FCC Holding Discussion on Digital Switch

[Gregg Lengling]

By Brooks Boliek

WASHINGTON (Hollywood Reporter) - Federal Communications Commission (news - web sites) officials are set to lay out their ideas on how to wrap up the transition to digital television as the head of the agency's Media Bureau outlines its thinking on the issue at a news conference scheduled for Wednesday morning.

   

Some of the most controversial decisions the commission will have to make deal with a provision in the law that requires broadcasters to give their analog frequencies back to the government when 85% of the national audience can receive a digital TV signal.


Media Bureau chief Ken Ferree has been conducting discussions with broadcasters, cable operators, TV set makers and others involved in the transition to develop a plan to deal with the 85% threshold and other matters related to the changeover.


One plan under consideration by the bureau would allow cable operators to "down convert" a digital signal so that all analog sets can pick it up, according to sources. That idea has been roundly criticized by broadcasters who want the digital signal carried as it is.


"We thought the idea was to convert from analog to digital, not from digital to analog," one broadcast industry executive said.


But Media Bureau spokeswoman Michelle Russo said there is a lot of misinformation being ginned up by various parties and that Ferree hopes to be able to explain it better. FCC (news - web sites) chairman Michael Powell (news) also is preparing to tee the issue up with the commission, with an eye toward making a decision within the next six months.


The commission also has to deal with the "multicast must-carry" issue. Broadcasters want cable operators to carry their entire digital signal, whether it's one high-definition broadcast or several standard-definition broadcasts. Cable operators don't want to do that as they contend that it will favor broadcast programing over cable-company-generated programing.


Reuters/Hollywood Reporter