NAB President: NAB Still Sitting On ATSC 3.0 Fence

A week after the National Association of Broadcaster's spring board meeting, NAB President Gordon Smith said that "no decision" has been made to support the implementation of, and transition to, a new broadcast transmission standard. ATSC 3.0, as the standard is called, would provide broadcasters with new capabilities, he said. Smith did not say which members support ATSC 3.0 and which don't. But a split on the TV board over ATSC 3.0 surfaced at the NAB's January board meeting. The Big Four networks opposed it, while network affiliates led by Sinclair and the Pearl group of major station groups supported it, believing it's vital to their future competitiveness. Even with the full support of the industry, Smith said, it would not be easy to roll out ATSC 3.0, which is incompatible with existing TV sets. The transition from analog TV to the current digital standard in the 2000s was successful, he said, but it was "extremely difficult" and expensive and was aided by the availability of extra spectrum. "We will not have that this time." With the extra spectrum, broadcasters simulcast analog and digital signals for years, giving consumers plenty of time to buy new digital sets or acquire government-subsidized digital-to-analog converters.

Just as he is trying to balance the interests of the ATSC 3.0 proponents and opponents, he said, he is trying to balance the interests of broadcasters who are eager to sell their spectrum in the Federal Communications Commission incentive auction in 2016 with those who expect to sit out the auction. The former want the NAB to help them maximize the value of their spectrum in the auction, he said. The latter want the association to make sure that their broadcast service is not degraded in the repacking of the TV band that will follow the auction.