TV’s broadcast flag has its DRM moment

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The broadcast flag, a signal that would be embedded in digital broadcasts and inform consumer devices that the content was not to be recorded, may appear as a footnote in studies of the US’ transition to digital television broadcasts, which largely went off without significant disruptions . Where it won’t appear, however, is in any of the digital content that’s now freely streaming across the airways. If this doesn’t surprise you, then you weren’t paying careful attention to media news about five years ago, when content owners were predicting dire consequences for Hollywood if digital copies of its productions could be made unmolested.