Sinclair, Gray, Nexstar and Scripps Tout Latest ATSC 3.0 Datacasting Venture

An ATSC 1.0 sunset is the difference between 9 megabits of excess broadcaster spectrum available for datacasting in the average market and “probably something close to 100,” said Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley. “We can absolutely run a very robust business with what we have, but it just pours gasoline on it when we increase capacity.” The FCC put NAB’s late February petition calling for a nationwide sunset out for comment Monday (see 2504070040).

The Edgebeam Wireless venture is different from the numerous previous ATSC 3.0 consortia and datacasting efforts plugged at past NAB Shows because it covers the country and will serve as a one-stop shop for nationwide 3.0 datacasting, said E.W. Scripps CEO Adam Symson. Prior combined efforts -- such as Nexstar and Sinclair’s BitPath -- didn’t include the nation’s four largest TV groups, he said. The BitPath consortium was announced ahead of the 2017 NAB Show, and its efforts will be integrated into Edgebeam, Nexstar told us. “Now you have the ability to sit down with one company” and reach “essentially 100% of U.S. households,” Symson said.

As with past ATSC 3.0 datacasting efforts, broadcasters listed software updates for connected cars and data requirements for streaming video as possible areas where Edgebeam could find customers. The company currently has “trial customers” and isn’t yet generating revenue, Ripley said. There will be revenue in 2025, but it won’t be significant, he added. The four broadcasters are each 25% owners of Edgebeam, but the JV will also contract with each of their companies, as it requires their stations’ spectrum for datacasting, the executives said. The scope of those contracts will depend on where in the country Edgebeam’s datacasting services are needed.

“This business exists to catalyze value creation, both at the joint venture, but also within each of our individual companies based on usage of the spectrum,” Symson said.

The executives said they're optimistic about FCC action on an ATSC 1.0 sunset. “We’re at a moment in time” when “Washington has recognized the need to make some changes to the way our industry is regulated,” Symson said. Like the sunset, Ripley said, the petition’s proposal to require 3.0 tuners in new TV sets isn’t essential to the success of Edgebeam Wireless, but it's “very important to the industry.” There has “always been a tuner mandate,” Ripley said. FCC approval of a 1.0 sunset without a tuner mandate could threaten the viability of the broadcast TV business and local news, said Nexstar COO Michael Biard.

A push by low-power TV broadcaster HC2 for FCC approval of a 5G broadcast standard for low-power television is “really just noise” and “not a factor at all” in the 3.0 transition, Ripley said. He said 3.0 is superior at reaching mobile devices and predicted 3.0 chips would eventually be included in most mobile phones and tablets. ATSC 3.0 is already included in TVs, while 5G broadcast proponents are “starting from scratch.”

After touting Edgebeam and expressing optimism about ownership deregulation, Ripley said in an interview that Sinclair remains open to an asset sale. “We are here to maximize the value of the ship for the shareholders, and everything is still on the table,” he said. Symson echoed that idea, saying, “I think everyone is talking to everybody” about potential station sales to take place if ownership rules are relaxed. Asked if a sale of Sinclair’s stations to a buyer less supportive of ATSC 3.0 could hurt Edgebeam, Ripley replied: “The whole industry’s into 3.0.”