Sinclair’s Try At Jump-Starting New Standard Unlikely to Succeed While Auction Looms, Attorneys Say

A new effort by Sinclair to bring about the creation of a new TV standard by designing technology to allow broadcasters to send their signals over wireless networks is not likely to capture the attention of an FCC consumed by the incentive auction, said several industry observers in interviews. “Once you get into a new standard it would delay everything,” while the FCC is focused on completing the auction on schedule, said broadcast engineer Don Everist, president of Cohen, Dippell.

The Sinclair-launched ONE Media effort to create a Next Generation Broadcast Platform (NGBP) is intended to galvanize broadcaster support for a new standard by providing an example of technology that would allow broadcasters to compete over wireless and wired mediums, said Sinclair Vice President Mark Aitken and ONE Media. That new standard could be Advanced Television Systems Committee 3.0 or even another standard, he said. ATSC’s business interests aren’t completely aligned with broadcast interests, Aitken said. Broadcasting is “hardwired” to the home because of the existing ATSC standard, he said. Broadcasters “don’t have an effective platform we can use to engage in battle for eyeballs against the predators of industry,” Aitken said.

The NGBP platform would take advantage of LTE infrastructure to allow broadcasters to get their signal to viewers every possible way, Aitken said. “Our bits should be able to flow wherever wireless and wired bits can.” The technology will be completed and able to be demonstrated in 11 months, said a news release from ONE issued Tuesday. By creating the technology first, Sinclair hopes more broadcasters will advocate for the swift creation of a new TV standard, said Aitken. The current ATSC 3.0 has shown “a lack of progress in meeting the specific needs of broadcasting,” Aitken said. ATSC President Mark Richer declined to comment on ONE Media or Sinclair’s efforts, but he said the organization has “a number of goals” for ATSC 3.0, including “mobile and hand held service."

ATSC would be “the most comfortable place” to develop a TV standard that would take advantage of the NGBP technology, Aitken said, but it doesn’t have to be the only one. Though Sinclair will stay “engaged” with ATSC, a new standard could be developed by another body as long as there’s broadcaster consensus behind it, Aitken said.

ATSC is unlikely to be influenced by Sinclair’s new tech, even if it receives wide broadcaster support, said a broadcast attorney. The standards-making body is dedicated to its current process and timeline, and unlikely to deviate from it, said the attorney. Fletcher Heald broadcast attorney Peter Tannenwald disagreed, saying a broad consensus of broadcasters could sway the group. “Everybody thinks a new standard is a good idea,” said a broadcast attorney.

For the NGBP to be viable, the FCC would also have to approve a new standard, which is unlikely to happen with the incentive auction looming, said Everist and several broadcast attorneys. While it’s possible the FCC could look at authorizing new standards in the wake of the auction -- especially an unsuccessful one -- it’s unlikely to happen soon, Everist said. Updating TV standards is not high on the FCC priority list, several attorneys said. “They're not going to take the time to look at it,” said Tannenwald. Consensus could change that, he said. An FCC bureau chief told him a broadly supported ATSC standard would be approved, Tannenwald said.

By demonstrating the NGBP in 11 months, Aitken believes ONE Media could rally enough support for a new standard to possibly have its adoption timed with the repacking process. That would allow repacked broadcasters to have to upgrade their equipment only once, a point that Sinclair has long pressed. “If no one else will make these investments, we are willing to invest in this industry,” Aitken said.