The motor home that has been MY house for the past seven months as I explore North America from coast to coast and border to border has cable TV and can also be fitted with DISH and/or DirectTV.
Those were the options I considered last summer when I left my residence and started the journey and at the time I was aware of, but had never actually used digital television. Now, I find myself using nothing else (and it's free!).
For example, for the last five days I've been camping near New Orleans for the Mardi Gras celebrations.
By simply cranking up my antenna, I receive more than local 40 channels and since they're all digital, the picture is as clear as any as I get to know each area I visit.
If you live anywhere in "The South" and want to really hear the values connecting people, Rick and Bubba do that in engaging and entertaining ways.
Their show website makes it look like they think the majority of their "watchers" stream video on computers or mobile devices and, for now, perhaps that's right.
However, last week, this digital TV watcher "experienced" their show on the very same playing field as GMA, Today and CBS This Morning.
I just looked at the future for radio morning shows - alliances with local TV, thanks to the visionaries headquartered at Summit Media, Birmingham!
2 comments:
The average American consumer has a second full-time job consuming media. Mobile
devices and untethered devices have meant we all consume more and more media.
There are undoubtedly business model challenges and greater fragmentation as we go cross-platform and cross-devices, but the underlying consumption of media is going up and up.
The good news for radio and other content providers is that while cats on skateboards make good YouTube videos, Nielsen research shows professionally produced material is still favored by consumers.
Think about whether you’re telling a video story, an audio story or a text story and once you get your mind around that it opens up all kinds of growth opportunities.
U.S. ranchers, farmers and residents across rural America depend on reliable and continual access to broadcast television news and programs. Access is critical to maintain connection with not only the greater international and national scope of news and information, but also local and regional news outlets. From weather and agriculture reports to major news and sports, local TV is at home on the range and on the farm.
Members of the US Cattlemen’s Association value broadcast TV and support the efforts by local TV stations to receive fair compensation from the cable and satellite companies. The large cable and satellite companies maintain strong profit margins by packaging free local TV with cable programs and retransmitting it as a component of their paid for TV packages.
Like any producer in a supply chain, it makes sense that these local TV stations be properly compensated for their services. Maintaining the “retransmission consent” provision secures funding for the local news and public affairs programming upon which so many of our rural citizens rely.
Currently, cable packages across the country ensure viewers have access to local TV programing. However, Congress is contemplating legislation that could eliminate the current structure and provide a pathway for cable and satellite companies to remove this provision and instead force viewers to pay additional fees for local viewing access.
Local TV connects America, plain and simple. Often times it’s the sole communications infrastructure connecting rural and urban communities. High-speed broadband and wireless cell phone coverage is still very limited in rural America. Local TV remains a steady, easy and accessible source for agriculture news, markets, and emergency communications regarding fires, flood and weather.
As a 5th generation Montana rancher, I know it’s essential that my family and fellow ranchers and farmers across the country continue to have access to up-to-the-minute local weather alerts and emergency information as provided through broadcast television. This access affects both our bottom line and safety.
From cattle producers to broadcast TV producers, Congressional action that undercuts the value of the production chain is never the right course of action. Simply put, profits for the cable companies should not take precedence over free access to local programming, emergency alerts and weather warnings which should remain outlets available to all whether they receive it via free over-the-air broadcast TV or a pay-TV service on the basic tier.
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