LPTV Hybrid Broadcast-Broadband Stalls at Media Bureau
A proposal to test a hybrid broadcast-broadband system on low-power TV stations using an alternate broadcast transmission technology again stalled at the FCC Media Bureau, executives for the company proposing the test said. LPTV operator WatchTV had asked the commission for special temporary authority to test new DTV transmission technology on some of its stations, after the bureau earlier denied its similar application for an experimental license. WatchTV executives had been confident the new tack would be successful (CD July 29 p13). Now, the executives aren’t so hopeful. “We've got a clear indication that no matter what benefit we can demonstrate, someone is deciding they have been anointed to pick winners and losers in this game,” said CEO Gregory Herman.
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Herman said he spoke with bureau Chief Bill Lake Sept. 6 about the application and learned then the bureau wouldn’t grant or dismiss it. A bureau spokeswoman said the intent of Lake’s conversation was to convey that the application was still under consideration. Herman also said he got the sense the decision to delay action on the application came from outside the bureau. A spokesman for the office of Chairman Julius Genachowski said: “The application is under consideration by the Media Bureau. This is a bureau-level decision with absolutely no outside influence on the Bureau."
WatchTV disputed that characterization in a timeline of events distributed to reporters. The timeline said bureau staff indicated the decision on WatchTV’s application was beyond the control of Lake. The timeline also said bureau staff assured WatchTV that staff wouldn’t have asked the company to supplement its application with additional engineering data had staff known the bureau might be barred from granting the application. Herman said bureau staff had been very supportive of the revised application before it was filed and Communications Daily reported its existence.
WatchTV executives also said they have struggled to schedule a meeting with Genachowski. “All we ever asked is 15 minutes of the chairman,” but have been continuously denied, Herman said. “I just paid my regulatory fees. One would think that even in a large corporation, if you're a good customer, chances are you might be able to get a little communication with the boss."
WatchTV will continue to press its policy goals in Congress, now that its routes at the FCC seem to be exhausted, Herman said. “Maybe Congress can help bring some wisdom back to the chairman’s office.”