Powell Tackles 'Indecency,' DTV

[Gregg Lengling]

By Leslie Stimson

RADIO WORLD

FCC Chairman Michael Powell and ABC News host Sam Donaldson kept up a lively banter of zingers at Tuesday's "FCC Chairman's Breakfast," sponsored by A.G. Edwards & Sons.

Indecency dominated the discussion between the two, now in their fourth year appearing as a duo before the NAB crowd.

Powell said it was a misconception that the FCC has only recently begun to focus on indecency enforcement. He conceded the fines have grown, and the commission has begun fining stations per indecent utterance, rather than per program.

"The increase in enforcement is in response to public complaints," Powell said. The agency received 250,000 indecency complaints in 2003 and so far in 2004, the number is nearly 540,000.

The agency is trying to be faster in resolving such cases, Powell said. But, as he did after the NAB's Responsible Programming Summit, Powell reiterated that it is better for broadcasters to control what's on their airwaves than to have government step in with a mandate.

"You do not want the government to write a 'Red Book' of what you can say and not say," stressed the chairman.

Broadcasters question whether indecency statues should apply to cable and satellite as well. When asked his views on the issue, Powell said, "I think the government should be conservative about regulating content for anybody." He stressed that Congress needs to get involved in the issue, rather an unelected set of commissioners deciding it.

The TV analog spectrum giveback was a big topic of discussion.

Just before the show, FCC Media Bureau Chief Ken Ferree detailed a proposal to reach the 85 percent TV audience threshold that triggers the analog giveback. Powell said his plan two years ago to move the DTV transition forward led to the push for mandatory digital tuners for TV sets.

The commission has concerns about the 85 percent threshold, said Powell. "The law is muddy about what is the end," and how is the agency supposed to know whether every household, which has three to four TVs, has purchased a digital TV set, he asked.

It is right for the Media Bureau to discuss how the 85 percent threshold is reached, Powell said, although he added a caveat that the Ferree plan "is not the final word."

As for when the TV analog spectrum giveback actually begins, Powell said, "Forget 2006. The law is when they get to 85 percent."

"If all we do is wait until all households -- all three and four TVs -- are digital ... we're waiting for 50 years and that's unacceptable."

No one knows what to do about converting the remaining 15 percent of households that have analog-only over-the-air TVs, he said. Whether Congress could subsidize converter boxes for those households should be a part of the discussion, believes Powell. "All that should be in play."

He cautioned broadcasters to remain nimble and be open to change as delivery systems grow to rival broadcastings in the future. He's been watching the rise of personal telecommunications, and uses his sons as an example of kids today who want their personalized devices with them at all times.

"My kids look for mobility. They want their things to go with them."

Switching to Internet improvements, he said, "You're going to have a problem if WiFi matches what broadcasting gives to people."

He said a lot of industries want the spectrum broadcasters now have. As a spectrum manager, he has to balance the needs of all industries when it comes to allocation, he said.

All of this is why the DTV transition is important, said Powell. "There has to be a plan, or the other things will happen to you -- fees or the government will yank it back."

"This is a warning ... I see the Ferree plan as a way to foster dialogue," he said.