FCC Votes on Proposed ATSC Adoption Plan

Despite the government shutdown, last week the FCC voted to adopt rules that would govern the deployment of ATSC 3.0 for television.  We reported extensively on the proposed rules in our October 14^th edition of NewStream.

A critical issue is the FCC proposal to move forward with a voluntary transition plan.  Thus, rather than proposing to mandate that all stations broadcast in ATSC 3.0, the FCC will allow stations to either broadcast in ATSC 3.0 or the current ATSC system used by stations.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr stated:

“For television, ATSC 3.0 represents the future of broadcasting.  Today’s action takes steps to support and accelerate the nation’s ongoing, market-based transition to Next Gen TV, to remove unnecessary regulatory obstacles, and to give broadcasters flexibility to determine how to best serve their local communities while rolling out innovative 3.0 services.“

This raises an important concern.  The analog to digital transition was mandated by the government.  Absent the mandate, and the regulation requiring all TV sets to include an ATSC tuner, the original transition would have stalled.  The same issue may confront the current transition to Next Gen TV (ATSC 3.0). 

One of the key issues facing the industry and the FCC is the fact that Next Gen TV is not “backward compatible” with existing TV sets.  This means that consumers using antennas may not be able to receive a station shifting to Next Gen TV on their existing set.  

Of course, the current situation is vastly different from the original shift to digital back in 2009.  Most TV sets have multiple HDMI ports on the back of the set.  Consumers are used to plugging in different items such as gaming devices.  The same is true for new Next Gen TV tuners.  Some Next Gen tuners are already in TV sets.  Other Next Gen receiving devices are already on the market and can be plugged into existing sets.  Moreover, this assuming cable and satellite services get new receivers at their receive points, the shift should not impact their subscribers.   

Nonetheless, there is a concern that some consumers could be left behind.  FCC Commissioner Gomez noted in her separate statement: 

This item proposes to give the individual broadcasters the right to decide when they want to do a “flash-cut” to NextGen TV.  While we are dealing with a chicken or the egg problem, I am concerned about the consumers that will be either unaware of the transition before it happens or unable to afford the necessary equipment to continue to receive the services, including emergency notifications, on which they rely.  I am interested in seeing whether there are alternative ways to facilitate the transition to NextGen TV that would minimize the potential negative impact on consumers.

The shift to Next Gen TV will be a major issue for stations, consumers and other industries going forward.  All parties recognize the clear benefits to both consumers and local stations.  The key question will be the ability of the government to develop a transition plan that implements Next Gen TV (ATSC 3.0) for American Consumers.  

You can see the FCC’s proposed rules, including statements by all the commissioners here.

You can see our previous story on ATSC 3.0 here.