FCC Releases ATSC 3.0 Sunset Order

The FCC unanimously approved an ATSC 3.0 order and Further NPRM moving the substantially similar and physical layer sunsets to July 17, 2027, and seeking comment on the 3.0 patent marketplace (see 2306210051). The agency will “initiate a review approximately one year before the requirement is set to expire to seek comment on whether it should be extended based on marketplace conditions at that time,” the order said. The order also clarifies the agency’s stance on hosting multicast channels and allows such arrangements to be approved through license modifications, permits lateral hosting arrangements authorized through special temporary authority, and says the agency doesn’t believe market forces are enough to prevent broadcasters from leaving some 1.0 viewers behind. “Some broadcasters state that they have every incentive to ‘maximize’ viewership, but those arguments more correctly appear to focus on maximizing profits, which will not necessarily support the needs of [over-the-air] OTA 1.0 viewers for the length of the transition,” said the order. The originating station and not the host station is responsible for regulatory compliance for multicast streams in ATSC 3.0 sharing arrangements, and noncommercial educational stations are allowed to participate in such arrangements, the order said. “We find that departing from our licensing regime is appropriate because it is limited to the temporary broadcast transition to 3.0 and to specific situations for which there is a clear need,” the order said. In the FNPRM, the agency seeks comment on the ATSC 3.0 standard essential patent (SEP) marketplace, and on whether patent holders are licensing them under the “reasonable and non-discriminatory (RAND) terms” required by the Advanced Television Systems Committee. “We seek additional comment on the state of this market, particularly from the perspective of parties, or the representatives of parties, that do not hold SEPs but have licensed or attempted to license them,” said the FNPRM. “Are SEP holders complying with the ATSC RAND requirements?” "The steps the Commission has taken today -- to facilitate the hosting of multicast programming and provide an end date to a rule mandating identical ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 broadcasts -- will help make that transition possible," said NAB in a release.