America 1982-Chapter 368 - 36: Change a Dream_2
The real reason is that this bastard from Australia didn’t play by the rules. While he was setting up FOX Network, he also acquired the Fox Film Corporation, which meant Murdoch was identified not only as a television mogul but also as a movie producer. Before the network even went live, Murdoch’s Fox Film Corporation allied with other major film studios to lobby in the United States Congress and successfully pass a restrictive bill targeting television movies, which became the main point of contention that the three major networks despised.
Television movies are films produced by the networks for exclusive broadcast on their own channels, without a release in theatres. The primary reasons for producing these are to save on costs, as networks sought to avoid the hefty price of purchasing films from movie studios, which often involved package deals.
For example, if a network wanted to buy the broadcast rights for "Jaws" for television airing, it couldn’t just pay a high price for it because of its box office success and then show it on their channel. Instead, they would have to pay a premium for this blockbuster and, at the same time, spend a large sum of money on dozens of flops, and only then would the movie studio sell it to you.
Murdoch curried favor with the Republican Party and, in conjunction with the film industry, lobbied Congress, ultimately leading the United States Congress to pass a related restrictive bill. Thus, the bill declared that, to ensure that the public could continue to enjoy film arts in cinemas and to prevent the decline of the movie industry and the risk of unemployment for those working within it, television networks would need to apply for licenses to shoot television movies once the legislation came into effect, with a limited number of licenses available each year, depending on the filming plans of the various Hollywood studios.
That is to say, the three major networks were outmaneuvered by Murdoch even before FOX was on the air, allowing the film industry to tighten its grip yet again.
Meanwhile, Murdoch’s own FOX Network had no worries about licenses because he had bought the Fox Film Corporation in advance, owning a film library with thousands of titles.
As everyone knows, the American television industry has been tricked by the film industry many times. The two have been at odds for many years over the question of whether American citizens should spend their cash on television subscriptions or movie tickets. Deep-seated tensions prevailed, so when this Australian Jew colluded with the film industry to create another set of obstacles for television, the three major networks wished they could just purchase an atomic bomb and completely obliterate the FOX Network headquarters from the United States. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞
However, Ted Turner also had a grudge against Murdoch, something Tommy heard for the first time. Strictly speaking, Ted’s CNN did not compete with the three major networks or FOX since those were free-to-air, whereas his CNN was a subscription-based cable channel, with no overlap at all.
"Murdoch is a sore loser and stingy, and Ted likes sailing, Murdoch too. The two clashed at a sailing race in Australia, where the boats they sponsored competed against each other. Ted’s sponsored boat was in the lead. But that was in Australia, Murdoch’s territory, so another boat sponsored by Murdoch, with no chance of winning, suddenly crashed into Ted’s, forcing it to run aground and withdraw from the race. At the post-race banquet, Ted threw a glass of wine in Murdoch’s face. If their bodyguards hadn’t pulled them apart, Ted might have slammed Murdoch and broken his spine with a wrestling move, as he’s a fan of American wrestling," Wolfe explained to Tommy the animosity between the two.
"That race sure sounds like it was full of sportsmanship and gentlemanly spirit," Tommy replied with a laugh.
Wolfe sighed and steered the topic back, saying to Tommy seriously, "The point is, even the wealthy Turner can no longer bear the losses of a subscription-based news network like CNN, Tommy."
"Losses aren’t your concern, Wolfe. I don’t like the idea of tainting my dreams with money," Tommy casually stopped Wolfe’s attempt to dissuade him and continued to outline his vision:
"The three major networks have almost entirely cut their foreign news bureaus. Nowadays, they obtain international news solely by purchasing imagery from major news agencies. The pictures or videos bought by the three major networks are the same; only the news anchors and commentators differ. What does this tell us? It shows that there isn’t a single television station in America that can report those important news events in real-time. Moreover, what news the three major networks receive ultimately dictates what the American viewers know about the world. To put it bluntly, if the Soviet Union were to collapse and the three major networks refrained from buying the news due to high prices from AP, Agence France-Presse, Reuters, or TASS, or conversely if one day those agencies refuse to sell news to these American television stations, then the American audience would be completely unaware of it on their TVs."
"Do you want the American people to live in a world where they cannot witness history? Maybe they don’t care about what’s happening on the other side of the world, but if they ever want to know, because of the existence of our news network, they just need to turn on the TV, tune into our channel, and they can easily see it."
"That is witnessing."
"It is the freedom and right granted to them by God."
Tommy spoke with a moving tone.
Wolfe remained silent, for as a television professional with ideals, he could not possibly resist the temptation to let viewers witness history.
