National Radio Systems Committee (NRSC), meeting at NAB Radio Show in Seattle, said it had formally opened process to set technical standard for in-band, on-channel (IBOC) DAB service in AM and FM bands as prelude to commercial launch of first IBOC receivers in early 2003. New working group has been formed within NRSC to draft voluntary standards on IBOC AM and FM transmissions. FCC has been studying NRSC- submitted IBOC test data as part of rulemaking on terrestrial digital radio and is expected to “issue an initial action” later this year, NRSC said. NRSC development came day before NAB Pres. Edward Fritts opened Radio Show with speech hailing IBOC DAB as “potentially the biggest change for radio since the introduction of FM broadcasting. At same time, Fritts took aim at satellite digital radio competitors Sirius and XM as having tried to “build their business by criticizing local radio.” Fritts said NAB “will continue to insist that XM and Sirius are held to the rules” under which their services were licensed by FCC, meaning that terrestrial repeaters were designed to fill in coverage gaps and “not to sneak in locally originated programming or advertising.”
Paul Gluckman
Paul Gluckman, Executive Senior Editor, is a 30-year Warren Communications News veteran having joined the company in May 1989 to launch its Audio Week publication. In his long career, Paul has chronicled the rise and fall of physical entertainment media like the CD, DVD and Blu-ray and the advent of ATSC 3.0 broadcast technology from its rudimentary standardization roots to its anticipated 2020 commercial launch.
Dearth of extenuating circumstances makes it unlikely CEA will petition FCC for reconsideration of Aug. 8 order mandating DTV tuners in TVs (CD Aug 9 p1) and other NTSC receiving devices by 2007, CEA Pres. Gary Shapiro told us Mon. He said lack of new evidence on DTV tuner mandate would make reconsideration petition virtually “fruitless.”
CEA has vowed to use all legal means possible, including seeking injunction in U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., to challenge FCC’s authority to mandate that DTV tuners be installed in all TVs if Commission so acts at agenda meeting today (Aug. 8) in Washington. Core of any CEA court argument will be that FCC “lacks statutory authority” to set tuner mandates under 40-year-old All-Channel Receiver Act (ACRA), CEA said in White Paper distributed to members July 23.
“Americans Want to Know: What’s With the $5 Billion FCC TV Tax?” So read headline in ads CEA placed Mon. in Washington Post and Roll Call newspapers that declared FCC “wants to force Americans to buy over-the-air digital tuners in all television sets, whether they will be used or not.” Ads were placed in anticipation of Aug. 8 FCC meeting at which proposal could well be introduced to issue rulemaking mandating DTV tuners. CEA, which vehemently opposes tuner mandates, said in ad that forcing consumers to buy digital tuner in every TV “will raise the average price of a TV set by more than $250.” Ad said cost would amount to $5 billion annual TV tax on consumers, based on 28 million TV sets sold per year. Mandatory inclusion of digital tuner “would double or triple the retail price of the 40% of TVs sold that are 20” or less,” ad said. CEA has said it will use all legal means necessary to challenge FCC’s jurisdiction to set tuner mandates, including seeking possible injunction through U.S. Appeals Court. CEA Pres. Gary Shapiro said group’s executive committee, meeting last week in Chicago, voted unanimously to authorize such action if necessary.
Sony and other DTV set makers can’t be held accountable for delays in DTV transition unless cable industry “starts working on the compatibility issue,” Sony Electronics CEO Fujio Nishida told reporters Tues. He said set makers could bring DTV products to market in greater quantities and at lower, more mainstream prices, “but it’s not the product, it’s cable,” that’s key to rapid deployment of DTV service in U.S. Responding to question whether lack of DTV cable delivery might ultimately start to hamper sales of DTV-ready sets, Nishida said he didn’t believe there was that threat because “people anticipate it’s coming in the future. It’s a future investment. But still, it’s bad.” He said he wished consumers who bought Sony big-screen DTV set had access to true HDTV picture quality 24 hours daily. Nishida said true HDTV picture quality on typical 60” projection TV was sight to behold, but with “ordinary NTSC, the picture quality is so bad.” He said “we're spoiled already” by what HDTV could bring to big-screen TV.
HDTV has crossed “final barrier” and “is here and here to stay,” CBS Senior Vp Joseph Flaherty told Home Entertainment 2002 show in N.Y.C. Thurs. In keynote speech to reporters, Flaherty described HDTV as latest “must-have” TV technology, and any CE businessperson who believes “that the public won’t ever want widescreen digital HDTV is taking a ‘bet-the-business’ gamble.”
Sirius Satellite Radio signed up only 421 subscribers in 4 introductory markets from Feb. 14 launch through March 31, CEO Joseph Clayton told financial analysts in conference call about first-quarter results. It was first reporting period in which Sirius posted actual operating revenue -- $34,000 from advertising, $4,000 from subscriptions.
Sirius Satellite Radio will achieve full nationwide distribution by July 1, month earlier than timetable established at Jan. CES, company announced Wed. Following Feb. 14 launch in introductory markets of Denver, Houston, Jackson, Miss., and Phoenix, CEO Joseph Clayton told financial analysts in conference call to discuss 4th quarter results that Sirius was “moving forward on all cylinders.”
Special Temporary Authority (STA) to operate terrestrial repeaters in 60 U.S. markets expired Mon., XM Satellite Radio said in annual 10-K report filed with SEC Tues. XM filed for STA extension March 11 and under FCC rules can continue operating repeaters “pending a final determination of our extension request,” filing said.
Consumer electronics makers shipped 1,459,731 DTV products to dealers in 2001, of which 97,157 were integrated sets and 196,564 were set-top decoders, CEA said. Volume of integrated DTVs and set-tops shipped in 2001 was up 1,455% and 434%, respectively, from comparable 2000 span, CEA said. DTV products shipped since introduction through Dec. 31 totaled 2,498,347, including 361,828 integrated sets and set- tops, said CEA, which estimated that 16% of DTV products sold since launch had ATSC reception capability. By comparison, CEA said, only 9% shipped through 2000 were ATSC-capable. CEA projected 2.1 million DTV products would be sold in 2002, 4 million in 2003, 5.4 million in 2004, 8 million in 2005, 10.5 million in 2006.