He’s emerged as a villainous figure among radio industry professionals for his efforts to thwart a mandate that all U.S. vehicles manufactured and/or sold in the nation maintain free access to AM radio stations in their in-dash entertainment systems.
Now, Gary Shapiro is rapidly becoming Enemy No. 1 of the broadcast TV industry. He and the Consumer Technology Association are dead-set against forcing manufacturers to bring ATSC 3.0-powered “NEXTGEN TV” to all sets sold in the U.S.
It also marks another docket item in which the CTA is going to war against the NAB.
It is the association led by Curtis LeGeyt that has proposed Congressional legislation requiring all new televisions to include ATSC 3.0 tuners. This is stated in MB Docket No. 16-142, which saw all comments due to the Commission on Wednesday (5/7). It’s tied to the sunset initiative that would place a date on a “flash-cut” of ATSC 1.0 signals to those delivered by ATSC 3.0 technology.
As of today, transition is voluntary, and the NAB and broadcasters were fine with that. Now that Brendan Carr is Chairman, the industry and its leading voice on Capitol Hill have changed course. With core advertising wilting and many saying retransmission consent is a ticking time bomb, many broadcast TV station owners believe broadcast internet powered by ATSC 3.0 is a huge dollar-generating business. Then, there is the addressable advertising solution presented through the Run3TV platform that ATSC 3.0 technology can bring, turning a broadcast station interface into that seen on its digital streaming app.
Line 3 in the NAB petition states that it also proposes that the Commission impose an ATSC 3.0 tuner mandate to “ensur[e that] consumers who buy new TVs can continue receiving broadcast programming.”
In the 1960s, the FCC under Newton Minow helped bring life to the moribund UHF band by putting a mandate in place that all TV sets include both a VHF and UHF dial. Sinclair Inc.’s entire history is built on this decision, as Julian Smith’s very first station was WBFF-45 in Baltimore, a facility that could only grow with tuner access.
That historical precedent means nothing to the CTA, purveyors of the annual CES conference and an organization that has demonstrated its steadfast allegiance to all-things digital, including streaming over free-to-air broadcast media.
“Forcing all TV manufacturers to include an ATSC 3.0 tuner, regardless of consumer demand, is an anti-free market and unwelcome tax on consumers,” the CTA legal team bemoans in its comments, filed on deadline day with the FCC.
Instead, the CTA says its members “are providing a wide range of devices and services and will continue to do so in the future.” Thus, “a voluntary approach to the ATSC 3.0 transition is best for all stakeholders and for the U.S. economy and the public. The Commission should eschew heavy-handed regulation and maintain this common-sense approach.”
