COVID-19 forced ATSC to postpone its Next Gen Broadcast Conference to Aug. 27-28, said President Madeleine Noland Wednesday. It will hold a members-only remote annual meeting on the original May 20 date, she said: “Only time will tell what the long-term impact this pandemic will have on the broadcasting industry.”
Commissioner Mike O’Rielly vowed to prevent broadcast ownership regulations from applying to ATSC 3.0, in his written remarks Tuesday on the FCC NPRM on distributed transmission systems. That NPRM and media items on program carriage and significantly viewed stations were, as expected (see 2003300054), approved unanimously before a brief teleconference-only commissioners’ meeting Tuesday. Commissioners mostly held off on comments (see 2003310067). Telecom items also were OK'd (see 2003310039).
Media items slated for Tuesday’s commissioners’ meeting -- on distributed transmission systems (DTS) for ATSC 3.0, the definition of significantly viewed, and revised program carriage rules -- are expected to be approved unanimously, FCC and industry officials told us. The agency’s COVID-19 meeting procedures include voting the meeting items on circulation (see 2003240057) by the meeting’s 10:30 a.m. start time. An official said eighth-floor offices were entering votes Monday on items that had completed the editing process. A spokesperson said deletion notices will be issued for any items adopted before the meeting -- “as we have said we expect them to be.” No media items are considered controversial.
In a new twist for the COVID-19 age, commissioners approved, before they gathered electronically, all five regulatory items at a truncated monthly meeting held virtually and webcast live, agency officials told us. All or many of the votes appeared to have been unanimous. Items weren't discussed in detail and voting was done on circulation, as planned. Spokespeople said vote counts weren't immediately available.
Microsoft officials said a proposal to relax rules for distributed transmission systems that broadcasters seek to use for ATSC 3.0 raises concerns as the company rolls out its Airband service in the TV white spaces. Commissioners are to vote on an item for the March 31 meeting (see 2003100065). Microsoft "highlighted the importance of including questions on the potential impact the proposed rule revisions would have on white space device users in the item,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 20-74. Service area for DTS in the UHF band measures 64 miles from the reference point to the edge of the broadcast service area and “the proposed item would effectively extend this area to 153 miles,” representatives told aides to Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioners Mike O’Rielly and Jessica Rosenworcel.
FCC application forms for broadcasters looking to shift to ATSC 3.0 don’t adequately tackle broadcasters hosting each other’s multicast ATSC 1.0 streams, said NAB in a letter to the FCC posted in docket 16-142 Friday. The agency should have broadcasters file exhibits with additional host channels with their applications, or include a request for special temporary authority with their application, NAB said. Broadcast licenses could be updated to include a notation reflecting the additional channels, NAB said. “Including such a notation on the broadcast license would resolve any questions regarding responsibility for the program in the event of any enforcement or regulatory requirement,” the letter said.
NAB won’t try resurrecting its COVID-19-canceled Las Vegas show in 2020 but will stage a virtual event called “NAB Show Express,” said CEO Gordon Smith Friday. Nine days earlier, NAB Show organizers said they were "weighing the best potential path forward," including possibly rescheduling the April 18-22 event later in the year (see 2003110036).
ATSC is “hatching a plan” to give members a “soapbox for the momentum that’s building into April” for the U.S. deployment of 3.0 products and services in 2020, President Madeleine Noland told us Thursday. “We’re in conversations with other organizations that might want to partner with us on that.”
LG will price the 88- and 77-inch models in its ZX series of 8K OLED TVs at $29,000 and $19,999, respectively, when they debut at retail in May, said the manufacturer Monday. Three series of 4K sets, plus the $4,999 WX “wallpaper” 4K TV will round out LG’s 2020 OLED offerings, it said. The top 4K tier is called the GX “gallery” series, with 55-, 65- and 77-inch models due in April priced $2,499 to $5,999, said LG. The gallery series is so named because the TVs in that line sport an ultra-thin form factor without the need for a separate control box, and can be mounted flush to the wall, it said. LG’s lowest-priced OLED TV for 2020 will be $1,599 for the 55-inch model in the BX series due in May. The three models in the GX series, the two 8K sets and the wallpaper TV all will have ATSC 3.0 functionality, said LG.
Edge Networks wants to leverage ATSC 3.0 to deploy a wireless nationwide subscription-based video service, CEO Todd Achilles told us Tuesday. It sees competitive openings in “underserved” secondary and tertiary video markets, plus larger populations with poor or overpriced broadband, and markets with a monopolistic MVPD. Edge is on-air with 3.0 on low-power stations in Boise it’s leasing from Cocola Broadcasting, KBSE-LD Channel 33 and KCBB-LB Channel 34, said Achilles. Those will be the keystone of a hybrid over-the-air/IP 3.0 commercial service launch this summer to homes in the Boise designated market area, accessible through a set-top box Edge is developing, he said. The set-top will have built-in internet connectivity, two dual OTA ATSC 1.0/3.0 tuners, plus onboard storage, said Achilles. Edge wants to price its service offering at about half that of the $109 average monthly U.S. cable bill. With executive stints with HTC and T-Mobile, “I’ve been through a bunch of these transitions in the mobile space,” said Achilles. He regards 3.0 as “the most efficient wireless protocol,” he said. “What we’ve done is basically built a pay-TV model around a foundation of 3.0,” and is aiming its focus on second- and third-tier markets around the U.S. “that are just chronically underserved by the legacy providers,” he said. The startup doesn’t “aspire to do a 200-channel bundle” but rather an offering of 80-100 channels that’s somewhat “curated for what works” in individual markets, said Achilles. That’s “one of the things that differentiates us in our approach” compared with “the big national virtual MVPDs,” said Achilles. Hulu Live and YouTube TV offer “this overarching national bundle that applies to all markets,” he said. The wireless veteran doesn’t think there’s “a good market opportunity” in the U.S. for 3.0 reception in smartphones, he said.