NAB

RF expert Jay Adrick, one of the authors of the NAB-financed study that says that the incentive auction repack could take as much as 11 years, says that if the the repack is conducted on a region-by-region basis, wireless buyers could get access to their spectrum in a highly populated region in less than three years.

The group contends that with fewer stations following the spectrum auction, the commission should shift some regulatory fees from broadcasters to wireless broadband providers whose increased presence will require greater oversight from the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.

The 10-year FCC veteran and recipient of TVNewsCheck‘s first Technology Women to Watch Award in 2013 will head spectrum policy for the trade group under Rick Kaplan.

TVNewsCheck is now accepting nominations for the 2016 Women in Technology Awards. Presented each year at the NAB Show in Las Vegas, the awards turn a spotlight on women who have contributed significantly to advancing their industry technologically, or who show great promise of doing so. 

A new NAB-sponsored study says the necessary TV band reshuffling following next year’s spectrum auction will take between 8 and 11 years and cost $2 billion to $3 billion. That’s much greater than what the government has allocated. Its plan calls for all the stations to be moved in 39 months after the auction and it has set aside just $1.7 billion to reimburse broadcasters for their moving costs. CTIA says it will oppose any effort to stretch out the repack.

Citing the large amount of preparation necessary to meet recently set FCC deadlines for next year’s spectrum auction, it, along with the ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC affiliates associations, asks for an extension of time in which to file comments and replies in the FCC’s proceeding on good faith retransmission consent negotiation rulemaking.

The broadcasting group petitions the commission, saying it should complete a review of its media ownership rules before ruling on the merger.

The Pearl consortium of several large commercial TV station groups and the Association of Public Television Stations are expected to take the lead asking for FCC approval of the next-gen transmission standard. They want to “sync up” the transition to it with the forced migration to new channels that many stations may have to make if the FCC’s incentive auction of TV spectrum is successful next spring.

The FCC plan, part of a general reorganization of the TV band that would follow the planned incentive auction next year, will harm broadcasting and its viewers, the NAB said in comments filed with the commission today.

The NAB Education Foundation (NABEF) and the Broadcast Education Association (BEA) today announced the winners of the Freedom of Speech Public Service Announcement Contest for college communications students. The first-place […]

It tells the FCC that the agency shouldn’t make a “piecemeal” decision to eliminate its program exclusivity rules, “but should defer to Congress, the only entity capable of addressing the entire framework as a whole.”

The trade group tell the FCC: “To avoid unnecessary confusion … and to reassure broadcasters that the commission intends to treat them fairly in all aspects of the incentive auction, we respectfully request that the commission promptly clarify that stations not participating in the auction will not be treated differently than participating stations.”

NAB Joint Board Chairman Dave Lougee doesn’t like to make predictions about how the association’s policy initiatives will turn out, but he promises it is working hard to insure that FCC doesn’t tip the scales in favor of MVPDs in retrans negotiations, that the incentive auctions benefit sellers without harming non-sellers and that TV broadcasters have the option of moving to a superior transmission standard.

The NAB yesterday petitioned the FCC to tweak its incentive auction rules. In repacking the band after the auction, the FCC should not assign stations to the so-called duplex gap […]

They come to Washington to reinforce the importance of the commission’s network nonduplication and syndicated exclusivity rules to the health of local TV broadcasting in the wake of Chairman Tom Wheeler’s proposal to scrap them.

She will receive the Chuck Sherman Television Leadership Award at the NAB Small Market Television Exchange in Austin, Texas, in October. Wilkins is credited with launching and growing the Small Market Television Exchange, which began as a small gathering in 1987 and has become a successful annual event attracting more than 500 attendees.

NAB, RTDNA and NATAS are accepting online and offline contributions to support the families of the two WDBJ Roanoke, Va., journalists killed in August. Those wishing to contribute to the Alison & Adam Memorial Fund can do so at http://www.nab.org/donate.

In opening a proceeding to review what it means for broadcasters and MVPDs to negotiate retrans deals in good faith, the FCC says its goal is to “benefit consumers of video programming service by facilitating successful negotiations and avoiding disruptions in service.”

Speaking proposals are now being accepted for the 2016 NAB Show, scheduled for April 16-21, 2016, in Las Vegas. NAB said it “seeks presenters with fresh ideas and unique perspectives […]

RTDNA the NAB and the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences hav joined forces to launch a memorial fund to support the families of the victims in Wednesday’s shooting of a Roanoke, Va., news crew. The three organizations will contribute to and accept donations from broadcasters for the fund on behalf of Alison Parker and Adam Ward. Donations will be accepted through Nov. 1, and $40,000 has already been pledged.

In the latest round of the never-ending debate over retransmission consent reform, broadcasters are pointing the finger at a few “bad actors” for causing the bulk of local blackouts. Singling out recent disputes involving Dish, Mediacom Communications and DirecTV, the NAB, in a meeting last week with GOP commissioner Ajit Pai’s office, suggested the FCC should apply a “bad actor factor” when the commission considers a good faith complaint.

The NAB is telling the FCC that the broadcast exclusivity rules that agency is proposing to eliminate “are more essential than ever” to counter growing consolidation in the pay TV market. “Considerable and continued consolidation in the pay TV industry fundamentally undermines any suggestion that the marketplace has changed in ways that render the current rules outdated,” the NAB said in an ex parte filing today.

The two groups have come to the defense of Schurz Communications-owned WDBJ Roanoke, Va., that is facing a record broadcast indecency fine — $325,000 — by the FCC.

The National Association of Broadcasters, one of the biggest critics of FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s proposal to repack some TV stations in the duplex gap, has decided to steer a middle course. But the NAB’s proposal still leaves some stations in the duplex gap in at least six markets.

The search giant spent $4.62 million in the second quarter, down from the $5.47 million it spent in 1Q 2015.  That topped the National Association of Broadcasters at $4.17 million, AT&T at $4.1 million, Comcast at $3.8 million and Verizon at $3.1 million.

The trade group taps its public policy SVP to succeed Kelly Cole as EVP of government relations. LeGeyt joined NAB in 2011 from staff of then Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy. Cole is opening her own consulting firm.

Broadcasters warned the FCC that retransmission consent reform advocates are “manufacturing” disputes to “spur the government to regulate more heavily.” Meeting with FCC officials last week, executives from the NAB argued that nearly all retransmission consent agreements are signed without any interruption to consumers’ service.

The association’s government relations EVP exits Aug. 14 to form her own firm with NAB as a client.

NAB President Gordon Smith spells out the advantages of adopting the new next-generation TV transmission standard, but says his group must represent the wishes of “a majority our members.” And those members are divided. Talking to the New York State Broadcasters Association, Smith also addresses the spectrum auction and repack as well as efforts by cable and satellite to get retrans reform.

A federal appeals court says that an NAB-Sinclair Broadcast Group challenge filed last year objecting to portions of the FCC’s spectrum auction plans is without merit.

The FCC’s sweeping deregulation of cable yesterday by ruling that all systems would be presumed to face “effective competition” came over the objections of the NAB, which is concerned that […]

In a meeting with FCC officials, NAB reps said the current 39-month deadline for moving channels during the post-auction repacking of the TV band was “unrealistic.” There are not enough resources to move the channels in that short of time, the NAB said. The EOBC opposed extension of the deadline, saying that more time could be granted on a case-by-case basis.

NAB President Gordon Smith on Thursday said it was in the best interests of the FCC to be a part of the industry’s move to adopt the next-generation broadcast TV transmission standard that could turn the TV station business into a mobile business. At the Thursday ATSC gathering are (l-r) Smith, NCTA CEO Michael Powell and Consumer Electronics Association CEO Gary Shipiro. (ATSC photo)

Many in Congress would no doubt like to stick it to FCC chief Tom Wheeler for some of his bold moves. Now they have a chance. Four senators have introduced a bill that would grandfather existing JSAs. Passage would give a nice boost to broadcasters who do nothing but provide a superior news and entertainment TV service to the American public free of charge. And it would show that Congress still has some say in FCC affairs. Addendum: The NAB is going to ask the FCC to give broadcasters more time to move their channels during the incentive auction repack. The FCC should grant it because it just can’t be done in 39 months.

The television white space database system, intended to increase the efficient use of TV spectrum, is a mess, according to the NAB. Because of that, the trade group has asked the FCC to suspend operation of the system until the “serious design flaws” in the system can be fixed. The FCC is thinking about the NAB’s proposal, and has solicited comments on it.

With estimates on the post-auction repack now running as high as $2.6 billion, the NAB is trying to increase the government reimbursemend fund, now capped at $1.75 billion. But NAB also needs to get to work on increasing the time broadcasters will have to move their channels during the repack. The current 39 months just isn’t enough, given the capacities of tower and transmission companies.

NAB CEO Gordon Smith: “A glimpse of the NAB Show floor demonstrates the unmatched resiliency of broadcasting. Even with a dizzying array of programming options now available to consumers, local radio and TV stations remain the preeminent platform for distributing content most valued by Americans. More than 240 million Americans listen to local radio each week, while 90 of the weekly top TV shows are on broadcast TV. And broadcasters are not resting on their laurels.”