ATSC 3.0 Task Force Meetings to Start in June, Noland Says

The ATSC 3.0-focused public-private partnership announced by FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel will likely hold its first meetings in mid to late June, said ATSC President Madeleine Noland at a Media Institute Luncheon Tuesday (see 2304170056). NAB expects similar timing, a spokesperson told us. The Future of TV Initiative will consider possible solutions for ATSC 3.0 backward compatibility and what the eventual sunset of ATSC 1.0 will look like, Noland said. “A renewed focus by the FCC is very good news,” Noland said. “We need to chart a path forward together.”

A Future of TV Initiative working group on backward compatibility will have to wrestle with the incompatibility of ATSC 1.0 and 3.0, Noland said. The single carrier system of 1.0 “cannot accommodate” 3.0’s multiple carrier system, she said. “The only way to design a system good enough to inspire a voluntary transition was to make it really good. And that just wasn't possible to do and still maintain backward compatibility,” she said. One solution is low-cost converter boxes, the first of which is now available for preorder at $80, she said. The first converter boxes for the digital TV transition cost $1,700, Noland said.

Transitioning crowded urban markets and rural markets with few stations are also items the Future of TV initiative will need to consider, said Noland. Stations without sharing partners will likely have to flash cut, “but there are no regulations that allow that or offer any path forward,” Noland said. PBS New Mexico is in this exact situation, she said. “There are rural and tribal lands in the northern part of the state that have only the PBS station.” She said PBS could approach supporters to fund converter boxes for viewers and then flash cut. “This would require regulatory attention, but it could be in essence a pilot program showing how the final transition could ultimately conclude,” Noland said. The initiative could also consider a market-by-market TV transition, or a target of market saturation that would mean it was time for the 1.0 sunset, she said.

An internet connection isn't required to watch 3.0 television but does enable additional features, Noland said, saying she wanted to dispel “rumors” about the new standard. It also works with current digital broadcast TV antennas, she said. Noland said Americans buy 40 million TV sets a year, and 5 million of them this year will be ATSC 3.0 ready.

The new standard is getting increased traction in other countries, Noland said. South Korea has been transitioning for several years, and Brazil, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and India are looking into ATSC 3.0 broadcasting, she said. “The U.S. is in a position to take a global leading role in next-gen broadcasting,” she said. “The FCC can demonstrate how to achieve a channel sharing transition.”