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Eric Glick
Despite some indications that the digital television revolution is chugging along, there are still snags on the tracks, according to a wide array of industry observers.
To be sure, broadcasters, cable operators and engineers have yet to resolve a host of differences over technical issues, copyright standards and other questions. And the government seems to be losing its collective patience.
Case in point: At a National Show panel last week, FCC commissioner Susan Ness indicated that the various industries had better spend less time debating the issues and more time actually laying down some standards.
There are three crucial areas that broadcasters and cable operators have to resolve for digital television to become a reality, Ness pointed out to attendees at the Chicago confab:
* Compatibility standards.
* How and if cable operators will carry broadcasters' digital signals.
* The widespread availability of digital programming throughout the U.S.
Ness said she's becoming somewhat exasperated with the ever-increasing amount of time its taken to resolve these "important issues." The Democratic commissioner - who is up for reappointment this month - said the lack of concrete compatibility standards has been particularly vexing.
"It's frustrating for me to watch the amount of time it takes to resolve these issues," Ness said. She added that there's a limited amount of time for the industry to work out compatibility, making the situation even more stressful. "Time is of the essence," she said. "The clock is ticking."
As far as the industry is concerned, things are coming along nicely. Two major trade groups have promised the commission that they'd get standards in place in a reasonable time, but so far, they've only provided timetables - a sort of agreement to agree. Indeed, the NCTA and the Consumer Electronics Manufacturing Association recently sent the FCC a letter saying they'd have a new timeframe by which to set digital compatibility standards by July 1. The NCTA also indicated it'd like to resolve the much more complicated and controversial copyright standards by the end of the year.
Ness has said repeatedly that she prefers the industry work out these issues, rather than the government poking its nose into the fray. The industry officials involved with the proceedings agree with that approach.
Martin Franks, SVP/chief lobbyist for CBS Corp. said, "We're all better off if we can sort these things out without the government." He pointed out that because there are very few digital sets on the market - and because they're extremely expensive - the industry has bought itself "a little bit more time to sort this out."
Even so, the government has already inserted itself into the process to a certain degree. The FCC is in the midst of a rulemaking to determine how many local stations a cable operator would have to carry per market - or even if an MSO has to carry local stations at all in a digital environment.
Dan Brenner, NCTA's VP-law and regulatory policy, heads up the trade group's lobbying effort on the digital must carry front. Moderating the panel session last week, Brenner said digital's "slower rollout" means that the commission need not rush to judgment on the issue.
In fact, commission officials have indicated that they won't likely issue a decision on digital must carry until the end of the fourth quarter at the very soonest. Asked when the commission would issue a DMC rulemaking, Ness replied: "later on this year. I don't control the agenda."
Compounding the must carry situation, at least for smaller stations, is a lack of capital, according to Franks, Specifically, he said, without must carry those stations lack the resources to cut retransmission consent deals with cable operators.
But lack of funding isn't a problem limited to the broadcast industry, according to Bob Miron, president of Advance/Newhouse Communications. Miron, who also sat on the panel, said, "We need lenders ... to build our (systems)."
For the FCC's part, Ness said she wants assurances that the market can resolve carriage issues without interference from the federal government. "We need to have a sense that something is going to happen," she said. "That's my big concern."
Interestingly, the must carry and retransmission consent questions are changing the dynamic relationships between cable operators and broadcasters. Brenner suggested that, as digital becomes a reality, MSOs might act as local affiliates, becoming the major outlets for the big four networks.
Franks responded to that theory, saying "I would love it," but quickly added, "I wouldn't go too far down that road. Bypassing affiliates via cable would feel good for about five minutes."
Still, Franks was optimistic that the cable and broadcasting industries can quickly resolve their differences and make DTV a reality.
"If we are smart and clever, there are lots of things we can do," Franks said.
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