It isn't clear what the FCC will decide on the July 13 DTV switch and channel 6 low-power TV stations, leaving some in industry guessing, they said in recent interviews. These LPTV outlets call themselves LP6 stations, while opponents call them “Franken-FMs.” These small stations seek to continue offering analog radio signals as an ancillary service while broadcasting video in ATSC 3.0.
Revised FCC rules for distributed transmission systems take effect May 24, said a Media Bureau public notice in Monday’s Daily Digest. The changes loosen interference requirements to make it easier for broadcasters to employ the technology -- also called single frequency networks -- which is widely considered important to realize ATSC 3.0’s potential (see 2101190078).
The Patent and Trademark Office approved CTA’s second deadline extension request on filing a statement of use (SOU) for the association’s NextGenTV logo as a certification mark on ATSC 3.0-compliant TVs, agency records show. CTA has until Oct. 21 to file the SOU and is entitled to three more deadline extension requests of six months each. It must file by April 21, 2023, the third anniversary of the logo’s notice of allowance, or risk abandonment of the application. PTO requires the SOU as a final condition for issuing a registration certificate to prevent applicants from intentionally hoarding trademarks with no plan to deploy them commercially. CTA told us six months ago that it anticipated filing for no additional extensions because NextGenTVs were prevalent on the market and the logo was plainly in commercial use (see 2010270018). “We don’t anticipate further delays in the PTO process," said Brian Markwalter, CTA senior vice president-research and standards, when asked Wednesday about CTA's apparent reversal. The association is glad the NextGenTV logo "is now in the market -- and we expect sales of these products to grow exponentially," he said.
Fraunhofer and Sinclair will partner to bring the Digital Radio Mondiale “framework” to the ATSC 3.0 suite of TV standards, said the companies Tuesday. The collaboration aims to bring DRM listeners “a seamless and full-featured digital radio experience across all broadcast platforms” on fixed home receivers and mobile and automotive reception devices, they said. Fraunhofer owns the trademark to DRM’s xHE-AAC next-generation audio codec and is a licensor in the xHE-AAC patent pool that Dolby-affiliated Via Licensing created in 2016. Dolby AC-4 and MPEG-H are the designated 3.0 audio codecs for TV services in North America and South Korea, respectively. ATSC signed an agreement last month with the Telecommunications Standards Development Society, India on deploying 3.0 broadcast services to mobile devices in India (see 2103290016). Sinclair has made no secret of its ambitions to bring 3.0 reception to mobile devices and is sourcing receiver chips from India's Saankhya Labs (see 1908070024)
Pearl TV Managing Director Anne Schelle “absolutely” expects one more TV brand to join LG, Samsung and Sony on ATSC 3.0-enabled NextGenTV by the end of 2021, with a fifth brand to follow in 2022’s first quarter, she told us, though nondisclosure agreements bar Schelle from discussing specifics. She’s “hopeful” the year-end product will be announced at October’s NAB Show, and the Q1 product at CES 2022 in January, she said. The “scale that we’re starting to see” in 3.0’s rollout is what’s pulling the additional TV brands into NextGenTV, including the “broadcast push on transitioning stations,” said Schelle. “We’ll have over 65% of households covered by the end of this year, and we’re continuing to drive investment.”
ATSC signed an agreement March 2 with the Telecommunications Standards Development Society, India (TSDSI) as the first step toward deploying ATSC 3.0 broadcast services to mobile devices in India, said the groups Monday. ATSC President Madeleine Noland traveled in fall 2019 to the India Mobile Congress in New Delhi as a guest of the TSDSI, which participates in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project standardization body for 5G. She spoke about 3.0 and 5G “convergence” in India (see 1910110030). “They have 1.2 billion cellphones, so there are opportunities there that are unique,” said Noland then.
FCC rules clarifying how ancillary service fees apply to broadcasters using ATSC 3.0 datacasting (see 2102230068) took effect Thursday, said a Media Bureau public notice.
ATSC's annual NextGen Broadcast Conference is to return as a physical event Aug. 25-26 in Washington after going all-virtual in 2020. A spokesperson said Wednesday that ATSC will continue monitoring conditions on the ground in determining whether plans to hold the physical conference that way. Many other groups we surveyed plan in-person events later this year; see our report here.
FM broadcasters offering geotargeted content have every incentive to reduce self-interference and are required by the FCC to do so, said GeoBroadcast Solutions in replies posted Friday in docket 20-401. REC Networks replied earlier (see 2103100057). GBS, the primary proponent of such proposed changes to booster rules, resisted arguments this would lead to radio advertising “redlining.” All other media can geotarget ads, and those were an ATSC 3.0 selling point, GBS said. “Yet there was no mention of redlining in the hundreds and hundreds of pages of comments filed in that proceeding by the broadcast industry and its trade association.” The Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council and the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters called for a pilot program to test the technology in three markets. They "recommend that the pilot be designed to address all of the questions raised in the comment round of this proceeding, including the impact of the technology on local advertising markets." The FCC simply can't "ignore the concerns of the radio industry,” said the New York State Broadcasters Association, opposing the rule change. “Objectionable interference is certain under the Geo proposal,” said broadcast engineer Alan Kirschner of Nashville. Ad agency Media Negotiator, Urban One DJ and restaurant owner Sam Sylks and Roberts Broadcasting supported the option to geotarget as helpful to radio and local businesses. GBS said it has “no plans” for such targeting of emergency alert system messages, though the company and proponents of the tech have touted targeted alerts (see 2006040024).
Ark Multicasting wants FCC permission to modify its construction permits to build a single ATSC 3.0 transmitter and convert to a license before the permits expire in July, though rules authorizing distributed transmission system technology Ark wants to use haven’t been published in the Federal Register, said a filing posted in docket 20-145 Friday. Tuesday, CEO Joshua Weiss spoke Media Bureau Video Division Chief Barbara Kreisman. Ark wants the agency to authorize the license and let company have its full DTS plans and construction approved later through a minor modification request. The FCC says “it seeks to avoid forcing” low-power TV stations “from making significant expenditures in new ATSC 1.0 facilities by July 13, 2021 only to later be faced with a further expenditure of resources if the station chooses to convert those facilities to ATSC 3.0,” Ark said.