Broadcasters Seek DTV-Simulcast Delay

[Gregg Lengling]

Ted Hearn
Multichannel News
12/26/2002 4:11:00 PM
   Facing a deadline in three months, commercial TV stations are looking for a way around a federal rule that requires simulcasting of some analog programming on their new digital-TV signals.

In a recent filing, the National Association of Broadcasters asked Federal Communications Commission officials to considering dropping or delaying the simulcast requirement.

The NAB, however, did not state in the Dec. 19 filing its reason for seeking to dump or delay the simulcast rules.

Under FCC policies, TV stations have until April to ensure that 50 percent of their analog programming is simulcast on the digital channel. In 2004, the quota rises to 75 percent, and in 2005 to 100 percent.

The FCC adopted the simulcast rule in April 1997 on the theory that TV viewers would be reluctant to purchase digital receivers if that meant losing access to programs offered exclusively on the analog channel.

In a concession to broadcasters, the FCC put off the simulcast requirement for several years. In 1992, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association urged the FCC to impose a simulcast mandate from the outset, saying that it would promote the overall analog-to-digital transition.