In a speech before Catholic bishops, the Democratic FCC commissioner says she fears the Sinclair-Tribune merger will "do harm to the time-tested principles of diversity, localism and competition." Because ATSC 3.0 signals are incompatible with TV receivers now in use, she says, the new standard will force consumers to buy new sets. "It's a tax on every household with a television." NAB counters that the commissioner "misunderstands" the standard.
Rosenworcel Wary Of Sinclair Deal, ATSC 3.0
Don’t count on FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel to vote to approve Sinclair’s $3.9 billion acquisition of Tribune Media later this year or early next.
In a speech today before the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Democratic commissioner expressed deep reservations about the deal.
For decades, she said, Congress and the FCC have maintained limits on broadcast station ownership to sustain media diversity, localism and competition.
“I fear we are on the cusp of dismantling those values. I am concerned the commission is gearing up to approve a transaction that will hand a single broadcast company [Sinclair] the unprecedented ability to reach more than 70% of American households.
“I’m not alone in my concerns about the concentration that will result from this proposed transaction. I’m not alone in my fear that it will do harm to the time-tested principles of diversity, localism and competition.
“There is opposition across the political spectrum. In fact, I can’t put it better than the Newsmax Group, which has warned that a ‘a free and diverse press, a bedrock principle of American democracy,’ will be irreparably harmed by this merger.”
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Rosenworcel said the FCC Republican majority led by Chairman Ajit Pai has paved the way for approving the merger by restoring the so-called UHF discount that eases the national station ownership cap and continuing to permit joint sales agreement that allow broadcaster to circumvent national and local limits.
Both steps helped speed the way for this transaction,” she said. “The bottom line is we are not going to remedy what ails our media with a rush of new consolidation. We are not going to fix our inability to ferret fact from fiction by doubling down on a single company owning ever more of our public airwaves.”
Rocenworcel also raised concerns about the FCC’s plans to authorize stations this fall to broadcast using the new ATSC 3.0 standard without sufficient protections for consumers.
“There is a lot to be excited about with this new standard — ultra high definition picture quality and immersive audio, advanced emergency alerts and innovative interactive services. But I fear the agency is about to rush this standard to market without understanding the consequences for consumers.
“This new standard is not backwards-compatible with current television devices. In the near term, with the standard voluntary, the cost of implementing it will be added to consumer cable and satellite bills. In the longer term, it means everyone will need to buy a new television set.
“This is not a great boon for consumers; it’s a tax on every household with a television. So, it’s time for the commission to go back to the drawing board and find a way to smooth the transition to this new standard in a way that better serves the public interest.”
Rosenworcel’s comments did not sit well with the NAB, one of the lead proponents of the new standard. “Unfortunately, Commissioner Rosenworcel misunderstands the goals and asks of broadcasters,” said NAB EVP Dennis Wharton. “We simply want to compete on equal footing with national wireless and pay TV providers who routinely upgrade services in the telecom ecosystem.
“NextGen TV will allow local TV stations – including our public TV brethren – the ability to offer ultra HDTV programming, emergency alerts that save lives, and live TV on mobile devices. This will be a free and local programming innovation that the FCC routinely supports, and that tens of millions of consumers will enjoy.”
Comments (23)
Debra Rein says:
October 12, 2017 at 12:31 pm
Good to get the Dem commmish back on board to try and keep the cable and satcaster agenda going. Wheeler would be so proud.
Snead Hearn says:
October 12, 2017 at 12:35 pm
Why can’t the new television sets being made have both ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 tuners? The real challenge will be making sure cable and satellite do not strip the interactive from ATSC 3.0… They want that ability for them so they can charge I would assume. Free, diverse and unbiased news is not what we have now if you look at the news each day. Either you are trying to overthrow the office of the president or the office of the president is trying to overthrow the left leaning media. I don’t believe Sinclair or ATSC 3.0 are the real problems…
Veronica Serrano Padilla says:
October 12, 2017 at 4:46 pm
Forcing cable to support ATSC 3.0 is like suggesting that all Apple devices should be able to run Microsoft programs… not overly practical and no business sense to it. “Broadcasters” need to accept the fact that if they’re lucky they’ll get their main channel (and perhaps a sub channel or two) on cable and that’s it.
Patrick Burns says:
October 12, 2017 at 12:53 pm
TV sets firms can do both standards.
When you are stationed in West Germany back in the day we could get the German channels on our UHF TV sets but no sound .
Only watching AFRN had native sound , the BX store sold a TV made by Motorola ( I think ) that had an auto bypass so you got the native language of each station. as you surfed around. I recall the set was $ 150. not a burden.
Bottom line if they are motivated they can do what you propose, it’s all about the profit & politics .
We shall see .
r small says:
October 12, 2017 at 1:15 pm
Problem is not with new sets. It’s the installed base of DTV sets, and the total lack of backward compatibility in the digital world.
Amneris Vargas says:
October 12, 2017 at 1:30 pm
Bimodel, software defined, chipsets. Also, gateway devices. Dinging Sinclair for its work in NexGen, not a strong pile-on argument. In fact! Just opposite.
John Murray says:
October 12, 2017 at 1:38 pm
Folks, it’s not (just) about TV sets . . . It’s about mobile. And btw, why are our tax dollars subsidizing Ms. Rosenworcel’s salary and travel so she can go make speeches to a bunch of clergy?
Ellen Samrock says:
October 12, 2017 at 2:01 pm
“… the cost of implementing [ATSC 3.0] will be added to consumer cable and satellite bills.” Not a problem, Jessica. Pay-TV is hemorrhaging subscribers. Soon it will be gone, replaced by internet and antenna. The problem is keeping 3.0 voluntary. This puts the standard on par with HD Radio and, as such, it will probably follow the same path–weak implementation, few receivers. At some point down the road, it will need to be mandatory. Her opposition to the Sinclair merger is purely political and strictly noise. Thankfully, she is a minority commissioner, whose thoughts, while interesting, are meaningless.
Veronica Serrano Padilla says:
October 12, 2017 at 4:48 pm
I’ll give you credit even if you are a FAKE poster: at least you recognize ATSC 3.0 is a potential flop…
Ellen Samrock says:
October 12, 2017 at 8:29 pm
That scares me when a dangerous sociopath like you actually approves one of my comments.
Veronica Serrano Padilla says:
October 12, 2017 at 10:46 pm
I imagine you’re scared of your own shadow. BOO!! Run to mommy. (It would be a FAKE shadow, wouldn’t it?)
Patrick Burns says:
October 12, 2017 at 2:07 pm
very well said and sooooo true !!!!
Colin MacCourtney says:
October 12, 2017 at 2:08 pm
In regard to mobile, who is to say that Apple, Verizon, AT&T will permit ATSC 3.0? Their record with FM radio chips has been almost completely obstructionist, do you really expect that to change with ATSC 3.0?
John Murray says:
October 12, 2017 at 2:59 pm
Yes, very true . . . but much of video consumption is trending toward mobile and legacy TV broadcasters have no choice but to fight for access to those devices. Whether it’s by the carrot or the stick (i.e., FCC and/or Congress), broadcasters have to be there.
Veronica Serrano Padilla says:
October 12, 2017 at 5:08 pm
These companies are in the business to make money for themselves, not others. Would you also support Chevy dealers being required to sell Fords at their stores? What compelling reason is there to force companies to support FM or TV reception on mobile phones? Emergency alerts? Those are already available on phones…
John Murray says:
October 13, 2017 at 8:05 am
Guess what? These are just the sort of questions TV broadcasters have to get busy preparing to answer — whether to regulators, legislators and/or mobile-device makers. Because — I repeat — for ATSC 3.0 to be a success it has to involve mobile.
Ronny Nix says:
October 12, 2017 at 4:08 pm
Wow…can she really be an FCC Commissioner and be that stupid. ATSC3 only has an effect on the consumer if they are viewing off the air…….cable, satellite, streaming are not affected.
Matt Hortobagyi says:
October 12, 2017 at 4:51 pm
Yes she can be that stupid and FCC Commissioner. Most commisioners do not have clue on technology just what their staff tell them. One lawyer telling another lawyer about RF Spectrum and technology. Why isn’t at least one FCC Commisioner appointed that least worked some time in the industry he or she is regulating…and I don’t mean in their legal department.
Julien Devereux says:
October 12, 2017 at 5:01 pm
Consolidation has worked so well for radio; just ask Cumulus and iHeart. Let Sinclair drown in it’s own debt, which will be amassed instantly upon the closing of this deal.
Patrick Burns says:
October 12, 2017 at 5:31 pm
Your comment may have highhandedly convinced David Smith to bag the Tribune buy, he can buy a lot of these markets for much cheaper per stick prices. Tribune’s value is tied to legacy which gets you a half a cup of coffee now.
If legacy is such a big deal then WHY would WBZ AM be getting sold off as as just another license on the block !! UGH !!!
Smith should smarten up & save the hassle this purchase brings & grab undeveloped sticks that hoped to be sold in Auction but were not !!!
Dan Levitt says:
October 12, 2017 at 6:14 pm
Tribune has been very quiet…. Sinclair is almost as quiet. In this particular case – No news is Bad News. 2 cocky Broadcast wanna-be’s loud-mouthed about every other deal they’ve ever done… there’s something going on behind the scenes with these two also-ran’s.
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October 12, 2017 at 9:39 pm
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