NCTA pitched ‘common ground’ in speech Wed. to Advanced TV System...

“Nowhere is the need for consensus -- for finding common ground among our industries -- more important than in the transition from analog to digital television,” Pres. Robert Sachs said. “Our businesses are converging in ownership, in content and in technology. And while we compete vigorously in the marketplace -- for ad dollars and viewers -- we also must work together to make the next stage of advanced television a reality.” Sachs said digital transition was “not as simple as saying that if every cable operator carries every broadcaster’s digital TV signal,” goal would be achieved quickly, pointing out that 16 million noncable TV households would have to buy integrated DTVs or DTVs with set-top decoders just to get to 85% digital threshold. Sachs said cable was first to fully support FCC Chmn. Powell’s DTV plan, and that cable’s digital capacity wasn’t unlimited, saying high-speed Internet, cable telephony and other services must compete for space on cable plant. NAB Pres. Edward Fritts said broadcasters were leading DTV transition, with 410 stations on air and another 700 DTV transmitters on order. In top 30 markets, 113 of 119 network-affiliated digital stations are on air and that number would be higher were it not for terrorist attack in N.Y. that knocked off some DTV signals there, Fritts said. He said more than 86% of homes in U.S. had access to at least one DTV signal and nearly half were in markets with at least 4 DTV signals. He said NAB was first to support Powell plan, although he said it would seek amendments and modifications if Congress were to adopt his plan as blueprint for legislation. He said NAB would continue to insist that manufacturers include DTV tuners in sets, that cable operators provide full carriage of all free, local DTV signals in their entirety, and that cable MSOs not be allowed to meet their pledge to carry 5 channels of HDTV by carrying Discovery 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. “Cable stripping out or degrading the quality of a free broadcast signal should not be an option,” Fritts said.