Fcc S Atsc 3 0 Rules Would Slow Transition To Next Gen Tv Broadcasting

Leo Migdal

-Dec 1, 2025, 12:44 AM

fcc s atsc 3 0 rules would slow transition to next gen tv broadcasting

Public broadcasters won’t have to adopt ATSC 3.0 anytime soon if they don’t want to. That’s the biggest takeaway from the FCC’s notice of proposed rulemaking for ATSC 3.0, also known as Next Gen TV. While the commission wants to strip away some regulations that could hinder support for the new broadcast standard, for now it’s stopped short of setting cutoff dates for the existing ATSC 1.0 standard or... The FCC will likely vote on its proposed rules next year. The lack of an ATSC 3.0 mandate should come as a relief for public broadcasters that aren’t prepared to upgrade, but some broadcasters believe that the new standard won’t go anywhere without a clearer... “If you don’t mandate it, it’s probably not going to happen,” Franz Joachim, CEO at New Mexico PBS and former chair of America’s Public Television Stations, said in an interview.

ATSC 3.0 uses an IP-based architecture to broadcast information over the public airwaves, similar to how data flows over the internet. It also makes broadcasts more efficient by using newer compression formats such as High Efficiency Video Coding. Proposed rules would give broadcasters flexibility, but a lack of direction for devices, rights management and MVPDs risks slowing adoption When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. In late October, the FCC voted to give U.S.

broadcasters more freedom in determining how to manage the transition to ATSC 3.0 and the shutdown of ATSC 1.0 services. Since broadcasters have a strong incentive not to disenfranchise existing viewers, this makes sense. The proposed rules (the Fifth Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking or “5FNPRM”) are not clear on what steps, if any, the Federal Communications Commission will require from other partners, such as receiver manufacturers, to... It also raises questions about the current use of content protection (digital rights management) and whether that complies with broadcast requirements in the Communications Act. While the proposed rules offer positive steps towards a transition to ATSC 3.0, they also highlight the challenges and risks to broadcasters in an ATSC 1.0 shutdown. With this in mind, I’ll look at some of the main topics in the 5FNPRM.

The National Association of Broadcasters’ transition proposal has been widely covered, so I don’t plan to focus on it here. Things are about to get messy for free, over-the-air TV. This week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) passed a notice of proposed rulemaking that’s designed to allow broadcast TV stations to adopt the emerging ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard more quickly. If the FCC enacts these rule changes, broadcasters will no longer need to support the ATSC 1.0 standard that works with most TVs and tuners. Instead, they’ll be able to scale back their ATSC 1.0 coverage and even switch over to the new standard entirely. Broadcasters say they have no incentive to abandon ATSC 1.0 anytime soon, and that the rule changes would just give them more flexibility to support the new standard.

Viewers, however, stand to lose clarity on how long their existing TVs will keep working with an antenna, and whether they’ll keep getting all the same content. ATSC 3.0, also known as NextGen TV, brings new capabilities to over-the-air broadcasts, including 4K HDR video, enhanced dialog, Dolby Atmos audio, and interactive content. Broadcasters started rolling out ATSC 3.0 in 2019, and stations in more than 90 U.S. markets now carry ATSC 3.0 channels. ATSC 3.0 is not backwards compatible, so viewers can’t access it unless their TV has an ATSC 3.0 tuner, or they have an outboard ATSC tuner box. Most TVs continue to ship with only ATSC 1.0 support, and external tuner boxes still cost upwards of $90.

Only about 11 percent of U.S. households can get ATSC 3.0 today, based on broadcasters’ estimate of about 14 million compatible TVs sold to date. The Federal Communications Commission’s draft proposal to eliminate mandatory simulcasting requirements for television broadcasters transitioning to ATSC 3.0 has garnered cautious support from industry organizations, though the plan stops short of establishing the firm... The National Association of Broadcasters praised the commission’s October notice of proposed rulemaking as “an important inflection point” while emphasizing the need for regulatory certainty. NAB had petitioned the FCC in February 2025 requesting mandatory conversion deadlines, February 2028 for stations in the top 55 markets and February 2030 for remaining stations, but the commission’s proposal instead maintains a... “The FCC’s draft notice comes on the heels of new investment in ATSC 3.0 across the government and industry,” wrote Alex Siciliano, NAB senior vice president of communications, in an Oct.

9 blog post. He cited a $744,000 Department of Transportation contract awarded to NAB for field testing of Broadcast Positioning System technology, which uses NextGen TV signals to supplement GPS. The commission’s approach would permit broadcasters to discontinue ATSC 1.0 transmissions at their discretion while eliminating current requirements that programming on both formats be substantially similar. More than 125 stations in 77 markets covering approximately 75 percent of U.S. households currently broadcast using the ATSC 3.0 standard, according to NAB. On April 7, 2025, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) released a Public Notice seeking comment on the Petition for Rulemaking (the Petition) filed by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) asking the...

Comments are due on May 7, 2025. Reply comments are due June 6, 2025. On February 6, 2025, NAB filed the Petition, seeking to accelerate the transition to Next Gen TV. In the Petition, NAB proposes a two-phased transition. For the first phase, full-power stations in the top 55 markets would be required to transition fully to ATSC 3.0 in February 2028 (with limited waivers for smaller and noncommercial stations). Stations in the remaining markets would be required to transition fully to ATSC 3.0 in February 2030.

The Petition includes additional proposals to facilitate the transition. For example, NAB proposes that the FCC amend section 15.117 of its rules to require that all TV broadcast receivers include ATSC 3.0 tuners. NAB also asks the Commission to consider the need for updates to MVPD carriage rules and the FCC’s rules addressing broadcast transmission standards. In addition to seeking comment on these issues, the FCC also invites comment on the Future of Television Initiative Report (the Report), which NAB filed on January 17, 2025. The Report summarizes discussions and progress made during the transition from the current ATSC 1.0 standard to ATSC 3.0. In February, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) asked the FCC to set a deadline for shutting down ATSC 1.0 and transitioning to ATSC 3.0, also known as NextGen TV.

Now, the FCC is seeking comments on the proposal, as well as any other potential issues that should be discussed before the transition. The NAB suggested a two-phase plan. First, they asked that stations in the top 55 markets, which cover about 70% of U.S. households, switch to ATSC 3.0 by February 2028. The second phase would have all remaining markets make the switch before February 2030. Comments can be submitted here, where you can also read the comments of other interested parties.

In the document seeking comments, the FCC notes that it received thousands of complaints from consumers about Digital Rights Management encryption on ATSC 3.0 signals which could block consumers from watching programming. The FCC asks “What steps can or should the industry and/or the Commission take to ensure broadcasters are able to protect their content and signal, while also ensuring viewers are able to continue to... Individuals and companies are also seeking comments about additional issues with moving to ATSC 3.0, specifically mentioning a few potential barriers to the transition, including: The Media Bureau has clarified some ATSC 3.0 rules relating to the transition that it hopes will encourage more launches and NextGen TV services When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission has issued a Public Notice that the agency hopes will accelerate the transition to NextGen TV, aka ATSC 3.0 and encourage more broadcasters to expand the reach of 3.0 broadcasts... While the Public Notice clarifies some rules in ways that the agency believes will provide broadcasters will addition flexibility in rolling out new NextGen TV services, the FCC has yet to rule on the... The NAB’s proposals, which include a firm ATSC sunset in 2028 and 2030 and mandates for 3.0 capable tuners in TV, are widely backed by major broadcasting station groups but opposed by smaller broadcasters...

Fcc S Atsc 3 0 Rules Would Slow Transition To Next Gen Tv Broadcasting

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