Rick Kaplan

Those who believe the spectrum prices the FCC promised to pay in the incentive auction are too high cannot blame the broadcasters, says NAB General Counsel Rick Kaplan.in blog. “Broadcasters had no levers to drive up prices in the auction. They could not ‘hold out.’ They had no ability to force the FCC to pay a higher price than the FCC was offering.” Kaplan doesn’t say who is pointing the finger.

NAB EVP Rick Kaplan: “FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler recently circulated a proposal to his colleagues that recommends classifying certain over-the-top providers as multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs). The proposal aims to stimulate competition in the increasingly consolidated pay-television market. NAB supports the FCC examining how best to ensure that online entities can offer competitive alternatives. It is an important inquiry. While it presents exciting opportunities for consumers, however, without the proper level of humility and recognition of all of its challenges, it could lead to serious pitfalls.”

Rick Kaplan, NAB EVP, responds to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s remarks Tuesday in Las Vegas accusing NAB seeking to delay or derail his upcoming broadcast spectrum incentive auction. “We at NAB still believe this auction can be a success. NAB has worked very well with all other industries in this proceeding, even when we’ve disagreed with them.”

The trade group’s EVP posts a blog urging FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler to make sure the commission won’t take any actions that would “harm broadcasters in unrelated proceedings to encourage participation in the [spectrum] auction.”

Broadcasters are anxiously awaiting details of the FCC’s plans for the spectrum auctions and resulting TV band repacking. FCC Chairman Wheeler last month laid out the schedule leading up to the auctions in mid-2015. But he did not offer a timeline for the post-auction channel switching, a process that could involve many stations and extend into 2020.

In December, the Competitive Carriers Association (CCA), a trade association that represents most wireless carriers with the exception of Verizon Wireless and AT&T, filed comments at the FCC in response to the proposed rulemaking to eliminate the so-called UHF discount. The filing would be downright funny if it wasn’t so desperate, specious and irresponsible. The issue has absolutely no impact on the wireless industry. So why would CCA file? Was it a mistake?

Because the FCC’s planned spectrum incentive auction requires the cooperation of at least some large-market broadcasters, and it’s unclear whether enough will agree, there are market-based alternatives to the auction being talked about quietly in Washington that may be more lucrative for broadcasters. There is also risk that the government could take spectrum without giving broadcasters any compensation.

For the FCC’s spectrum auction to succeed, NAB’s Rick Kaplan says, the commission needs to make it “as easy as pie” by answering such basic questions for broadcasters that may wish to participate as: “Does the FCC want a volunteer in my market?; How much might I get paid?;  Where do I go to participate; and how exactly is it going to work? None of those questions have been answered, and the … clock … is ticking,” he says.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Fuse television network has turned to news veteran Rick Kaplan, who has run CNN and MSNBC and produced programs like “Nightline,” to develop a music […]

The NAB, AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile, Intel and Qualcomm ask the commission to adopt a “core set of band plan principles” that, in essence, outline how wireless and broadcast are going to co-exist in the post-auction world. The joint proposal offers an alternative to an FCC proposal under which broadcasters would be packed into two non-contiguous blocks separated by a block of wireless spectrum.

The FCC wants to do it in 2014 and some involved say that’s possible, but others claim there are too many complications and details that must be worked out to make sure the very complicated process goes smoothly. FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell told a CES audience: “So, while I hope it’s 2014 … folks just need to realistically understand that history tells us that these things can take longer than you hope or expect, especially when you have literally the most complicated spectrum auction in world history.”

FCC veteran Rick Kaplan is tapped for a newly created position leading the trade group’s efforts in “spectrum and innovation policy.”

Jon Banner will replace Rick Kaplan as the Sunday talk show’s executive producer.

After the FCC announced Tuesday that Rick Kaplan will assume the position of chief in the Wireless Bureau, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski must decide who will succeed Kaplan as his top lawyer. Speculation is already heating up about who could be the new chief counsel in the chairman’s office. Here are some top contenders.

Rick Kaplan, whose final CBS Evening News with Katie Couric production is set for tonight, is about to undertake his third tour of duty at ABC News as he joins the network to head up political coverage and executive produce This Week with Christiane Amanpour.

Two weeks after Katie Couric confirmed that she is leaving the CBS Evening News, her producer Rick Kaplan said Tuesday that he is departing, as well.