Gray: FCC Should Issue ATSC 3.0 NPRM 'Promptly'
The FCC should promptly issue an NPRM on a mandatory transition to ATSC 3.0, said Gray Media in a meeting and presentation Tuesday with an aide to Commissioner Olivia Trusty, according to an ex parte filing posted Thursday in docket…
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16-142. “The 30-year-old ATSC 1.0 standard places broadcasters at a technological disadvantage compared to other content and video delivery platforms, hindering the viewer experience and the ability of broadcasters to grow advertising revenues,” Gray said. ATSC 3.0 datacasting “will supplement and support video broadcasting; it will not replace it,” Gray said. Opponents of the proposal for a mandatory 3.0 transition have argued that broadcasters will use the new standard to neglect their public interest and content obligations (see 2507090052). Datacasting revenue “can help underwrite the expensive costs of producing high quality local journalism and help Gray fulfill its public interest obligations,” the filing said. “New retrans revenue fueled broadcast in the 2010s. Datacasting can do that in the 2030s,” said a slide included in the presentation.