Patrick Butler, president-CEO of the Association of Public Television Stations: “We are certain that the overwhelming majority of public television stations will not be participating in the incentive auctions, and will instead hope to employ the technological advances at hand to improve and expand their essential public service missions in America's communities."
APTS Responds To Wheeler Ch.-Sharing Blog
The Association of Public Television Stations (APTS) President-CEO Patrick Butler issued the following statement in response to the recent blog post “Channel Sharing: A New Opportunity for Broadcasters” by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler:
“We appreciate Chairman Wheeler’s enthusiasm about the channel sharing pilot in Los Angeles, and we were honored to have him visit public television station KLCS, where the [channel-sharing] pilot is being conducted.
“But we should be clear that this pilot is not intended to prove that all broadcasters can get by with half the spectrum they’re currently using. Instead, it’s designed to show that all kinds of good things can happen — for broadcasters and for the public — with advances in compression technology and innovative business arrangements that permit the sharing of significant costs between stations.
“Some broadcasters may choose to channel-share and use revenue from cost savings and the incentive auction to enhance their programming. Other broadcasters may choose to keep all their spectrum and use compression technology to provide an unprecedented diversity of programming services. Whatever such advances may be demonstrated in this pilot, they will depend on brand new cutting-edge technology whose widespread adoption will require a substantial new capital investment in the public television system.
“We are certain that the overwhelming majority of public television stations will not be participating in the incentive auctions, and will instead hope to employ the technological advances at hand to improve and expand their essential public service missions in America’s communities.
“For those relatively few stations whose economic circumstances warrant an exploration of the channel sharing option to ensure that they can invest more in programming and community service and less in equipment and infrastructure — including stations that bring an important diversity of voices and viewpoints to the public — this pilot will demonstrate the possibilities and limitations of such a strategy.
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“We are grateful for the FCC’s prompt approval of the pilot, and we look forward to reviewing and learning from its results, as we have done with such experiments over several decades, to show how broadcasters can be better broadcasters and more versatile public servants.”
Comments (4)
Ellen Samrock says:
February 12, 2014 at 9:37 pm
Thanks for setting the record straight, Patrick. Why is it when Wheeler and his predecessor little Julius use the word “opportunity” in reference to broadcasters it comes dressed in clown suit and carrying a bottle of seltzer water? Translation: you can’t take it seriously.
Bobbi Proctor says:
February 13, 2014 at 10:26 am
I once asked a satellite provider why satellite and cable signals are not as good as over-the-air and he replied it was due to “compression.” I am not in broadcasting and did not understand completely what he was talking about but he said more information was “compressed” into channel. Whenever I come home from watching a program on cable in a public place, a hotel or someone’s house I marvel at how good our TV reception is using an antenna. There are some exceptions for TV stations providing too many multiple channels. I worry about what our TV reception could deteriorate when I hear the FCC mention compression for TV stations.
ABELARDO BLANCO says:
February 13, 2014 at 1:49 pm
Remember how you tell when a politician and/or bureaucrat is lying…When their lips move. Way to go, Patrick!
E B says:
February 13, 2014 at 5:21 pm
KLCS HD 1 looks like crap on my TWC cable or DISH satellite, which I must use due to terrain blockage of OTA. At work, channel 58’s OTA signal is pristine. I wish Aero was in Los Angeles. Goodbye TWC and DISH, coming soon.