The big digital ripoff

A new book on corporate greed, "The Big Ripoff," challenges the myth that businesses abhor regulation and want a level playing field. Companies often welcome government interference and subsidies, as long as they're the ones benefiting. Perhaps the best current example in the CR is digital TV. Jiří Balvín of the Digital TV Association appeared on Czech Radio last night and was blunt about wanting to force people to buy digital set-top boxes by shutting off the analog signal. The radio host, František Lutonský, called Balvín a dictator for this. Balvín said there's no reason why people shouldn't make the "truly laughable" investment of Kč 1,500 for a set-top box. What he failed to mention is that it will cost consumers Kč 7.5bn to buy set-top boxes for the CR's 5m television sets. This is huge price to pay merely so that six new TV stations - which received free licenses - can split up among themselves about Kč 1bn in annual TV-advertising revenue. [Czech Republic Óčko Mafra MF Dnes Timothy P. Carney digitalization ADTV]