Fritts, NAB Push for Dual Must-Carry

[Gregg Lengling]

Edward Fritts, president of the National Association of
Broadcasters, reiterated the broadcast community's call for dual
must-carry of analog and digital TV signals by cable.

Fritts, who addressed the opening ceremony Monday for this
year's NAB convention in Las Vegas, said cable isn't delivering
a majority of digital TV signals from local broadcasters. He
said there are more than 800 digital TV stations on the air,
but only 107 have obtained cable carriage.

"The cable industry is missing at its post and absent without
leave. Cable operators are carrying less than 13 percent of
local DTV broadcast stations that are on the air today," he
said.

He added, "Broadcasters are under federal mandate to build DTV
stations. Set manufacturers are under federal mandate to phase
in DTV tuners. And it is high time the cable industry be
placed under federal mandate to carry local DTV broadcast
signals."

Fritts also called on broadcasters to remain "locally
relevant."

He recalled that Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge put
out a list of essential items needed in case of terrorist
attack, among them a battery-operated radio or TV to get
local stations. He used the list to take aim at broadcaster
competition, saying, "In case of emergency, Secretary Ridge
did not say to take your XM or Sirius satellite radio out
of your car and into your safe room. He did not say to take
your HBO program guide."

"Just as reporters are currently embedded with our military
forces, broadcasters are embedded within our communities,"
Fritts said. "We are part of the unit. This is what
distinguishes us from our satellite and cable competition."