Sinclair Expects FCC ATSC 3.0 Rulemaking ‘Fairly Soon,’ Says CEO
The FCC promised at last month’s NAB Show to put ATSC 3.0 “on a short leash,” Sinclair CEO David Smith said on a Wednesday earnings call. Once comments and replies have been submitted to the FCC by late June on…
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the multi-industry petition for authorization of ATSC 3.0's physical layer (see 1604200051), Sinclair -- a longtime advocate of getting ATSC 3.0 implemented sooner rather than later -- thinks an ATSC 3.0 rulemaking notice “will go out as part of the normal protocol here,” Smith said in Q&A. “We think it’s reasonable that sometime early first quarter, possibly, of next year, the FCC will grant authority for the industry to move at its discretion” on the voluntary aspects of ATSC 3.0, Smith said. “So we view it just as an incredibly positive sign that the industry is ready to go, and people should start thinking about the business opportunities that are going to roll off the back of 3.0 over the next five to 10 years.” Smith regards the introduction of ATSC 3.0 as “just an enormous, life-altering event” for the broadcast industry, he said. “The NPRM should be out fairly soon,” Smith said. “Remember, this is just a procedural kind of process they go through, where they ask for comments and then they issue the NPRM, and everyone files their views of the world, and then they consider and they make a decision,” he said. “So we view this as kind of fairly routine.” FCC representatives didn’t comment.