Note: Due to the government shutdown, filing and processing of routine applications is on hold and the FCC’s public database is offline. So, there are still no station updates to report. This item is presented as a development of potential interest to Upper Midwest viewers and broadcasters.
The FCC has adopted a notice of proposed rulemaking that could eliminate the requirement that TV stations broadcasting in the new digital format, ATSC 3.0 (NextGen TV), simulcast their programming on signals that can be received by all digital TV’s.
The NPRM discusses whether to allow stations to switch to ATSC 3.0 without a partnership to simulcast their channels in ATSC 1.0 format. That means their programming would not be available on most existing TV’s.
Just like the first transition, the switch to ATSC 3.0 will eventually require all over-the-air viewers to buy external receivers or new TV’s. Ultimately, the change will allow broadcasters to offer higher picture quality, additional content, and new digital services.
Unlike the first digital transition in the early 2000s, the FCC has not handed out second channels for stations to transmit in both the old and new formats.
Instead, stations have partnered together many markets, with one station becoming an ATSC 3.0 “lighthouse” carrying the primary channels of other stations. In exchange, those other stations carry the lighthouse station’s channels in ATSC 1.0 format.
Such arrangements are currently in place in Davenport, Des Moines, Minneapolis, and Omaha. The NextGen TV website also lists Milwaukee as “coming soon,” but details have not been announced.
Even if the simulcast requirement is dropped, broadcasters are in the business of reaching audiences, so it seems unlikely that most would choose to make a full switch to the new technology before viewers are ready.
Other provisions in the 69-page NPRM ask whether TV manufacturers should be required to include ATSC 3.0 tuners, whether broadcasters should be allowed to encrypt programming, and whether rules for cable and satellite carriage need to be updated if the simulcast requirement is ended.
The next step is a 60-day public comment period followed by 30 days for replies.