News | February 24, 2000

Broadcasters Turn Up Heat on Digital Must-Carry

By Tom Butts

The three leading broadcast organizations fired off a letter to FCC Chairman William Kennard this week accusing the commission of "foot dragging" over digital must-carry and warned that further delay could put the digital transition in "serious jeopardy."

In the letter, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), Association for Local Television (ALTV) and the Association for Maximum Service Television (MSTV) backed up their criticism by citing a poll conducted in January at NATPE in which 78% of broadcasters responding thought that the DTV transition in the US should be delayed.

The organizations pointed to several issues to explain broadcasters' frustration:

  • Dissatisfaction over the performance of the 8-VSB modulation standard and digital receiver performance and;
  • Exasperation over the commission's delay in reaching a decision on digital must-carry; a delay that comes 27 months after adoption of the DTV standard.

Another reason cited by the organizations – interoperability standards – was rendered moot by yesterday's agreement between the cable industry and consumer electronics manufacturers to voluntarily adopt cable ready DTV standards (see NCTA, CEA Reach Agreement on Cable-Ready DTV). However, a NAB spokesperson denounced the agreement, calling it a "transparent attempt" to avoid the real issue of receiver performance standards and digital must-carry.

The organizations warned that the commission's "credibility is at stake" over the delay and that broadcasters are "honoring their part of the bargain," (NAB reports 119 US stations on the air with digital broadcasts). The letter further criticized the commission for affording cable "sacred cow" status and urged the commission to prod the cable and CE industries forward.

"Congress did not give the commission discretion to wait to adopt substantive rules until the transition was well advanced or even over," NAB, ALTV and MSTV said.