FCC: NAB's $697 Million Not Enough

FCC: NAB'S $697 MILLION NOT ENOUGH
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Last week, the broadcast industry agreed to commit $697 million to DTV education, but the Federal Communications Commission is still likely to adopt education benchmark mandates including PSA quotas and reporting requirements. While broadcasters don't welcome mandates, they could likely live with them if FCC Chairman Martin secures the other part of his pitch to Congress -- mandatory cable carriage of broadcasters' DTV signals. Chairman Martin told House Telecommunications & Internet Subcommittee members that requiring carriage would drive the adoption of digital TV by changing the message from preserving the status quo to gaining new channels. Chairman Martin has already circulated an order mandating multicast must-carry for a vote by fellow commissioners. He was unable to muster a majority the last time he tried to get a vote on multicast must-carry.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6492819.html

* FCC Hones In on DTV PSA Mandates
Details are emerging on Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin's plan to require broadcasters to deliver a set number of public-service announcements about the transition to digital, and the FCC also apparently wants to mandate some of the content of those messages. According to a source familiar with the proposals, the chairman wants each TV station to air four PSAs of at least 15 seconds in length per day, each in a different four-hour daypart, starting in November -- if the mandates are adopted at the upcoming Oct. 31 meeting -- and for six months thereafter. At that time, the number would double to eight PSAs, two in each daypart, plus four crawls, one in each daypart. Six months later, the number would increase to 12 PSAs and 12 crawls, three apiece in each daypart.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6492986.html?rssid=193