National Association of Broadcasters FCC Filing

[dweber]

On January 20th, which was the last day for public comments to the FCC, the National Association of Broadcasters filed their reply.
They are arguing for a firm date to end ATSC 1.0 broadcasts and a requirement that tv manufacturers include ATSC 3.0 tuners in all tv sets. Below is a link to the article.

NAB pushes FCC for date-certain end to ATSC 1.0 in latest regulatory filing

The National Association of Broadcasters filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission on Jan. 20, ... Read More

www.newscaststudio.com

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[primestar31]

On January 20th, which was the last day for public comments to the FCC, the National Association of Broadcasters filed their reply.
They are arguing for a firm date to end ATSC 1.0 broadcasts and a requirement that tv manufacturers include ATSC 3.0 tuners in all tv sets. Below is a link to the article.

NAB pushes FCC for date-certain end to ATSC 1.0 in latest regulatory filing

The National Association of Broadcasters filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission on Jan. 20, ... Read More

www.newscaststudio.com

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well, IF they continue to demand encryption on EVERYTHING and the FCC refuses to stop that, then sets an end to ATSC 1.0 soon, that's the death of OTA tv.

 

[FTA4PA]

From the article:

'The filing responds to the FCC's Fifth Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, issued in October 2025, which proposed eliminating mandatory simulcasting requirements and other regulatory barriers to the deployment of ATSC 3.0'

The only 'regulatory barrier' I can see is that the industry doesn't want to be regulated!

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

I think if the FCC approves this, then it really is the death of OTA broadcasting.

 

[RaiderPower]

I think if the FCC approves this, then it really is the death of OTA broadcasting.

"Public" airways, indeed.

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[osu1991]

Nexstar & Sinclair Ask The FCC to Shut Down Free OTA TV ABC, CBS, FOX, & NBC Unless People Upgrade Their TVs to ATSC 3.0

Nexstar & Sinclair Ask The FCC to Shut Down Free OTA TV ABC, CBS, FOX, & NBC Unless People Upgrade Their TVs to ATSC 3.0 | Cord Cutters News

The broadcast television industry faces a pivotal moment as major station groups intensify efforts to secure a firm timeline for switching entirely to the advanced ATSC 3.0 standard, known as NextGen TV. In recent filings with the Federal Communications Commission, large operators including Gray...

cordcuttersnews.com

In recent filings with the Federal Communications Commission, large operators including Gray Media, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Nexstar Media Group, and the E.W. Scripps Company have pressed regulators to establish mandatory deadlines for full-power stations to cease ATSC 1.0 transmissions and operate exclusively on the newer technology, according to NCS.

With this Nexstar, Sinclair, Scrips, and Gray Media ask to be able to shut down ATSC 1.0 free OTA TV in the top 55 markets in February 2028 and the remaining markets in February 2030. Unless you upgrade your TV to ATSC 3.0 or get a converter box with this move, you will lose access

 

[dweber]

I love how they treat DRM encryption with the following sentence:

Concerns have arisen over certain implementation aspects that affect reception for some viewers.

In the filing they reject the view that the main networks remain unencrypted.

The association opposed requirements to dedicate specific spectrum portions to free over-the-air programming, noting that ATSC 3.0's OFDM-based architecture allows dynamic capacity allocation. "There is no meaningful mechanism by which a broadcaster or the Commission could calculate, monitor or enforce a requirement that a specific percentage of spectrum be dedicated to any particular use," NAB stated.


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[navychop]

Self Centered just a tad, no?

 

[zippyfrog]

I don't see the broadcasters request for DRM in either article. Was it mentioned in another way other than using the word DRM and I missed it?

 

[dweber]

Consumer Technology Association opposes requirement to include ATSC 3.0 tuners in TVs.

Here is a link to their response to the FCC filing.

CTA urges FCC to reject ATSC 3.0 tuner mandate in new filing

The Consumer Technology Association filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission on Jan. 20 opposing ... Read More

www.newscaststudio.com

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[dweber]

I don't see the broadcasters request for DRM in either article. Was it mentioned in another way other than using the word DRM and I missed it?

On content protection, NAB argued that encryption capabilities are necessary for broadcasters to compete for high-value programming, particularly live sports.


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[Foxbat]

On content protection, NAB argued that encryption capabilities are necessary for broadcasters to compete for high-value programming, particularly live sports.

"Save your watches!" was the expression we used in my day as it's getting pretty deep.

If you didn't spend all your capital acquiring all these local stations, you might have had the capital to go into the streaming sphere where the money is being made. But you've bled the Retransmission Fees to the point where DBS is dying and now you're trying to shut down the Public Airwaves in an attempt to extort money directly from your viewers.

You made a bad business decision, and we need to pay for it? Is that how Capitalism works now?

 

[comfortably_numb]

You made a bad business decision, and we need to pay for it? Is that how Capitalism works now?

Yes.

 

[RaiderPower]

Self Centered just a tad, no?

More like self-serving.

 

[Rolling Joe]

The NCTA (National Cable Television Association) is against a hard cut-off date for 1.0.

Pay TV Groups Rebut NAB's ATSC 3.0 Transition Plans

If Broadcasters use any portion of the spectrum for anything other than free, over the air TV, it would be a violation the Communication Act. At least the NCTA (and others) think so.

The summary at the end of the article:

"We, therefore, urge the Commission to maintain the simulcasting requirement (and the substantially similar requirement)," the group concluded. "If the Commission were to decide otherwise, however, it should at a minimum require broadcasters—whether electing retransmission consent or must-carry—to deliver signals to MVPDs in a 1.0-compatible format at their cost. Otherwise, the Commission would be asking MVPDs (and their subscribers) to incur substantial costs to downconvert broadcast signals without any benefit to those subscribers. This would be arbitrary and capricious."

The group also contended that "the primary benefits of the ATSC 3.0 transition appear not to be improvements to broadcast television, but rather the ability of broadcasters to use ATSC 3.0 signals for unrelated services like datacasting. This real possibility that broadcasters could use the vast majority of their spectrum for services other than free, over-the-air television raises significant legal questions, including under the Communications Act, FCC rules, and the Administrative Procedure Act—especially if MVPDs and their subscribers are expected to pick up the tab for such services."

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[comfortably_numb]

If Broadcasters use any portion of the spectrum for anything other than free, over the air TV, it would be a violation the Communication Act

Ha! As if the current brass at the FCC care about some silly law like the Communications Act.

 

[Jim S.]

On content protection, NAB argued that encryption capabilities are necessary for broadcasters to compete for high-value programming, particularly live sports.

Someone needs to grow a pair, do their duty to the citizens of this country, and tell the sports industry where they can stick their entitlement complex. If I was in charge, I'd go nuclear -- I'd rule that anything that's a fair contest rather than scripted entertainment wasn't even copyrightable.

Have you all heard about the fiasco whereby the E.U. needs to shut down any website run through Cloudflare every time there's a particular league soccer match because one team filed a lawsuit regarding a pirate site running on Cloudflare? I thought this sort of corporations-over-citizens BS was just an American thing, but I guess it's metastasizing.

If Broadcasters use any portion of the spectrum for anything other than free, over the air TV, it would be a violation the Communication Act. At least the NCTA (and others) think so.

The summary at the end of the article:

"We, therefore, urge the Commission to maintain the simulcasting requirement (and the substantially similar requirement)," the group concluded. "If the Commission were to decide otherwise, however, it should at a minimum require broadcasters—whether electing retransmission consent or must-carry—to deliver signals to MVPDs in a 1.0-compatible format at their cost. Otherwise, the Commission would be asking MVPDs (and their subscribers) to incur substantial costs to downconvert broadcast signals without any benefit to those subscribers. This would be arbitrary and capricious."

The group also contended that "the primary benefits of the ATSC 3.0 transition appear not to be improvements to broadcast television, but rather the ability of broadcasters to use ATSC 3.0 signals for unrelated services like datacasting. This real possibility that broadcasters could use the vast majority of their spectrum for services other than free, over-the-air television raises significant legal questions, including under the Communications Act, FCC rules, and the Administrative Procedure Act—especially if MVPDs and their subscribers are expected to pick up the tab for such services."

Oddly enough, the FCC has already ruled this way in regard to shortwave radio. There are multiple people trying to get licenses for digital shortwave stations (which is a fiasco in its own right, it's a PITA to receive *and* it uses proprietary codecs) but the FCC has shut most of them down because they want to use what's supposed to be BROADCAST spectrum for point-to-point datalinks, i.e. stock trading. Maybe someone needs to investigate who's on the take for them to be considering treating TV any differently?