NAB's Future of TV Initiative Report Lacks New Consensus
The NAB-led multistakeholder ATSC 3.0 task force, The Future of TV Initiative (FOTI), released its final report Friday, but the document offers few actionable recommendations and shows little new agreement among stakeholders (see 2501090047). “The report will provide the FCC with a better understanding of stakeholders’ outstanding issues and concerns as it moves forward with the rulemakings necessary to complete the transition and will help focus the efforts of industry as they continue to deploy ATSC 3.0,” NAB said in a news release Friday.
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The report contains 35 pages of text and roughly 30 pages of slides stemming from 18 months of working group meetings between consumer electronics manufacturers, broadcasters, MVPDs and public interest groups. It makes three consensus recommendations: that industry and the FCC continue exploring strategies for lowering or eliminating the costs of ATSC 3.0 devices to consumers, that broadcasters establish best practices for consumer education, and that the FCC and MVPDs review new standards before crafting regulations involving ATSC 3.0. Those recommendations are presented alongside descriptions of long-standing MVPD and public interest concerns about the ATSC 3.0 transition, including the costs to consumers of new devices and to MVPDs of new transcoders and receivers, along with possible rule changes that could be required post-transition. The report details disagreements in working groups over matters such as lowering consumer costs during the transition, the possibility of keeping a “nightlight” ATSC 1.0 station in some markets after a 3.0 transition, and the FCC’s simulcast requirement. However, it doesn’t identify which specific entities hold these positions: working group members are described only generally by their industry. “Public interest participants expressed their belief that viewers should not bear the costs of transitioning to ATSC 3.0, and that the FCC should ensure consumers are protected,” the report reads in a section on funding the transition. “Nearly all broadcast participants agreed that the industry has every incentive to ensure that no station loses a single viewer as a result of the transition.” The report lists entities represented in each working group on the document’s first page.
When Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced the effort at the 2023 NAB Show in Las Vegas, NAB CEO Curtis LeGeyt said the FOTVI would involve the agency taking a leadership role on 3.0, but the report indicates that hasn’t happened. “Federal Communications Commission staff participated in the Working Groups but did not contribute to the preparation of this report,” it said. “References throughout this report to ‘participants’ or ‘Working Group participants’ do not include FCC staff.” With the report’s release, the FCC should seek comment on establishing a 3.0 transition timeline, NAB said in a blog post Friday. “Although issues remain, we believe that the Commission should move expeditiously to usher in this industry-wide transition,” NAB said. “Now is the time to harness this momentum and complete the transition, ensuring that all consumers continue to have access to high quality, free and local over-the-air television.”