Technology, Television, and Competition: The Politics of Digital TV (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Technology, Television, and Competition: The Politics of Digital TV Megan Mullen (bio) Technology, Television, and Competition: The Politics of Digital TV. By Jeffrey A. Hart. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Pp. xiv+248. $60. This is a dense volume that takes its reader through a quarter-century of technological and regulatory debates surrounding the implementation of high-definition television (HDTV) and digital television (DTV). It focuses on the most technologically advanced nations—the United States, Japan, and several in western Europe—that were already established in both broadcasting and consumer electronics manufacturing when digitalization of television first became a topic of consideration. Jeffrey Hart states at the outset that his book will focus on the importance of digital convergence to setting standards for HDTV and DTV. He next observes that the period during which discussion of these new technologies began in earnest, the 1980s and 1990s, "is particularly interesting because it coincides with a time of questioning of the ability of the United States to lead the capitalist world as it had done since the end of World War Two" (p. 3). His key point is that [End Page 833] the established interests connected with broadcasting, program production, and consumer electronics resisted the changes that advances in digital technologies made possible. Although some of these interests eventually came to favor some change, representatives of the information-technology industries advocated even more radical change. What emerged was a compromise that failed to satisfy anyone and resulted in confusion on the part of both consumers and producers. Throughout, Hart is concerned with the ways in which the interests of multinational media corporations have superseded the mandates of traditional regulatory models in determining policy. There is a great deal of background on each of the critical decision-making entities. The second chapter consists primarily of histories of broadcasting technology and regulation in various countries during the early twentieth century—material that is covered in excruciating detail, making this perhaps the least helpful chapter in the book. Because Hart draws very liberally from Television in Europe (1991) by Eli Noam, along with a few other comprehensive volumes, one must wonder why a reader lacking background is not simply referred to these resources. Chapter 3 seems much more pertinent to the topic at hand. Here, the analysis concerns the competitive disadvantage the United States now faces against other nations—particularly East Asian countries—in consumer electronics markets. While some of the detail might lie beyond the comprehension of nonexperts, Hart offers a pithy conclusion: By the latter 1990s, both U.S. and European consumer electronics interests had put themselves in a position where it was essential to ally with successful East Asian firms as they pursued digital technologies. The next five chapters track the development of HDTV and DTV technologies in Japan, Europe, and the United States. Hart describes Japan's founding role in HDTV, with national broadcasting company NHK having begun investigating the technology as far back as 1970. He discusses the complex series of decisions leading to the establishment of the Federal Communications Commission's regulatory framework for HDTV. And he shows how European HDTV standards came closest to meeting the interests of private broadcasters—surely a significant move away from precedents set by the original broadcasting frameworks in these nations. With regard to DTV, Hart does a good job of capturing the spectrum of national constituencies having a stake in the future of television broadcasting—from politicians to citizen groups to cable interests to public broadcasters. In chapter 9, Hart enumerates the universal protocols that have been implemented successfully— including TCP/IP and HTML—in order to highlight the failures of digital television standards. Then, in the concluding chapter, he offers a thorough summary of the material covered in his book. This chapter (perhaps in combination with the introduction) would prove more than adequate to familiarize most readers with the relevant issues. It is [End Page 834] worth emphasizing, however, that Hart's book clearly is intended for the broadcast policy expert. It has a dry, academic writing style, with jargon and data that go beyond basic textbook (or newspaper-based) understanding of the core issues. One hopes that...