Digital's Dearth of Programming

A Black Agenda Radio commentary from Glen Ford

"The Great Digital Giveaway is the biggest squandering of
public broadcast resources in the history of the United States."

The Big Day is almost
here. On February 18, the United States enters the digital television age. But
don't stock up on the champagne, because nothing much is going to happen other
than millions of people will find themselves without a TV signal.

The so-called digital revolution is a prime example of how late
stage capitalism, dominated by an ever-shrinking number of corporations, can
transform even the most promising technological advances into...nothing worth
writing home about.

The end of analogue television means sharper pictures for
those households that get their TV from cable or satellite, or purchase a $50
converter box. About 20 million households, with about 35 million television
sets, still rely on soon-to-be useless antennas. The federal government is
issuing vouchers worth $40 for converters, but they expire after 90 days, and
untold millions of folks in TV-land are certain to wind up paying the full cost
or going without their daily tele-fix.

Outfits like the Consumers Union and the Leadership
Conference on Civil Rights have gotten government contracts to spread the word
on the digital changeover. But virtually none of the public interest and civil
rights players have anything to say about the most important question revolving
around the move to digital TV: How Washington gave
away $70 billion of the public's broadcast spectrum - for nothing!

"The public gets absolutely nothing from the deal, except
crisper pictures of the same old programming."

Without benefit of meaningful public hearings, the
corporate-controlled Federal Communications Commission allowed existing TV
channel license holders - all of them - to operate three or more additional
channels. That's like getting three or four TV station licenses for free, and
without having to demonstrate that you will operate those channels in the
public interest. The Great Digital Giveaway is the biggest squandering of
public broadcast resources in the history of the United States - a conspiracy involving
both political parties for the benefit of filthy-rich broadcast monopolies. The
public gets absolutely nothing from the deal, except crisper pictures of the
same old programming, broadcast on three or four times as many channels.

When the digital breakthrough occured, TV corporations
weren't even interested in an expanded universe of channels. As far as they
were concerned, more channels meant spending more money creating programs to
fill up the additional air time, for the same audiences. But once digital
technology made the huge increase in channels possible, commercial broadcasters
made sure that nobody else would get access to the larger television universe.
What could have been the dawning of a new day for truly diversified
programming, serving the needs of the many ethnic, language, age and economic
groups that make up America, will wind up as a dud, on February 18, a day like
any other broadcast television day, with lots more channels but nothing new or
worthwhile to watch. For Black Agenda Radio, I'm Glen Ford.

BAR executive editor Glen Ford can be contacted
at [email protected].

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