Help us John Oliver! You’re Our Only Hope.
You got the Internet, now we need TV Neutrality!
When it comes to the battle between Light and Dark in business and society, John Oliver is The Chosen One who brings masterful balance to the Force. Oliver’s profane yet prodigious rallying cry for an Internet where all data is equal, thwarted the attempts of imperialist cable companies to create an Internet caste system. He poked fun at the complex and often obtuse language used by industry Emperors to describe simple concepts like...Internet equality.
After imploring his rebel followers to tell the FCC to stop ISPs from messing with the Internet--the resulting 45,000 submissions nearly blew up the commission’s web site and stopped the proposed tiering system in its tracks. The recent decision by the U.S. Appeals Court to uphold the FCC’s declaration of broadband as a utility brings new hope that the matter is settled.
But just like a much-hyped sequel, the anti-neutrality Death Star is being rebuilt with the same basic purpose: Keep real TV from the Internet.
TV wants to move to the Internet--just look at the throngs of cord-cutters and cord-nevers who are letting go of TVs and cable set-top boxes. According to Nielsen, almost one-third of the traditional TV watched by 18-to-24 year olds has moved to YouTube, Netflix and other streaming services. Millennials want to watch TV online, anytime, anyplace, anywhere. This is TV Neutrality.
What’s missing on the Internet is Local Broadcast TV. Most consumers think this is content only a Wookie would love, with shows like I Love Lucy and Judge Judy reruns. No. Local broadcast is big sports like the NFL. Local broadcast is Emmy-award winning shows like The Big Bang Theory and Dancing with the Stars. Local broadcast is your local news. These are the events and shows that keep 100 million American homes tied to traditional pay-TV providers. If we truly want TV Neutrality -- this content needs to get to the Internet.
It’s no surprise that Trade Federation members in this little Star Wars-esque saga are the most disliked companies in U.S. business. According to the annual American Customer Satisfaction Index for 2015, Time Warner Cable earned the title of Least Satisfying Company. This is on the heels of Comcast garnering Worst Company of the Year in 2014. Both have a common super-weapon: exclusive rights to deliver live, local broadcast TV to your home.
Chairman Wheeler and the FCC have been courageous enough to initiate a small rebellion. They started the process to enable Internet-based competition to the traditional cable, satellite and teclo pay-TV operators. As you might imagine, waves of Stormtrooper-lobbyists descended on Washington D.C. to quell the insurrections. Even Apple, with its seemingly endless innovation and Hutt-like bank account, hasn’t yet found a way to disrupt the dark side of the Force.
John Oliver -- you’re our only hope. Just as with Net Neutrality, the TV Neutrality battle is one with long odds, but it can be won -- with your help. Let your rant-inducing verbal soliloquies fly. Energize the rebellious American TV viewing public to speak to the FCC. Your Padawan, Tom Wheeler, needs your help to resist the Dark side once again.
May the Internet be with you.