ATSC 3.0, Repacking to Dominate NAB Show
ATSC 3.0 and the post-incentive auction repacking are expected to be the dominant subjects at NAB Show 2017, attorneys, broadcasters and analysts told us. The industry convention officially was to start Saturday. The new standard and the repacking are the biggest topics in broadcasting because they ultimately could determine “where we’re going as an industry,” Sinclair Broadcast Vice President-Advanced Technology Mark Aitken said in an interview. While broadcasters are comparing notes on repacking plans and eyeing new ATSC 3.0 equipment, they’ll likely also be talking about channel sharing possibilities, and feeling out potential deals, BIA/Kelsey Chief Economist Mark Fratrik said.
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FCC Chairman Ajit Pai will speak at the convention Tuesday, and likely can expect a more friendly reception than his predecessor, numerous broadcast officials said. “He will be welcomed with open arms,” Aitken said. Pai is widely seen as the most pro-broadcast chairman in many years, and can expect to be received accordingly at NAB, officials said. It’s often expected the FCC will do something positive for broadcasters before the show, but attorneys are split on whether that will happen this year or if it already has. Thursday’s vote to restore the UHF discount is seen as a boon to broadcast dealmaking and could fill the role of the pre-show “gift,” but some broadcast attorneys said they also are looking to the draft item that would relax broadcaster EEO requirements (see 1704140058) as potentially filling that role, if it were approved early this week. It’s not clear whether that item is ready for a vote, however, and all three commissioners would need to support it for it to be passed outside of a meeting (see 1703100056).
The show will feature numerous presentations and papers about ATSC 3.0, Aitken said, and discussions about the new standard are likely to focus on how broadcasters should proceed once it’s approved. Sinclair and Nexstar formed a consortium for monetizing aggregated broadcast spectrum under the new standard, and discussions about participating in that group are likely at the show, he said. Since the transition plan involves a great deal of cooperation among broadcasters, the networking opportunity presented by the show is important, Aitken said. The show floor also will be thick with equipment that facilitates the new standard, Pillsbury Winthrop broadcast attorney Scott Flick pointed out.
Many broadcasters will be anticipating repacking reimbursement funds coming their way and could be planning to use their repacking-required construction to also prepare their stations for the new broadcast standard, attorneys said. According to numbers released by the FCC, 133 stations announced their intention to channel share, and many of those don’t have sharing arrangements worked out. Those sorts of discussions may take place at the NAB Show, broadcast attorneys said.
There also likely will be M&A talk, Fratrik said. With Pai’s ascendancy, the new standard on the horizon, and the incentive auction quiet period no longer a barrier to dealmaking, “it’s a buoyant time for the industry,” Fratrik said. Some broadcasters may keep their powder dry until the fate of the FCC’s media ownership rules becomes clear, but many preliminary discussions probably will occur at the NAB Show, attorneys said.
For radio broadcasters, the focus on the show likely will be on translators and issues connected with them, an attorney said. NAB filed a petition for rulemaking Thursday asking the FCC to act to make it easier to resolve interference disputes between FM translators and FM stations. The petition proposes more flexibility for translator channel changes, and rigorous evidence requirements. FCC translator windows have led to a surge in FM translators, and thus more interference issues, attorneys said.