[opendtv] News: FCC's Martin Outlines DTV Transition Efforts, Obligations
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: OpenDTV Mail List <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 12:16:32 -0400
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6453329.html?display=Breaking+News&referral=SUPP&nid=2228
FCC's Martin Outlines DTV Transition Efforts, Obligations
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/19/2007 7:54:00 AM
In a wide-ranging, 14-page letter to top Dems John Dingell and Ed
Markey, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin says the FCC is working hard to
ease the digital transition and educate consumers, including
proposing affirmative obligations on cable and broadcasters and
adding a broadcaster to the consumer advisory committee that will be
concentrating on transition education.
In response to the requests for information from the chairmen of the
House Energy and Commerce Committee and Telecommunications & Internet
Subcommittee, respectively, on what needed to be done and what the
FCC was requiring of the industry, Martin said that the FCC could do
more if it had more money. He pointed out that Congress had yet to
give the commission the $500,000 it initially asked for for consumer
education, and that the commission had not yet gotten the $1.5
million it had most recently asked for.
Martin said the FCC was taking a number of steps regarding the
broadcast and cable industries. He pointed out that commission has
proposed requiring cable operators to deliver a "viewable" signal to
customers, whether that means "explicitly requiring" them to deliver
an analog signal to their analog cable customers, or that all-digital
cable systems provide customers with the equipment to view broadcast
signals, and that "cable subscribers will not be forced to rent a
set-top box to view the broadcast signals."
The FCC also proposes that cable to deliver a broadcasters' HDTV
signal in HD, rather than being able to convert it to standard DTV.
Martin also put in another pitch for requiring cable to carry all of
a broadcasters free digital channels, rather than just a digital
version of their primary signals, as the commission has previously
held. Martin tried to require multicast must-carry a year ago, but
could not muster the votes. He said the proposal remains among his
fellow commissioners.
Martin also said he has circulated to the other commissioners a
proposal exploring transition education obligations on broadcasters
and multichannel video providers similar to ones suggested by Reps.
Dingell and Markey, perhaps as conditions of retaining their licenses.
They include: mandatory reporting on consumer education efforts;
periodic public service announcements and rolling scrolls by
broadcasters; cable bill stuffers with information on the transition;
mandatory transition information included with receiver sales;
mandatory retailer reporting of training for employees selling
converter boxes.
On the FCC education front, Martin said the commission was preparing
material for legislators to send to their constituents. He also said
it would look to place stories in major media outlets about the
transition, including perhaps even video news releases. Martin said
the commission wanted to "develop a contract with a news feature
service for developing and distributing periodic articles and TV and
radio features regarding the transition to digital." that type of
campaign would be contingent upon Dingell, Markey and their
colleagues coming up with the $1.5 million.
Martin also said that the commission had added a broadcaster member
to its Consumer Advisory Committee, Belo Vice Chairman John L.
Sander. Chairman Dingell had expressed concern about the absence of a
broadcaster..
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