Broadcaster ideas for the future of the 39 percent national ownership cap range from getting rid of it completely to applying the 50 percent discount currently reserved for UHF stations to all TV stations, said comments filed Monday in docket 17-318 responding to an FCC NPRM on modifying or eliminating the cap and discount. “The traditional competition and diversity justifications for a broadcast-only national TV ownership rule have significantly eroded,” said NAB. Anti-media consolidation groups and MVPDs argued the cap should be preserved and the UHF discount should be eliminated. The proposals in the NPRM would “overrule Congress” to “suit the interests of Donald Trump’s cronies” at Sinclair and Fox, commented Free Press.
BT Sport showcased the world’s first live HD broadcast in HDR10 high dynamic range by sending a Union of European Football Associations Champions League soccer match telecast to a smartphone, said the British Telecom subsidiary Thursday. The “breakthrough” live trial was Wednesday at London’s Wembley Stadium, broadcasting to a beta version of the BT Sport App installed on a Samsung Galaxy S9 using the 4G mobile network of EE, the BT-owned wireless carrier, it said. In the quarterfinal UEFA Champions League match, Italian champions Juventus defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2-1. “Mobile viewers are an important and growing part of our audience, and we’re constantly focusing on innovating to ensure the best possible experience for our sports fans,” said Jamie Hindhaugh, BT Sport chief operating officer, in a written statement. “HDR is the future for mobile -- the technology is perfect for getting the most out of the small screen, with incredible colour and definition.” HD HDR “provides a better mobile experience and is less data intensive for both the mobile network and the user’s data consumption than 4K,” said BT Sport. U.S. broadcasters expressed many of the same sentiments, saying bandwidth constraints have many looking toward using 1080p with HDR in launching ATSC 3.0, at least as an “interim” approach (see 1705160044). BT Sport used 24 Ultra HD cameras at Wembley, including 17 that captured the match in native HDR10, the rest upconverted to HDR10, it said: “BT Sport will continue to test the new HD HDR technology along with other features in development.” BT Sport also beamed the match in 4K with HDR and Dolby Atmos sound to a private screening in London, it said.
A pair of MVPD reconsideration petitions against the ATSC 3.0 order aren’t considered likely to spur the FCC to rethink requirements for the new standard, attorneys and executives on the broadcast and MVPD sides told us. The order's effective date was Monday (see 1803050049).
Though Monday was the effective date of the ATSC 3.0 order, that milestone will have little practical effect because the technology that would let stations use the new standard is largely unavailable and the portions of the order that govern outlets’ transition to 3.0 are still being approved by the Office of Management and the Budget under the Paperwork Reduction Act, said broadcasters, attorneys and FCC officials.
The PyeongChang Olympics "were a great success" for Korean broadcasters that showcased ATSC 3.0 for Ultra HD video reception with high dynamic range, said Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley on a Wednesday earnings call. The “first iteration” of 3.0 for Korean broadcasters “has just been focused on better resolution, better pictures, which we don’t think is the ultimate best use of that technology, and I think they’ll agree,” said Ripley. He also said Sinclair feels "we're getting close" to landing DOJ and FCC approval of the proposed Tribune buy, but opponents of the deal disagree (see 1802280047).
The FCC should waive for five years its Section 79.2(b) emergency information accessibility requirement that dynamic image crawls used during breaking news and emergencies be conveyed aurally since there’s no good technology for broadcasters doing so today, its Disability Advisory Committee (DAC) said Wednesday. Instead, voluntary best practices put together by broadcasters and advocacy groups "is the best and only way to pursue this," said NAB Associate General Counsel Larry Walke.
The “vast majority” of broadcasters are “nowhere close” to exhausting their initial allocation of repacking reimbursement funds, according to their expense filings, said Incentive Auction Task Force Chief Jean Kiddoo at Tuesday’s America’s Public Television Stations’ Public Media Summit. The timing of the agency’s release of a second allocation will be based on how quickly the first portion of funds is drawn down, Kiddoo said. “So far, we don’t see stations maxing out." Kiddoo said the IATF monitors the status of reimbursements “daily.”
Based on public broadcasting's success with lthe FY 2018 federal approprirations process, America's Public TV Stations (APTS) CEO Patrick Butler said . While the White House's FY 2019 budget proposal zeroes out CPB (see 1802120037), "we enjoy incredible support from Congress," APTS Chairman Ronnie Agnew said.
Georgia Public Service Commission unanimously elects Commissioner Lauren “Bubba” McDonald as chair for a two-year term, succeeding Commissioner Stan Wise, resigned from the commission (see 1802210022), succeeded by Tricia Pridemore, tech and workforce development expert, added to the PSC after Gov. Nathan Deal (R) appointed her to finish Wise's term through Dec. 31 ... WTA promotes in Washington office Derrick Owens to senior vice president-government and industry affairs and Eric Keber to succeed him vice president-government affairs.
Broadcasters clashed with Microsoft, MVPDs and unlicensed spectrum advocates responding to an FCC Further NPRM on ATSC 3.0, in filings in docket 16-142 Wednesday. Broadcast entities such as NAB and One Media want transitioning broadcasters to have the option to use vacant channels, but Microsoft, the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute and Public Knowledge said that request is a spectrum grab. Such “a dramatic giveaway” to broadcasters is a legal violation “inconsistent” with the public interest and spectrum policy, and is “likely unnecessary to facilitate the voluntary ATSC 3.0 transition,” Microsoft said. The sides also disagree about the standards to be applied to broadcaster waivers of the 3.0 order’s simulcast requirement.