The Non-Carriers' Viewpoint: Consumer Electronics Association Weighs In

Telecom Policy Report, Sept 15, 2004

Are over-the-air broadcasters trying to "slow-roll" the transition to digital television? The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) seems to think so.

In comments it filed with the FCC last week, CEA noted that the broadcasters' own trade group, the powerful National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), readily admits that what is needed to help smooth the transition to digital television is "sustained, ubiquitous promotion and education about DTV, on the part of all industries, to encourage more and more consumers ... to purchase DTV."

CEA's Senior Director for Regulatory Affairs Julie Kearney says the very thing NAB has called for, ironically, has been "sorely lacking on the part of broadcasters." Not only would public service announcements (PSAs) and other educational broadcast programming regarding DTV enable consumers to make more informed purchase decisions, Kearney says, but PSAs also would reach the very viewers most affected by the DTV transition -- those that rely on over-the-air (OTA) reception.

At a recent "summit meeting" on DTV hosted by the FCC's Media Bureau, a number of OTA broadcasters rejected suggestions that they air PSAs about the DTV transition, claiming that they already air a large number of PSAs about a host of other equally important issues.

For its part, the OTA broadcast industry would prefer to hang onto the analog spectrum the FCC wants the industry to give back to the government. OTA broadcasters believe the analog spectrum could be used to provide consumers with a wide range of new services heretofore not experienced in the U.S. television marketplace.

The FCC, on the other hand, wants to auction off significant portions of the spectrum, believing that such auctions could generate $30 billion to $40 billion for the U.S. Treasury. Spectrum experts say the frequencies involved are ideal for carrying a range of new applications, including next-generation broadband technologies.

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