling of the shows I watch.
Blue Bloods (CBS)
Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Law & Order SVU (NBC)
This is Us (NBC)
Chicago Fire (NBC)
Chicago PD (NBC)
Chicago Med (NBC)
Dateline (NBC)
The Resident (Fox)
Beat Shazam (Fox)
9-1-1 (Fox)
The Good Doctor (ABC)
NFL Football (CBS/Fox)
MLB Baseball (Fox/WPIX local)
Various documentaries (PBS)
Local/national news (NBC/ABC)
That's a pretty good list considering I don't pay a dime for TV. There are also a few new shows debuting for 2018 that look promising.
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