McAdam: Wireless, Broadcast Can Co-Exist

Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam, whose desire to stream the 2014 Super Bowl live over wireless has antagonized broadcasters, says his goal is to complement, not compete with, traditional TV.

“It’s not our intent to get in the way of broadcasters,” McAdam said at the National Association of Broadcasters Show in Las Vegas. “I think it would actually make people more interested in being what’s broadcast rather than a tradeoff. But who knows?” McAdam’s remarks came three months after going public at CES with plans to deliver live video over broadband, after which, “some of my friends that are broadcasters said you just became the most hated man in America,” he said. In a Q&A with NAB CEO Gordon Smith, who noted “some might say it takes courage for a broadband guy to come to a broadcast convention,” McAdam said he believes using Verizon’s nationwide LTE wireless network to broadcast big events, like the Super Bowl, would enhance consumer experience without detracting from broadcast TV, which would unconditionally draw the vast number of viewers.