DPI Panelists See Hot Broadcast M&A Market, Privacy Rules 'Holding Pattern'

After “a strange” 2017 for broadcaster mergers and acquisitions, with pent-up demand leading to a burst of activity after the incentive auction was done, that pace looks to continue this year, said Wilkinson Barker broadcast lawyer Howard Liberman in a Digital Policy Institute webinar Thursday. He said small and mid-sized telecommunications company transactions, meanwhile, haven't been nearly as active, perhaps because of regulatory uncertainty under the Trump administration. Liberman said the ATSC 3.0 standard's rollout among broadcasters will likely come over the next two to three years. He said for viewers, it will mean more robust signals in a mobile environment as well as more enhanced features like better audio and multi-camera choices. Recon Analytics analyst Roger Entner said the FCC's Title II rollback will likely lead to congressional action that brings back net neutrality rules that aren't "encumbered by heavy Title II regulations." Conversely, privacy rules are "in a holding pattern," though there's broad consensus on the need for "stronger and better" privacy rules. Consumer Policy Solutions President Debra Berlyn said it's a benefit to consumers that privacy rules are back before the FTC, where protections will be universal instead of limited by industries. "We don't want a patchwork of protections," she said. Entner said a key need for 5G implementation is more spectrum, and that, while the FCC is looking at 28, 39 and 60 GHz bands, more also needs to be freed up in the lower bands. The agency also needs work toward standardized rules to help with siting of new cell sites and acceleration of how quickly sites can be made operational, Entner said. He said consumers will be inundated with 5G marketing and messaging this year, with the first implementations coming by year’s end. He said consumer confusion will be inevitable because of the varied applications of 5G.