The FCC Media Bureau granted Microsoft’s request to withdraw its petition of reconsideration against FCC rules easing the creation of broadcaster-distributed transmission systems, according to a public notice in Friday’s Daily Digest. Microsoft dropped the petition in a filing posted Tuesday (see 2408060043). The DTS order was intended to aid the ATSC 3.0 transition. Microsoft had raised concerns that the order would lead to broadcasters interfering with devices using the TV white spaces.
Microsoft withdrew its 2021 petition for reconsideration of an FCC order relaxing interference rules for distributed transmission systems, a request for dismissal posted Tuesday in docket 20-74 said. The DTS order was intended to help broadcasters using ATSC 3.0 craft single frequency networks. However, Microsoft had argued it would lead to disruption for unlicensed devices using the TV white spaces (see 2105240067). “Microsoft is no longer pursuing or advocating for the matters raised in the Petition,” the request for dismissal said. “Accordingly, the Petition for Reconsideration is no longer needed or of concern to Microsoft and may be dismissed.” The previous FCC approved the DTS order 3-2, with current FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel -- then a commissioner-- and Commissioner Geoffrey Starks dissenting.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which overruled the Chevron doctrine (see 2406280043), and in SEC v. Jarkesy (see 2406270063) were “a good thing,” FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said Wednesday during a Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council webinar. Other former FCC officials disagreed sharply with the rulings that appear to expand judges' power while reining in regulatory agencies like the FCC.
Ballard Spahr names Jeffrey Morgan, ex-Barnes & Thornburg, as of counsel, intellectual property … Maryland Innovation Initiative hires Southern Research Chief Business Officer Abishek Kulshreshtha as its new executive director, effective July 1 ... WISeKey International Holding cybersecurity company announces retirement of Peter Ward as chief financial officer, effective June 30, succeeded by SEALSQ’s John O’Hara, effective July 1; Ward remaining on board … Intracom Telecom Group hires Kyriakos Vergos, ex-Codium Networks, as chief commercial officer ... Redwire, space infrastructure company, taps Virgin Galactic’s Aaron Futch, also former Intelsat, as executive vice president-general counsel and secretary.
Big mainstream demand for ATSC 3.0-enabled TVs is coming, but it's a couple of years out, with a lack of widespread consumer familiarity causing the delay, CTA Senior Director-Business Intelligence Richard Kowalski said Friday during the NextGen Broadcast Conference in Washington. CTA anticipates a big leap in set availability, starting in 2026. Meanwhile, broadcast and emergency alert system advocates talked about integrating ATSC 3.0 into the emergency alerts ecosphere.
The U.S. needs to move toward a firm date for the end of mandatory simulcast of ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 signals and fully transition to ATSC 3.0, but it's too early to say when that date should be, NAB CEO Curtis LeGeyt said Thursday at the NextGen Broadcast Conference in Washington. Conference-goers applauded the call for a transition deadline, and FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr echoed it, saying he would support a proceeding about the issue. Carr also suggested gauging broadcast and wireless industry interest in an "incentive auction 2.0" for low-band spectrum.
Sinclair Broadcast will sell anything in its portfolio -- at “the right price” -- so it can close the gap between its valuation and share price, CEO Chris Ripley told The Media Institute during a luncheon Tuesday. Ripley also predicted that generative AI eventually will create most media, and said asymmetric regulation and increased competition are broadcasting’s biggest obstacles. “Unfortunately, for our industry, we can't seem to get out from underneath some of these old regulations,” Ripley said. “There really isn't any reason for that to be, besides that's the way it always was.”
The FCC should fundamentally change its relationship with broadcasting, provide more flexibility for the ATSC 3.0 transition, and not allow broadcasting to decline as newspapers have, Commissioner Brendan Carr said Tuesday. Speaking at the Radio and Television Summit of the Americas, Carr referenced The Washington Post slogan “Democracy Dies in Darkness.” The FCC “may be the one flipping out the light” through recent actions that discourage investment in broadcasting, he said. For example, Carr mentioned the Standard General/Tegna deal and the proposed enforcement action against Nexstar and Mission related to their local marketing agreement for WPIX New York. The FCC is “going down the path of imposing enforcement -- fines -- against broadcasters doing exactly what they told us they were going to do,” Carr said. The agency has allowed wireless companies to sunset and transition to new wireless technologies and should do the same for broadcasters on ATSC 3.0, he said.
Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley signaled that his company is open to selling “assets” amid rumors that it's eyeing divesting 60 stations. Meanwhile, Nexstar CEO Perry Sook said broadcasters can’t have confidence about transactions in the current regulatory environment. The CEOs spoke during their respective Q1 earnings calls last week. Ripley, Sook and executives from Gray and E.W. Scripps also discussed progress on ATSC 3.0, a backloaded political advertising market, and streaming during earnings calls.
LAS VEGAS -- ATSC 3.0 is finally in a position to generate cash for TV stations and remains the industry’s hope, according to interviews with broadcasters and several 3.0 product announcements at NAB Show 2024. However, not everyone is convinced and even 3.0 supporters concede the transition still faces challenges. “We need a date certain” for the end of the FCC’s substantially similar requirements, said BitPath CEO John Hane. “If we had some relatively minor adjustments in the transition rules, a lot more stations would be converted.” “I’m sure it’s gonna pan out, it just won’t happen as fast as Americans like,” said Byron Allen, Allen Media CEO, in an interview.