NAB: HD Is Driver, Retrans Is Beneficiary

National Association of Broadcasters Executive VP and General Counsel Jane Mago said that for television broadcasters to deliver the highest quality high definition (HD) digital television programming, particularly for live sports, they would need "all the spectrum available for such a broadcast," pointing out that viewers have come to expect no less and that HD was "a large part of what the DTV transition was all about." Broadcasters benefit too, she suggested, because cable operators recognize the value of those signals and are willing to pay for them. She said that broadcasters' point was that over-the-HD was serving the twin goals of keeping "multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) subscriber costs in check" by providing an alternative, free source, and providing a revenue source for broadcasters because "MVPDs also recognize the importance of HD such that it has recently become an important element in retransmission consent negotiations." "I have great respect for Jane," said National Cable & Telecommunications Association President Kyle McSlarrow, but he also said he could not let the part about keeping cable prices in check go without a response. "The assertion that a free platform given to broadcasters by the government worth billions and billions of dollars in return for which they would provide free programming is going to keep MVPD subscriber costs in check at precisely the same time they argued they needed the spectrum in order to charge more for retransmission consent is laughable."