Robbins Blasts Broadcasters For Not Serving Public Well

The speech was apparently never supposed to have been given. An introduction indicated that Robbins would participate in a Q&A, and he did sit down with a moderator. But before the first question was asked he mentioned a speech he had prepared, and some from the audience urged him to give it, so he stepped to the podium.

Robbins’ speech, often sarcastic and laced with words that would get broadcasters fined, was a sharp contrast to the upbeat opening speech by NAB President David Rehr. After taking broadcasters to task for more than 20 minutes, Robbins was rewarded with a standing ovation from most, though not all, of the crowd. Asked why Robbins had prepared a speech but was expected to sit down for an interview instead, NAB Executive Vice President Dennis Wharton joked that the change “was scripted… you can quote me on that.”

Robbins attacked the lack of diversity of views on radio and TV, suggested that the easing of ownership limits led to homogenization of broadcasts and criticized broadcasters for focusing on ratings-generating Hollywood scandals rather than real news. “We are better than that,” Robbins said. “Enough is enough. We aren’t just businessmen, but guardians of the human spirit… The road we are on is leading us to corruption of our better selves.”

“We found the speech to be entertaining and thought- provoking, though we were not expecting the expletives not deleted,” Wharton said. He refused to comment further on why Robbins wrote the speech, then was not to give it, then did.

Rehr’s earlier speech was in sharp contrast, focusing on the opportunities of digital and assuring the broadcasters that their business model was not “broken.” He acknowledged that new technologies like YouTube and satellite radio raised questions about the future of broadcasting, and that “some are overwhelmed” by the changes.

But “some people are staring so long at the door that is closing that they don’t see the door that is opening,” Rehr said, referring to digital radio and TV. He said HD Radio multicasting, for example, allows stations to offer multiple niche program streams that should be even more attractive to audiences, and TV stations can use DTV for mobile services.

Rehr predicted that mobile DTV alone will generate $2 billion in additional revenue annually within four years, assuming broadcasters can agree on a single standard. He also said broadcasters must “begin making the Internet a part of our DNA.” Most importantly, though, Rehr said “broadcast content still is the best and most valued,” so broadcasters will do well, regardless of how the content is distributed.

Rehr spoke only briefly about Washington policy issues, saying “we could win every battle in Washington and it wouldn’t matter if we didn’t believe in our own future.” He repeated NAB attacks on the performance tax, the XM-Sirius merger and white spaces devices.

Broadcasters “have all we need to survive,” CBS broadcaster Charles Osgood said, accepting the NAB Distinguished Service Award. “It’s what we do with what we've got that counts.” He said broadcasters remain the best story tellers and the best salesmen: “Our future is not in our stars, but in ourselves.” -- Michael Feazel

NAB Notebook

There’s no evidence of economic downturn in the broadcast equipment industry, consulting firm IABM said. Global sales of broadcast equipment are growing 11.4 percent annually, with profit up 19 percent per year, the company said. Nearly 80 percent of broadcast gear firms make money, up 15 percentage points from a year ago, it added. “As yet, there is no firm evidence of an industry-wide downturn in broadcast infrastructure investment, although there are anecdotal reports of a downturn in a few areas,” said IABM CEO Roger Stanwell.

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Trial users average more than four hours a month watching TV news via the Internet, suggesting an “unfulfilled appetite” for news on the Web, online TV news broadcaster Livestation said. The results were “significantly higher than we expected, considering the limited selection of channels available during the trial,” CEO Matteo Berlucchi said. The technical trial included content from Al Jazeera, BBC, Sky, Bloomberg, EuroNews, France 24 and Canal Plus. Livestation is preparing to launch a beta version, with full public launch due later this year.

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The FCC “may be poised” to impose “the most intensive government oversight of broadcast programming” in commission history, First Amendment lawyer Robert Corn Revere told a Sunday American Bar Association legal forum in Las Vegas, citing recent FCC actions. He asked how far the public interest mandate can “be stretched.” Industry representatives’ claim that the public interest standard no longer is needed, due to new and developing electronic media, was sharply disputed by Cheryl Leanza, head of the Office of Communications of the United Church of Christ.

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Broadcasters had little to say about preliminary data from mobile DTV field tests that began in February. The Open Mobile Video Coalition has been looking at three mobile DTV systems being considered for an industry standard by the Advanced TV Systems Committee. The group was hoping to have a single candidate by now (CD March 13 p10). Instead, OMVC released preliminary findings. The technology didn’t interfere with standard DTV service, worked in both the UHF and VHF bands, and mobile DTV signals could be picked up 40 miles from a transmitter, said Sterling Davis, Cox vice president of engineering and head of a coalition body overseeing the tests. Field tests in Las Vegas ended last week. The technology committee is still analyzing the data, Davis said. The group plans to make its final recommendation to the ATSC May 15, after finishing lab tests. -- JW

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Radio stations in smaller markets can begin to broadcast digitally at far lower cost, thanks to work NAB underwrote, vendors said Sunday. In 2006 NAB’s HD Radio advancement task force set out to cut digital gear costs, investing more than $1 million for iBiquity and vendors to put engineers on the task. The result was a solid-state “embedded exporter,” which helps move HD programming from studio to transmitter and costs 40 to 50 percent less than earlier versions, reducing the total expense of providing HD radio by about 20 percent. Using this equipment will save members “millions,” NAB President David Rehr said. “For small and medium market stations, the cost is still the biggest barrier” to broadcaster adoption of HD Radio, said Dan Dickey, vice president of engineering at Continental Electronics. Continental, Broadcast Electric, Harris and Nautel began taking orders Monday for their interoperable versions of the equipment.