Key Points:
- FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said the agency will vote on a proposal to accelerate the nation’s transition to the NextGen TV broadcast standard, which blends over-the-air and Internet-based signals.
- Supporters, including the NAB, say NextGen TV offers higher-quality video, local alerts and targeted ads while freeing broadcast spectrum for other uses.
- Critics warn the switch could raise costs for consumers and TV makers due to patents, DRM and compatibility issues, potentially limiting access to free over-the-air TV.
The top official in charge of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) says the agency will take up the topic of transitioning America’s television broadcast standards from one digital standard to another.
In a short statement on Tuesday, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said the agency will vote on whether to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that “takes steps to accelerate the transition to this NextGen TV standard.” He didn’t offer specifics on those steps.
NextGen TV combines traditional broadcast signals with new capabilities unlocked via the Internet. It allows broadcasters to offer their existing network affiliated stations over the air, while launching new video feeds and interactive features to smart TVs and tuners that are Internet-connected.
Proponents of the transition — including most major broadcast groups through their lobbying firm, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) — say transitioning the country to NextGen TV will allow them to free up spectrum that can be repurposed for wireless and other uses. Other benefits include enhanced video and audio signals that are on par with most streaming services, along with hyper-local emergency alert notifications and targeted commercial advertising, which broadcasters say will benefit consumers as much as the industry.
While NextGen TV signals reach most of the country, there is little data on how many NextGen TV-capable smart TVs and tuners are in American homes. Most TVs sold following the last broadcast transition — from analog to digital — won’t work with NextGen TV, and the likelihood that Americans will have to buy new TVs or converter boxes to receive NextGen TV signals is high.
Patents and certification requirements associated with NextGen TV equipment drive up the cost of smart TVs and tuners, compared with the relatively low cost of smart TVs and digital video recorders (DVRs) that have ordinary digital tuners in them. At least one major TV manufacturer, LG, suspended the installation of NextGen TV tuners in their sets after being sued over patent-related royalties.
Some NextGen TV channels are also encrypted with digital rights management (DRM) technology, which requires an active Internet connection to download decryption certificates — raising questions about whether Americans in areas that lack robust broadband Internet connection will also lose access to free TV if a NextGen TV switchover is mandated in the coming years.
Proponents who have spoken with The Desk about NextGen TV in recent months said concerns about a digital transition are overblown: If the FCC mandates a flash-cut from one digital standard to another, they believe consumer electronics manufacturers will flood the market with NextGen TV-capable smart TVs and tuners, because they won’t want their TV hardware to be left behind. As the market becomes saturated with more NextGen TV hardware, competition will increase and the price of the hardware will come down, they assert.
Some of those hardware makers have strong concerns over how NextGen TV is being developed: SiliconDust, the maker of a popular line of network-connected DVRs called HomeRun, have not received approval to unlock encrypted NextGen TV channels on their tuners. Pearl TV, the broadcast consortium supporting NextGen TV’s efforts, said SiliconDust’s decision to use chips made by Huawei, a company with ties to the Chinese government, was the reason why the industry’s security authority has not approved its tuners to receive encrypted channels.
A few broadcasters are also not on board with a firm transition to NextGen TV as proposed by NAB and others. Weigel Broadcasting, which offers some of the most-popular digital multicast networks through the current broadcast standard, has raised concerns over the process by which consumer hardware receives security-related certifications. A few pay TV providers also claim a transition to NextGen TV will put onerous costs on their businesses, because they will have to update the equipment they use to receive over-the-air broadcasts in order to continue offering their subscribers access to local TV channels.
It isn’t clear if Carr — who has embraced the idea of moving fast and breaking things at the FCC since he became chairman earlier this year — will have answers to any of the lingering questions that still surround a proposal to move the country away from one broadcast standard to another.
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