Brave New Broadcasting World

BRAVE NEW BROADCASTING WORLD
[SOURCE: Fort Worth Weekly, AUTHOR: Kay Mills]
If you own an analog TV set and don't subscribe to cable or satellite, your television will go dark on February 18, 2009. Years in the making, this decision to go digital has far-reaching ramifications, and not just for your ability to watch your daily programs. Billions of dollars are at stake -- including an expected government windfall of at least $10 billion, to come from auctioning off the excess broadcast spectrum that will be freed by the move to digital. A power struggle is also going on over who will control what you see, with those who provide program content -- such as local broadcasters and networks -- on one side and those who are the conduits for the shows -- cable and telephone companies -- on the other. Depending on who wins some epic regulatory battles, you may have a rich new menu of programs to watch, including reports on election campaigns and local high school football, and some media giants may earn bundles of extra money. Everyone from local newscasters to actors, writers, and producers of TV programs also has an enormous stake in how this transition turns out. At least as important is the parallel battle going on to determine whether the public interest will be any better protected in this brave new digital world than it is now -- that is, whether TV stations will have to provide more coverage of local and federal elections, for instance, as well as giving airtime to nonprofit groups.
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