NAB Decries Loss of Major Sports on Broadcast TV

[Force Commander]

http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/11/25/daily.10/

The NAB is throwing the flag on the movement of major sports events from broadcasting to cable-that is, from free to pay TV.

"Broadcasters continue to support the rights of all Americans to have free access to telecasts of major sporting events, particularly those of publicly funded educational institutions," the NAB TV board says in a resolution adopted today.

The resolution directs NAB staff to work with policymakers to "educate them on the importance of ensuring that no segments of society are disenfranchised from this highly valued programming."

The resolution was promoted by the news last week that the Bowl Championship Series had awarded rights to major college football bowl games to ESPN starting in 2011. ESPN had outbid Fox broadcast network for the rights.

According to the a study by the Government Accountability Office, there are roughly 20 million U.S. households exclusively reliant on free over-the-air broadcast television, the NAB pointed out.

[drunksailor]

Sorry. I don't buy the 20 million households comment.

[Arp2]

Sorry. I don't buy the 20 million households comment.

I was in a room with eight people last night....two of them were OTA-only, and one had just taken cable in the past two weeks (and that guy's next-door neighbor is and will stay OTA-only with a converter because he "can pick up over 50 stations just with the antenna on his chimney" -- he can always pick up two markets and occasionally two others -- "and can't figure out why he would ever need any more").

[drunksailor]

Well.. maybe I'm wrong. 20 million is roughly 15% of the U.S. population.

[Big Media]

Sorry. I don't buy the 20 million households comment.

I don't blame you but it is accurate, for the most part. This number will only increase as cable/satellite gets more expensive and more consumers realize they can get 20 or so channels free, OTA.

[Larkin Ocho Cinco]

Sorry, but there is no "right" to sports OTA. That's just business folks. I don't like it either, but that's just how it goes.