The range of auction results announced by stations exemplifies the intent of Congress and the FCC that each licensee in the incentive auction has a range of choices for what to do with its spectrum, Incentive Auction Task Force Chairman Gary Epstein said at America's Public Television Stations conference Tuesday. Though he said the FCC couldn't release details about how specific stations did, such information will become available when the commission issues its channel reassignment public notice in April. At that time, the FCC will "open the tent" to allow industry to see how the auction "played out," Epstein said. In a videotaped message played before the panel, Chairman Ajit Pai said he hoped the funds raised from the auction by public TV stations allow them to "enhance the services they provide."
The ATSC 3.0 NPRM released Friday (see 1702240069) keeps intact the FCC’s call for comments on whether it should consider a tuner mandate or require HDMI ports on future TVs to upgrade ATSC 1.0 TVs for 3.0 reception. The commission had written both those solicitations into the draft NPRM it released Feb. 2 (see 1702020059).
America's Public Television Stations President Patrick Butler conceded Washington is "rife with rumor" that President Donald Trump will recommend a budget that doesn't include funding for the CPB (see 1702230060), and noncommercial educational stations shouldn't "fear the battle that will come." Along with public TV's extensive support in Congress, 70 percent of Trump voters support funding CPB and would tell the president to "leave public television alone," Butler said at an APTS conference.
The FCC released the final ATSC 3.0 NPRM, which was approved Thursday by a unanimous vote. The item seeks comment on a proposed voluntary transition plan for broadcasters to move to transmitting in the new standard (see 1702230060).
Anxiety rose over the fate of the CPB in recent weeks, after reports the Trump administration may be mulling a FY 2018 budget that places its funding on the chopping block. The White House and appropriators resisted confirming any objections to the CPB last week. Broadcasting officials told us Capitol Hill appropriators may stand poised to uphold the funding, if the administration does push such a proposal.
The A/341 document on ATSC 3.0 video that went out for ballot late January for elevation to the status of a proposed standard (see 1701200004) largely is silent on choosing a preferred high-dynamic-range technology for the next-generation broadcast system. A/341 does express dual support for perceptual quantization HDR systems like HDR10 and Dolby Vision and also the hybrid log-gamma approach proposed for HDR broadcasts by BBC and NHK.
The FCC approved unanimously an NPRM on ATSC 3.0 and an order relaxing location rules for FM translators at Thursday’s commissioners' meeting, as expected (see 1702210058). Commissioner Mignon Clyburn supported the NPRM on the new TV standard, but was critical of aspects of the document and said it didn’t do enough to show that TV consumers won’t have their service disrupted by the transition to ATSC 3.0.
Triveni Digital will market a series of ATSC 3.0 "starter kits" that will bring broadcasters "up to speed” with the next-generation TV standard in a "real-world environment," the company said in a Wednesday announcement. The kits will be introduced throughout the year and “encompass everything from file-based monitoring to live encoding and over-the-air transmission options,” it said. Triveni plans to demonstrate the kits for the first time at the NAB Show in late April, where it will exhibit in the Las Vegas Convention Center’s North Hall, it said. Triveni Chief Science Officer Rich Chernock chairs ATSC’s Technology Group 3, which is supervising ATSC 3.0's framing.
Sinclair’s One Media is continuing development of ATSC 3.0 products and services that will “lead to next-gen business opportunities,” said CEO Chris Ripley on a Wednesday earnings call. One Media’s ATSC 3.0 efforts include work on single-frequency-network deployment, automotive telematics, “a 3.0 transition plan and other business-model opportunities,” said Ripley.
The wording of the FCC’s draft NPRM on ATSC 3.0 makes it “very clear” the FCC will adopt the new standard, and an order is expected this fall, said Jerald Fritz, One Media executive vice president-strategic and legal affairs, in an FCBA CLE on the new television standard Tuesday.