I learned something about the transition to DTV from a chance conversation with two people who have no expertise in digital television or HDTV. In fact they’re not even in our industry.
Their qualifications are that they are a senior citizen couple on a fixed household income and are unabashed Angels baseball fans. They were at a shopping mall restaurant watching the Angels play the Boston Red Sox in the American League’s divisional championship series. They have followed the Angels all season long but because they cannot easily afford the monthly fee for cable or satellite TV, they aren’t able to watch the ball game at their house. So they’re at a restaurant, nursing soft drinks for several hours to watch a road playoff game that used to routinely air on free TV.
In our industry cocoon, the only trade news on the divisional series is that viewership ratings were up a significant percentage as compared to last year, justifying TBS’ investment in the postseason package. But what justifies a fan not being able to see a crucial postseason road game without paying a premium? Perhaps a local free broadcast TV feed for team markets in the playoffs could be available at least for the road games–but that would dilute the audience share for TBS.
Before I’m tempted to digress and criticize MLB commissioner Bud Selig for his stewardship of the game–or bemoan what the game might have been if Bart Giammati had lived to serve a long tenure as commissioner–the point is that this elderly couple represents a segment of the population that could very well be passed over in the pending transition to DTV.
One in five U.S. households depends on a rooftop antenna or rabbit ears to get a TV picture. Without converter boxes, those TV set screens will for the most part go blank on Feb. 18, 2009 when federal law currently mandates that broadcast stations switch off analog signals and transmit exclusively on digital. Thus while most of us will enjoy vastly sharper pictures and access to a wider range of multicasting channels provided by networks like NBC, ABC and PBS, a significant number of the country’s people who are already somewhat disenfranchised run the risk of becoming even less connected.
Households without cable or satellite service tend to have lower incomes and according to research, ethnic minorities–African Americans and Latinos in particular–are more likely than whites to receive only over-the-air TV. Furthermore a poll found that more than 60 percent of respondents who rely on broadcast TV (not cable or a satellite service) aren’t even aware of the analog to digital transition.
So while we are at the doorstep of an exciting digital era, let’s not forget those who are in jeopardy of doing without. Otherwise just as baseball, the great American pastime, has turned out not to be accessible for many Americans in the face of a lucrative TV deal, so too will television, an American staple, be lost or significantly minimized for many as well.
“Mufasa: The Lion King” and “Sonic 3” Rule Box Office For 1st Weekend Of 2025
The Walt Disney Co.'s "Mufasa: The Lion King" claimed the No. 1 spot on the North American box office charts over the first weekend of 2025.
The photorealistic "Lion King" prequel earned $23.8 million in its third weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. Paramount's "Sonic the Hedgehog 3," which has dominated the past two weekends, wasn't far behind.
"Sonic 3" stayed close with a 3-day estimate of $21.2 million, bringing its total domestic earnings to $187.5 million and helping the overall franchise cross $1 billion worldwide. "Mufasa's" running total is slightly less, with $169.2 million.
In third place, Focus Features' "Nosferatu" remake defied the fate of so many of its genre predecessors and fell only 39% in its second weekend. Horror films typically fall sharply after the first weekend and anything less than a 50% decline is notable. "Nosferatu," which added 140 screens, claimed $13.2 million in ticket sales, bringing its running total to $69.4 million since its Christmas debut. The film, directed by Robert Eggers, already surpassed its reported production budget of $50 million, though that figure does not account for marketing and promotion expenses).
No new wide releases opened this weekend, leaving the box office top 10 once again to holdovers from previous weeks. Several have been in theaters since Thanksgiving. One of those, "Moana 2," claimed the No. 4 spot for Disney in its sixth weekend in theaters. The animated sequel earned another $12.4 million, bumping its global total to $960.5 million.
The Bob Dylan biopic "A Complete Unknown," dipped only slightly in its second weekend, bringing in $8.1 million. With $41.7 million total, it's Searchlight's highest grossing film since Disney acquired the company in... Read More