Some Broadcasters Leery of Leasing Digital Spectrum
Broadcasters have varied positions on leasing digital multicast spectrum to 3rd-party programmers, officials said: Some see leasing as another way to profit on digital signals, others want to develop additional original programming. “If it makes sense from a business opportunity, we would certainly look at it,” a broadcast official said of leasing: “The whole industry is looking at ways to capitalize on that opportunity.” Meanwhile, FCC Chmn. Martin has revived the multicast must-carry debate, recasting it around broadcaster leasing of digital spectrum to eligible 3rd-parties, though details are scant. The plan isn’t good for broadcasters or cable, said another industry official.
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Other digital broadcast ventures may eclipse multicasting’s revenue opportunity, an official said: “As we're experimenting and trying to develop that model, it’s almost as if it’s becoming less and less important.” Mobile broadcasting could be a far bigger business for station groups, the official said. Some stations are joining with outside programmers, using the retransmission consent process to win cable carriage for new programming services (CD Jan 29 p2).
Broadcasters aren’t sure where FCC commissioners stand on multicast must-carry, a 3rd industry source said: “Broadcasters are looking for some clarity on what they would want in return for support on this issue.”
Under Martin’s plan, broadcasters could choose must- carry status for multicast channels carrying content from 3rd-party programmers, said David Honig, Minority & Media Telecom Council (MMTC) exec. dir. Martin plans a broad notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) seeking public comment on such a multicasting plan, Honig said. Questions may include how to define programmer eligibility for must-carry status. MMTC and other minority activists believe minority programmers should qualify, but Honig said Martin leans toward a “race-neutral” designation.
The NPRM may bridge the gap between broadcasters and cable on multicast-must carry, said Honig. Broadcasters have pushed for must-carry status for nonprimary programming streams; cable thinks that unnecessary. “What Martin has done is basically take this war of the worlds, where both industries have taken polar opposite positions, and said: ‘We're going to find a way to have you two industries split the difference,'” Honig said: “The paradigm animating the compromise is that ‘we're going to promote diversity.'”
Details of the plan remain sketchy. Some communications lawyers doubt it will materialize, and none of the half-dozen industry officials we polled said they had heard of Martin’s new multicast strategy. FCC officials said they couldn’t confirm details on Honig’s meetings. Ex partes from the meetings weren’t filed with the FCC because an NPRM hasn’t been issued and there’s no docket in which to submit such a document, said Honig. “We're all waiting to see exactly what the chairman is going to propose,” said one Hill lobbyist. NAB, like individual broadcasters, is interested in Martin’s idea and awaits more information, it said. “It’s an intriguing idea, one that we want to learn a little more about before presenting it to our TV board for discussions,” Exec. Vp Dennis Wharton said: “We appreciate Chairman Martin coming up with some creative ideas for using the multicast DTV spectrum.”
Scarcity of information on the matter makes it hard to calculate costs and benefits to broadcasters, said lawyer Robert Rini. Still, talk of reviving the rules is good news, he said: “I'm pleased to hear there is renewed interest.” Such a system could be a big boost to minority broadcasters - - but it’s too soon to say for sure, Media Access Project Exec. Dir. Andrew Schwartzman said: “This is very much a ‘devil’s in the details’ proposition. It could turn into a plethora of home shopping channels, so it depends how things are defined.”
There’s no “upside for broadcasters” visible in available outlines of Martin’s proposal, an industry source said: “This plan may have some merit for those that would like to get into the TV business, but I don’t think it has any merit for broadcasters.” Neither does the plan seem to help cable operators, who still would have to give up bandwidth to accommodate leased programming, the source said. The plan probably won’t go very far with industry groups, the source said: “Once the NAB digests this they'll see it for what it is and have to appreciate the fact that although Martin is trying new things, this doesn’t help the broadcaster at all.”