Sinclair and Tribune overlap in 14 markets, but Sinclair is confident its planned $6.6 billion deal -- $3.9 billion purchase plus assumption of $2.7 billion in debt -- won't require any station sales since the overlaps have no impact on competition, Sinclair CEO Christopher Ripley said. Station swaps, on the other hand, "are high on the list of priorities," he said in an analyst call after Sinclair/Tribune was announced Monday. "Swaps are definitely on the table."
Sinclair sees the recent FCC vote to restore the UHF discount (see 1704200048) as “a reasonable first step in bringing antiquated broadcast rules in line with the realities of today’s diverse media landscape,” CEO Chris Ripley said on a Wednesday earnings call. “Further modernization of the broadcast regulations will benefit consumers through economies of scale that allow broadcasters to invest more in local news and quality local programming," he said.
LAS VEGAS -- It’s conceivable that a TV maker would be able to use software updates, under the right conditions, to render a set ATSC 3.0-ready when it doesn’t have that capability out of the box, Brian Markwalter, CTA senior vice president-research and standards, told us Tuesday at the NAB Show.
LAS VEGAS -- The FCC will vote on a proposed “comprehensive review” of its media regulations at its May 18 meeting, Chairman Ajit Pai said during his keynote Tuesday at the NAB Show. The review will include looks at rules for broadcast, cable and satellite and will be distinct from the FCC's quadrennial review of its ownership rules, Pai told reporters after his speech. Though Pai declined to provide details about the proposal, numerous broadcast attorneys told us they expect the review to focus on “regulatory underbrush,” smaller, outdated rules. “Our goal is simple: to have rules that reflect the world of 2017, not 2007, 1997, 1987, or 1977,” Pai told broadcasters.
LAS VEGAS -- PBS hopes “soon” to begin airing high-dynamic-range programming, but in 1080p rather than in the 4K resolution commonly associated with HDR, Renard Jenkins, vice president-operations, production, media and distribution, told the Ultra HD Forum's "MasterClass" HDR workshop Saturday at the NAB Show. “When I say ‘soon,’ within the next 24 months is what we’re shooting for,” Jenkins told us.
LAS VEGAS -- UHD Alliance President Hanno Basse concedes he wishes his group’s Ultra HD Premium logo had wider market presence than it has today, he told an NAB Show supersession Monday on Ultra HD broadcasting’s coming of age. But Basse also is happy, as he sees it, that the logo certification program raised the industry’s performance ‘benchmark’ for Ultra HD TVs, Blu-ray players and content, he said.
LAS VEGAS -- The number of TV stations that chose not to sell their spectrum in the TV incentive auction demonstrates that broadcasting is the "highest and best use of spectrum," NAB President Gordon Smith said, officially opening NAB 2017 Monday. He also discussed ATSC 3.0 and chips in smartphones.
ATSC 3.0 and the post-incentive auction repacking are expected to be the dominant subjects at NAB Show 2017, attorneys, broadcasters and analysts told us. The industry convention officially was to start Saturday. The new standard and the repacking are the biggest topics in broadcasting because they ultimately could determine “where we’re going as an industry,” Sinclair Broadcast Vice President-Advanced Technology Mark Aitken said in an interview. While broadcasters are comparing notes on repacking plans and eyeing new ATSC 3.0 equipment, they’ll likely also be talking about channel sharing possibilities, and feeling out potential deals, BIA/Kelsey Chief Economist Mark Fratrik said.
The FCC could “re-scope” the licenses of broadcasters involved in ATSC 3.0 simulcasting instead of issuing separate licenses, NAB said in a meeting with acting Media Bureau Chief Michelle Carey and Media Bureau staff April 12, according to an ex parte filing at the commission. The re-scoped license would include a broadcaster’s transmissions on a simulcast partner’s spectrum while excluding the simulcasting partner’s transmissions on the first broadcaster’s spectrum, NAB said. “An approach along these lines could provide both certainty and flexibility,” NAB said.
As the suite of ATSC 3.0 standards “nears completion,” the next-generation broadcast system will take center stage on the NAB Show exhibit floor, where “multiple companies will demonstrate breakthrough ATSC 3.0 hardware and software,” ATSC said in a Thursday announcement. Highlights will include a BBC R&D demonstration of the hybrid log-gamma high dynamic range format developed with NHK of Japan. On the show floor, BBC will showcase HLG’s picture quality “in the context” of its inclusion in the ATSC A/341 video document and the ITU’s BT.2100 recommendation, ATSC said. BBC also will highlight the benefits of wide color gamut and how HDR and wide color can be interoperable with standard dynamic range BT.709 color, it said. In another NAB Show highlight, Dolby Labs “will offer a hands-on demonstration of live AC-4 encoding and decoding,” as specified in the A/342 ATSC 3.0 audio document, ATSC said. “Visitors will be able to adjust encoding and decoding parameters, watch the system automatically adapt, and hear the results in real time,” it said. “Dolby experts will be on hand to answer questions regarding Dolby Atmos, legacy and new workflows, and deployment of AC-4 and ATSC 3.0.” The NAB Show exhibit floor opens April 24 at the Las Vegas Convention Center for a four-day run.