Broadcasters Say FCC's Digital TV Plan Is Flawed

[Gregg Lengling]

By Jeremy Pelofsky

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Television broadcasters on Monday piled criticism on a plan by U.S. communications regulators to switch to crisper digital signals by 2009, but some acknowledged the idea was not completely dead.

   

The plan, drawn up by the staff of the Federal Communications Commission (news - web sites), is flawed, according to people attending the National Association of Broadcasters annual convention in Las Vegas, because it could let cable companies convert the new signals back to analog to all of their subscribers and, consequently, few would see digital channels.


"NAB does have some serious concerns about the plan," said Valerie Schulte, the organization's deputy general counsel. "The emphasis (should be) on consumers moving to digital television."


The FCC (news - web sites) has proposed that broadcasters air only digital signals by 2009, which likely would force consumers to buy either a new digital television set, a tuner to receive the new signals or a box to convert them back to analog.


Stations were supposed to switch to digital signals by the end of 2006 or when 85 percent of American households can receive the digital signals. But most expect such a switch will not happen for at least a decade.


To fix that, FCC staff members are weighing a plan to count toward that threshold those homes that get their broadcast channels from cable. Since about 85 percent of households in many markets subscribe to cable or satellite, broadcasters would meet the threshold and would have to return the analog airwaves.


The government is eager to have broadcasters air only digital signals because it will free analog airwaves for public safety groups as well as pave the way for an auction of some of the valuable spectrum to commercial wireless services.


"The public policy here is that we have to balance the central harms to consumers of turning off the signal and what it would cost to make sure the consumers get digital versus the benefits of returning that spectrum," said Rick Chessen, who heads the FCC's digital transition effort.


But before broadcasters are willing to turn in the old analog airwaves, they want to ensure that cable companies send the new digital signals out to customers and only convert it to analog in homes that do not have equipment to see digital.


They also do not want those homes that are converted to digital to count toward the threshold and are pushing the FCC to require cable companies to carry other digital signals they expect to offer beyond the traditional network broadcast.


"I don't think it's dead on arrival," said Tom Van Wazer, a lawyer with Sidley Austin Brown & Wood LLP, who represents broadcasters like Tribune Co. and smaller stations, in reference to the FCC plan.


He and other broadcast representatives said it was a starting point.


NAB President and Chief Executive Edward Fritts also called on cable companies to broadcast more of the 1,200 television stations that are airing digital. At present, fewer than 400 are carried on cable systems like Comcast Corp. or Time Warner Inc.


"Our DTV and high definition signals are all dressed up with no place to go," he said.


Relatively few Americans own digital televisions, which are substantially more expensive than analog sets.