ATSC 3.0 Transition 'in Peril' Broadcasters Tell FCC
The FCC should end the dual transmission requirement and create an FCC ATSC 3.0 task force to enable the agency to “effectively and efficiently focus” on the 3.0 transition, said NAB President Curtis LeGeyt and several broadcast CEOs in meetings…
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with Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, and Commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Nathan Simington Monday, according to an ex parte filing posted Thursday docket 16-142. Without FCC action and commitment to ATSC 3.0, the transition is “in peril,” said the broadcasters, including Nexstar CEO Perry Sook and Graham Media CEO Catherine Badalamente. “A stalled transition is threatening the future of the broadcast industry altogether,” said the filing, which says broadcasters need to be able to offer 4K to remain competitive, and can’t do so without 3.0. “As the transition continues to stretch out, broadcasters risk losing sports and other high-value content to pay-tv platforms that are permitted to employ more advanced technologies.” The broadcasters also asked the FCC commissioners “to demonstrate the agency’s commitment to ATSC 3.0” and support the transition. The agency should create a plan to end the requirement that 3.0 broadcasters also must transmit a 1.0 feed, the broadcasters said. A 3.0 task force “could draw on expertise from multiple offices and bureaus to attack problems as they arise” and “focus on our shared concerns about viewers losing access to television signals.” Rosenworcel has said consumers losing access to over-the-air TV signals is one of her primary concerns about ATSC 3.0.