For years, broadcasters didn't get a nickel out of retransmission consent. But broadcast content is what the cable industry was selling to customers.

Lawmakers have good reason to want a healthy broadcast industry. Broadcast TV stations provide more than 186,000 jobs on an annual basis, which directly generate more than $30 billion in economic activity.

The people who depend on an antenna are often those who are underprivileged - the elderly and the disadvantaged who can't afford a $200-a-month cable bill.

Broadcasters have a responsibility to serve the public interest and protect Americans from objectionable content, particularly during the hours when children are likely to be watching.

It seems almost inevitable that there is some fall off from broadcast to cable, but whether it's anything meaningful is a big question, ... Advertisers going into the season will probably estimate it pretty close to ABC's last year numbers.

Broadcast TV is like the landline of 20 years ago.