LG, Zenith Don’t Back Tuner Mandate for ATSC 3.0 as They Did for DTV in 2002

LG Electronics and its Zenith subsidiary don't support a tuner mandate for the transition to ATSC 3.0, spokesman John Taylor told us. LG and Zenith back the recommendations in the petition for ATSC 3.0 rulemaking that CTA, NAB and others filed April 13 at the FCC (see 1604130065), urging that ATSC 3.0 tuners in receivers not be required because the evolution to the next-generation TV standard should be market-driven and based on voluntary standards, Taylor said. It’s too soon to say whether LG and Zenith will file comments if commissioners approve at their Feb. 23 meeting the NPRM on ATSC 3.0 that the agency released publicly as a draft item last week (see report in the Feb. 3 issue of this publication). In the draft, the FCC said it tentatively agrees with the argument that an ATSC 3.0 tuner requirement won't be needed, but that it would seek comment anyway on whether a market-driven approach would be enough. LG and Zenith in 2002 supported the FCC mandate that DTV tuners be included in analog sets on the grounds that a tuner requirement was the best way “to provide consumers with cost-effective products while achieving the national policy objectives” of the DTV transition. “Times have changed,” Taylor said of LG/Zenith’s endorsement of a market-driven approach for ATSC 3.0.