Crandi

Nab Slams Nextgen Tv Critics For Protecting Their Turf

Leo Migdal
-
nab slams nextgen tv critics for protecting their turf

Broadcaster group responds to last month's FCC meeting with NCTA, CTA and others When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. The National Association of Broadcasters is hitting back at critics who oppose its proposal to phase out the current ATSC 1.0 DTV over-the-air standard and transition to ATSC 3.0 (aka NextGen TV). In February, the NAB filed a petition with the FCC to phase out ATSC 1.0 in two phases: In 2028, the top 55 DMAs (designated market areas) would be allowed to shut down 1.0,... DMAs doing so by 2030.

The association said the current transitory phase, in which one station in a market hosts other stations also broadcasting 3.0, is preventing TV stations from taking full advantage of 3.0, which combines traditional radio... In a blog post, NAB Chief Legal Officer and Executive Vice President Rick Kaplan criticized comments made by representatives of the Consumer Technology Association and NCTA—The Internet & Television Association during a meeting with... ACA Connects, the American Television Alliance (ATVA), and the LPTV Broadcasters Association also attended that meeting, but Kaplan’s remarks were aimed squarely at CTA and NCTA. A summary of the meeting was filed with the FCC. Save this article for later! Login or create a Free Member Profile to bookmark it.

Broadcaster group responds to last month’s FCC meeting with NCTA, CTA and others. This article was originally posted on tvtechnology.com Another day, another reflexive, innovation-blocking FCC filing from the usual suspects – cable lobbyists, legacy advocacy groups and industry players who oppose anything that might strengthen free, over-the-air broadcasting or challenge the dominance of... Their latest attack on ATSC 3.0 – the Next Gen TV broadcast standard already delivering improved video, immersive audio, innovative interactive features, and more – is as predictable as it is tired. Let’s be clear: these groups aren’t protecting the public. They’re protecting their turf.

Their familiar talking points are still wrong: Here’s what’s really happening: broadcasters are working to preserve and strengthen free television for everyone, while our competitors are busy finding new ways to extract more money from viewers every month by diverting viewers... CTA, for one, uses faulty logic to suggest ATSC 3.0 tuners are responsible for an $80 price difference between TVs with Next Gen TV capability and those without, ignoring the fact that those models... For example, many of the TVs that include Next Gen tuners also offer 8K video, higher-end display technologies, high refresh rates and upgraded speakers. The manufacturers who are actively embracing ATSC 3.0 – many of whom are ironically “represented” by CTA – are delivering real value to consumers and helping to modernize free, over-the-air television. We should be celebrating this innovation – not undermining it.

To the contrary, innovation is happening and it’s threatening those eager to protect their profits. ATSC 3.0 brings flexible, secure, IP-based broadcasting to viewers without the strings of Big Tech. The objections about digital rights management (DRM) are driven by fear of losing control, not genuine concern for open ecosystems. We also wonder if NCTA bothered checking with its members before joining a filing arguing that encryption is bad. Just read that in Feb 2025 the NAB petitioned the FCC to quicken the transition to ATSC3 (NextGen). See page 4 of the NAB’s petition: https://nab.org/documents/newsRoom/pdfs/Petition_for_Rulemaking_ATSC3.pdf

They have run into some opposition. From: CTA Tells FCC Not to Mandate ATSC 3.0 Tuners | TV Tech The NAB response to the CTA opposition: From: NAB Slams NextGen TV Critics for ‘Protecting Their Turf' | TV Tech The transition from the NTSC analog TV standard to the ATSC1 digital standard was only made after about a 10 year transition period. That provided enough time for consumers to transition to an ATSC1 TV when their analog TV sets reached the end of their life. So the vast majority of consumers had an ATSC1 TV by the time of the mandatory shutdown of NTSC transmitters.

I believe that is unlikely to be the case for this transition if the NAB gets its way. NAB: On the media policy battlefield, no one defends his broadcast foxhole like Rick Kaplan. In his role as Chief Legal Officer and Executive Vice President at the National Association of Broadcasters, Kaplan can be unsparing in his responses to critics of America’s radio and TV station owners. He goes on the offensive when the AM Radio bill on Capitol Hill is attacked as a sop to broadcasters instead of a public safety measure. And just yesterday, he fired back at pay-TV providers (NCTA, ACA Connects, and the American TV Alliance) plus the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), for refusing to support the transition to NextGen TV (also called... “Their latest attack on ATSC 3.0 – the NextGen TV broadcast standard – is as predictable as it is tired.

Let’s be clear: these groups aren’t protecting the public. They’re protecting their turf,” Kaplan said in a lengthy blog post. (More after paywall.) ATSC 3.0’s internet features are pointless for an OTA viewer. If someone has a television with internet connectivity, it is 99% likely that they’re already watching TV (including local broadcasters) on CATV or via Sling, DirecTV Stream, Hulu+, YouTube TV, or some other internet... Conversely, anyone watching OTA TV is 99% likely to either not have internet access, or their service is data capped and they don’t want to waste their rationed bits on what they can get...

So in both cases the ATSC 3.0’s enhanced internet content is pointless. 25 years later and I still insist that Broadcasters need to insist on a robust transmission format that degrades more gracefully than ATSC 1.0, with lowering video resolution as signal quality degrades, and the... People will put up with a lot of macroblocking and freezing in the picture if the audio continues to be received. But lost audio is so annoying that people will turn off even programming like the Super Bowl as unwatchable. I don’t know enough about ATSC 3.0 to know if it will deliver this sort of robust OTA performance, but knowing that it is COFDM-based is encouraging. Another 5 years and the Starlink constellation will be filled out enough to provide rural streaming service for the entire country that is currently outside of traditional ISP’s service areas.

OTA in its current form will then be the domain of those who cannot afford or do not wish to pay for internet service. Old man rant over. Public interest groups, MVPD groups and low-power TV broadcasters opposed to NAB’s petition for a mandatory ATSC 3.0 transition are “protecting their turf” rather than the public interest, said NAB Chief Legal Officer Rick... Kaplan was responding to a June ex parte filing from the Consumer Technology Association, NCTA, ACA Connects, Public Knowledge, the Advanced Television Alliance and the LPTV Broadcasters Association, which said NAB’s request goes against... Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!

The groups also told Media Bureau staff and an aide to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr that NAB misrepresented the consensuses reached among the stakeholders in the Future of Television Initiative, NAB’s yearlong task force... The ATSC 3.0 opponents are “panicking,” and their arguments are “tired,” Kaplan wrote Monday. He challenged CTA figures showing that 3.0 tech is driving up the cost of TVs and dismissed cable industry concerns about the cost of upgrading. “Innovation is happening and it’s threatening those eager to protect their profits,” he said. “ATSC 3.0 brings flexible, secure, IP-based broadcasting to viewers without the strings of Big Tech.” Kaplan also pushed back on consumer arguments against encrypting ATSC 3.0 signals.

“The objections about digital rights management (DRM) are driven by fear of losing control, not genuine concern for open ecosystems,” he said. “Let’s stop pretending this rag-tag opposition speaks for the public. It’s not clear that NCTA or CTA know what the public interest is.” In a blog post, NAB Chief Legal Officer and Executive Vice President Rick Kaplan criticized comments made by representatives of the Consumer Technology Association and NCTA—The Internet & Television Association during a meeting with... ACA Connects, the American Television Alliance (ATVA), and the LPTV Broadcasters Association also attended that meeting, but Kaplan’s remarks were aimed squarely at CTA and NCTA. A summary of the meeting was filed with the FCC.

https://lnkd.in/g3g4M5GF "Millions of television viewers are already enjoying the benefits of Next Gen TV." It would be nice to know where that data is coming from.

People Also Search

Broadcaster Group Responds To Last Month's FCC Meeting With NCTA,

Broadcaster group responds to last month's FCC meeting with NCTA, CTA and others When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. The National Association of Broadcasters is hitting back at critics who oppose its proposal to phase out the current ATSC 1.0 DTV over-the-air standard and transition to ATSC 3.0 (aka NextGen TV). In February, the NA...

The Association Said The Current Transitory Phase, In Which One

The association said the current transitory phase, in which one station in a market hosts other stations also broadcasting 3.0, is preventing TV stations from taking full advantage of 3.0, which combines traditional radio... In a blog post, NAB Chief Legal Officer and Executive Vice President Rick Kaplan criticized comments made by representatives of the Consumer Technology Association and NCTA—Th...

Broadcaster Group Responds To Last Month’s FCC Meeting With NCTA,

Broadcaster group responds to last month’s FCC meeting with NCTA, CTA and others. This article was originally posted on tvtechnology.com Another day, another reflexive, innovation-blocking FCC filing from the usual suspects – cable lobbyists, legacy advocacy groups and industry players who oppose anything that might strengthen free, over-the-air broadcasting or challenge the dominance of... Their ...

Their Familiar Talking Points Are Still Wrong: Here’s What’s Really

Their familiar talking points are still wrong: Here’s what’s really happening: broadcasters are working to preserve and strengthen free television for everyone, while our competitors are busy finding new ways to extract more money from viewers every month by diverting viewers... CTA, for one, uses faulty logic to suggest ATSC 3.0 tuners are responsible for an $80 price difference between TVs with ...

To The Contrary, Innovation Is Happening And It’s Threatening Those

To the contrary, innovation is happening and it’s threatening those eager to protect their profits. ATSC 3.0 brings flexible, secure, IP-based broadcasting to viewers without the strings of Big Tech. The objections about digital rights management (DRM) are driven by fear of losing control, not genuine concern for open ecosystems. We also wonder if NCTA bothered checking with its members before joi...