JupiterResearch's Todd Chanko, with the introduction of those new ad-skipping DVRs in mind, decides to answer the question put in a recent New York Times headline--"Someone Has to Pay for TV. But
Who? And How?" His argument begins with the assertion that almost all of us are already paying for TV... via our monthly cable or satellite bills. So it's not a question of will we pay, but rather
for what, and how will revenues be deployed across the industry. Chanko: "Broadcast networks are too reliant on one sector--advertising. True, diversification of their revenue streams would reduce
one kind of risk while elevating another: the risk of losing carriage should demands for retransmission payments ultimately result in a wholesale reconsideration of must-carry. To their credit, the
networks have been experimenting with post-prime-time sell-through, streaming online, stocking DVRs and VOD. But if the industry is serious about the threat of commercial skipping, deploying DVRs
that would require consumers to make yet another choice of how much they're willing to invest in TV is not the best option."
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