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[Tuesday at NAB]
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Regulatory Events Should Be Lively
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by Leslie Stimson,
~ April 15, 2008
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NAB DAILY NEWS
The looming gap in consumer education about the DTV transition, FCC localism proposals that evoke an earlier enforcement era and whether broadcasters will ever get clarity on what constitutes on-air indecency are sure to be topics discussed at two events today, both part of the Broadcast Regulatory & Legislative Conference at the NAB Show.
NAB President and CEO David Rehr will moderate “The Issues Breakfast,” set for this morning, 7:30–8:45 a.m. The breakfast is sponsored by Advanced Broadcast Solutions.
FCC Commissioners Jonathan Adelstein and Deborah Taylor Tate are set to speak on this afternoon during “The Regulatory Face-off,” 4:15–5:30 p.m.
Some members of Congress and consumer groups worry that both the government and industry have started too late on educating consumers about TV’s digital migration, and what will happen to analog-only TV sets in February 2009.
For example, House and Energy Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell, D-Mich., said earlier this year that while President Bush’s budget proposal would increase the FCC’s budget for consumer outreach on the DTV transition, he is concerned about the size of the increase, calling it too small.
“The president has proposed an additional $20 million for educating consumers about digital television. When added to the original $5 million that was allotted by the Republican Congress that enacted this program, this is far too little to educate a nation of 300 million people.
“Television is the primary means by which the public receives news concerning public safety and national security, so public awareness of the digital television transition is critical. If we are truly concerned about the safety and security of our nation, we should not be attempting this transition on the cheap,” said Dingell.
DIGITAL TELEVISION TRANSITION
The FCC planned an April 1 workshop to provide an opportunity for interested parties to discuss the challenges of ensuring that low-income consumers receive and can act on information about the digital television transition. The workshop discussion was also expected to center on ways to develop coordinated consumer education activities.
But some in Congress are starting to realize that even those viewers who are given DTV education still might not receive the DTV signals. During a hearing on DTV in February, House Telecom-munications Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., said in addition to the subsidized converter box, viewers might also need to install new and more powerful antennas to get channels they’ve received for decades. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said the FCC estimated that 5 percent of over-the-air viewers would likely need antenna upgrades to receive DTV.
Reply comments for the commission’s proceeding on broadcast localism were due on April 14, and discussion centering on that topic will no doubt be lively.
In an effort to quantify broadcasters’ public service, the FCC has come to some tentative conclusions and sought comment on several proposals, including unattended operations and the ability of stations to issue emergency alerts.
The agency identified proposed rules for nine areas, including whether stations should rely on community advisory groups to determine community needs; whether to increase political reporting requirements as well as payola and sponsor ID rules; and whether the license renewal process is rigorous enough.
Changes proposed in the proceeding also include scaling back or repealing the rule allowing unattended operations and tightening the main studio rule.
NAB Executive Vice President Dennis Wharton said the localism proceeding “carries grave First Amendment implications” and said it “stems from a false notion that radio and television stations have abandoned our commitment” to public service.
BROADCAST INDECENCY
Broadcast indecency is back on the front burner for the agency. The Supreme Court said it will hear a broadcast indecency case — the first major broadcast indecency case for the high court in 30 years. The case will be argued in the fall.
It concerns the FCC’s defense of its decision to punish fleeting expletives. Experts say the outcome of the case could overturn the agency’s authority to regulate indecency content or further solidify that authority.
About the news, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said, “I continue to believe we have an obligation then to enforce laws restricting indecent language on television and radio when children are in the audience.”
Commissioner Michael Copps and NAB said they hope the review brings clarity to the issue.
A congressional probe into how the commission operates has begun; members of both parties in Congress had warned Martin they would begin an investigation into how the agency operates if he went ahead with a vote to ease the cross-ownership rules.
The commission proceeded anyway. Agency proponents, including Martin, call the change modest, and said the cross-ownership ban was the one rule not relaxed by the passage of the Telecom Act in 1996.
The new rule allows newspapers to own a single radio or TV station in the top 20 media markets if certain conditions are met, with the opportunity to apply for a waiver for combinations in smaller markets.
Now the House Commerce Committee has begun a formal investigation into the FCC’s regulatory procedures “to determine if they are being conducted in a fair, open, efficient and transparent manner,” the committee told Martin in a letter.
Prior to the cross-ownership vote in December, Martin’s fellow commissioners complained they were receiving material they needed to vote on issues at the last minute, allegations Martin has denied.
SATELLITE MERGER
For radio, the timing of a regulatory decision on whether to allow the two satellite radio companies to merge was still up in the air before the show. As of early April the Department of Justice did not block the merger, saying a merged entity would not violate antitrust regulations. Now eyes are on the FCC to see if it will block or approve the deal with or without conditions.
Among broadcasters, NAB and Clear Channel Radio oppose the satellite merger. Clear Channel laid out conditions that should be met if the deal is approved. One of those supports iBiquity Digital’s proposal that the FCC mandate all subsequent satellite radio tuners be able to receive HD Radio signals.
SOME BACKGROUND
Jonathan Adelstein became an FCC commissioner in 2002 and was sworn in for a new term in 2004.
Before joining the FCC, Adelstein served for 15 years as a staff member in the Senate, working as a senior legislative aide to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) for seven of those years.
Deborah Taylor Tate was sworn in as an FCC commissioner in early 2006. She is the federal chair of the agency’s Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service, as well as federal chair of the Federal-State Joint Board on Jurisdic-tional Separations.
Before being appointed to the commission, Tate was a director of the Tennessee Regulatory Authority. In that position, she was appointed to the Federal-State Joint Board on Advanced Telecommunications Services.
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