Martin Says Multicast Shows Affordable Only with Guaranteed Carriage
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said broadcasters can afford multicast programming only if the commission gives them rights to get guaranteed carriage on cable systems. Speaking Tuesday to a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute conference on DTV, Martin said consumers could more easily be persuaded to buy digital converter boxes if broadcasters got multicast must-carry rights. The comments come after the chairman pulled an order requiring such carriage from the June 2006 meeting agenda after he failed to win support from Commissioner Robert McDowell. By linking his carriage plan to helping Spanish-language broadcasters pay for multicast programming, Martin also continues recent efforts by him and colleagues to link favorite proposals to minority media initiatives (CD Sept 24 p1).
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Broadcasters can’t afford to operate several additional channels beyond their primary one unless they get guaranteed carriage, Martin said. Consumers are more likely to buy converter boxes if they understand they can use the devices to get a plethora of additional programming available via multicast streams. “The ability to view all of these channels would facilitate the transition by providing people with an incentive to go get a converter box,” he said, according to prepared remarks from the FCC. Currently, TV viewers must buy such a box “just to maintain the status quo,” he added. Boxes will cost around $60 each.
But Martin thinks the equation will change if consumers can watch “a wide array of free programming” thanks to broadcasters getting guaranteed carriage of multicast signals, he said. “Then what was a burden for consumers becomes a meaningful benefit. The opportunity to enjoy more programming choices would give consumers an actual incentive to be excited about adopting digital technology.” Martin cited Berlin, where TV viewers got more than twice as many channels after their DTV transition thanks to multicasting. “The only way we can make this a reality, however, is if the cable companies are required to carry these additional channels,” he added.
Spanish language broadcasters would benefit from such rules because the cable carriage would give them a revenue base to pay for more programming, said Martin. “There is simply not an economic model by which a broadcaster can support a free programming stream that reaches only over-the- air households,” he said. “Without the guarantee of cable carriage, Spanish language broadcasters are not able to invest in creating a second or third free programming stream.”
Cable operators already voluntarily carry for than 600 multicast signals, said an NCTA spokesman. That figure “is evidence that compelling multicast content will be carried by cable operators,” he said. “There are many other programmers competing for limited shelf space and several of these networks are targeting Hispanic and other ethnic communities, but doing so without asking for a government-mandated subsidy.”
The NAB welcomed Martin’s support for multicast must- carry rules, taking aim at cable operators for not agreeing to carry more such channels. “For their own financial reasons, Comcast and other cable gatekeepers have every incentive to deny viewers access to the multiplicity of foreign language and other niche local broadcast programming that could flow from the DTV transition,” said an NAB spokesman. “We're hopeful that Chairman Martin’s colleagues will join him in embracing DTV’s full potential.”
Martin pushed for quick completion of the commission’s DTV education rulemaking. It asks whether the agency should require cable operators to insert notices into bills touting the transition and if TV stations should be required to run public service ads. “I believe more needs to be done,” he told the conference. NAB, the Association for Maximum Service TV and the Association for Public Television Stations and others said FCC rules aren’t needed, expanding on previous remarks. “Broadcasters’ plan largely eviscerates the concerns raised by other parties who have commented in this proceeding,” said a joint filing by NAB and MSTV. “We also reiterate that flexibility is essential to a successful outreach campaign.”