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This past week, President Joe Biden spoke to the American people from the Oval Office regarding the wars in Ukraine, Israel and Palestine. Naturally he did it in primetime in order to reach as many people as possible, and all of the major networks — both broadcast and cable — carried the address live.
Whether or not you watched, I want you to imagine how current and future presidents might communicate with the public once a large swath of individuals no longer has access to live television either because they have cut the cord and rely solely on streaming channels or because their traditional cable systems have flipped over to the latest technology: replacing traditional cable boxes with internet set-top boxes, and effectively exited the regulated, cable video business. In just the past few weeks, Charter announced that all new cable subscribers would be “encouraged” to use their Xumo streaming box, which is billed as cheaper and more elegant than current cable boxes. But there is one critical element missing from Xumo for those who are complete cordcutters: local television stations.
Nowhere on the cordcutter’s Xumo box will you find your live local television stations unless you happen to subscribe to YouTube TV, Charter or a similar service.
This has me wondering how local television will continue to survive, let alone thrive, in a world hell-bent on leaving it in the dust. The traditional Big Four networks currently command an