Broadcasters want the FCC to distinguish between “next-generation EAS” (emergency alert system) and enhanced alerting through ATSC 3.0, said replies posted Friday in docket 15-94. “Conflating the two platforms threatens to encourage the migration of the rules and requirements that govern EAS (which have accrued from the 1950’s to this proceeding) to ATSC 3.0 emergency messaging,” said the Advanced Warning and Response Network Alliance and ATSC. The 3.0 “optional, value-added urgent news information service” is called “Advanced Emergency Information” and is a valuable supplement for EAS alerts but isn’t the same thing, NAB said. “Refrain from regulating such an optional ATSC 3.0 content service because it is unrelated to the vital service provided by the EAS system and doing so could hinder innovation.” AWARN and ATSC urged the FCC not to impose alerting regulations on streaming media. NAB reiterated (see 2110200065) that an FCC proposal for persistent EAS alerts isn’t feasible.
A holiday marketing campaign on ATSC 3.0 and the enhanced audio features it enables begins in late November, said Pearl TV Thursday. The nine-week campaign will air in the 34 markets that have 3.0 and will educate consumers about Dolby audio features, such as enhanced dialogue, it said. Dolby’s Sound Decisions marketing campaign will demonstrate 3.0-exclusive audio features, and broadcasters will also air commercials on 3.0, themed the "Future of Television." ATSC 3.0 enabled TV will be available in stores “just in time for the holiday shopping season and a variety of retailer deals associated with recognized shopping events,” said Pearl.
Recent furor about Sesame Street character Big Bird advocating for COVID-19 vaccines is unlikely to derail America’s Public Television Stations requests for increased federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, said APTS President Patrick Butler in a virtual talk hosted by The Media Institute. “I don’t think this is going to be a particularly long-lasting controversy,” Butler said.
The COVID-19 pandemic turned the TV world on its ear in a short time, and the industry is grappling to learn which trends will stick and how to address the many challenges, said panelists on Digital Media Wire’s virtual Future of Television conference Monday.
The FCC unanimously approved a Further NPRM seeking comment on proposals from NAB’s petition on ATSC 3.0 multicasting. The FNPRM released Friday tentatively concludes that the agency should let 3.0 stations license multicast streams that are hosted by other stations (see 2110280064). It proposes allowing stations broadcasting in 3.0 on their own channels to license ATSC 1.0 multicast streams hosted by other stations without simulcasting that stream in 3.0 themselves. Licensing multicast streams would make clear what station is responsible for FCC violations on a given stream, the FNPRM said. It would also address concerns about noncommercial educational stations hosting the streams of commercial broadcasters, the FNPRM said. FCC rules prohibit airing broadcast ads over NCE spectrum. The proposals could help address broadcaster capacity concerns “by facilitating the participation of stations uncomfortable with a purely contractual approach and making the participation of NCE stations legally permissible,” the FNPRM said. The FCC declined to seek comment on an NAB proposal for broadcasters to host multicast streams even without broadcasting in 3.0 but asked about allowing 3.0 broadcasters to host their primary and multicast streams on different stations to prevent service loss. “Is there any reason to treat ‘simulcast’ multicast streams differently than ‘simulcast’ primary streams?” the FCC asked. The FNPRM seeks comment on how to prevent broadcasters from taking advantage of the rule changes “to aggregate programming or broadcast spectrum on multiple stations in a market in a manner that would not otherwise be possible or permitted.”
A drop in automotive advertising caused by supply chain woes remains a drag on TV and radio advertising, according to Q3 reports delivered in calls last week. Last year's revenue was strongly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic’s slowdown on commercials but buoyed by political spots from the presidential election, several companies noted.
No changes have been proposed internally to a draft FCC order clarifying ATSC 3.0 multicast rules, though the item hasn't been OK'd by all commissioners, said agency and industry officials in recent interviews. Broadcasters say approving the item -- which stems from an NAB petition for clarification -- will speed the transition to 3.0. “Anything we can do to expedite 3.0 deployment will be for the benefit of viewers and platform users,” said One Media Executive Vice President-Strategic and Legal Affairs Jerald Fritz.
Clarify rules for broadcasters hosting ATSC 3.0 multicast streams as part of the transition to the new standard, asked NAB in calls with an aide to FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr last week, said a filing posted Monday in docket 16-142. A draft item addressing NAB’s petition on the matter was recently circulated (see 2110130061). “NAB’s proposed changes are intended to ensure that the Commission has a consistent regulatory framework as the Next Gen TV rollout continues,” the group said.
Triveni Digital will host a virtual ATSC 3.0 event Nov. 3 that will include a keynote by ATSC President Madeleine Noland and live sessions with 3.0 broadcasters and developers, including Ark Multicasting, said the company Monday. The event, called the Triveni Digital LIVE Forum, “will be vastly different than mainstream virtual events; we'll swap out pre-recorded webinars with engaging and interactive live discussions,” said Triveni. “With the cancellation of the 2021 NAB Show, the broadcast industry is missing out on the opportunity to interact and engage.”
An NAB petition on clarifying FCC ATSC 3.0 multicast rules was circulated to the eighth floor last week, according to the FCC website and a broadcast industry official. The petition involves the “substantially similar” programming requirement for stations switching to the new standard and would make shifting markets easier, broadcasters said (see 2109300003). NAB wants certainty on which station the FCC will hold responsible for violations of rules when broadcasters are hosting each other’s channels on multicast streams during the 3.0 changeover.