More Stations May Eye Spectrum Auction, Agree MSTV, CTIA Officials
Broadcast and wireless industry representatives agreed that additional stations probably will look at taking part in the spectrum auction the FCC sought in the National Broadband Plan. Speaking at a Media Institute lunch Tuesday, President David Donovan of the Association for Maximum Service TV and CTIA Vice President Chris Guttman-McCabe agreed that the voluntary approach the commission is taking to the mobile-future auction is best. They agreed on little else and often interrupted each other and occasionally moderator Richard Wiley.
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"A universe of stations” will “take advantage of this, and I think the universe is greater than what we're seeing so far,” Guttman-McCabe said in reply to a question from the audience. “I think what they're seeing, and what we're seeing, is a sea change” in use of media, as people start to get content from mobile devices, he said: “From our perspective, the focus needs to be on how you support that.”
MSTV continues to support a voluntary approach, Donovan said. “You will have people who inquire” about “what that entails,” and “certainly you will have stations explore that,” he continued. “The vast bulk of stations are skeptical of this,” but “we believe we should engage constructively with the commission to see how this will all work out.” Donovan voiced worry that diversity may decrease if programming disappears in an auction.
Pressed about whether CTIA would support commission mandates if the 120 MHz of TV spectrum the plan seeks to reallocate can’t be acquired voluntarily, Guttman-McCabe didn’t answer directly. “I'm not going to allow you to define the terms,” he said. “We're fully and totally willing to engage in a market-based approach” that’s not limited to broadcasters, he said. “With a voluntary reallocation, you address some of those problems” of interference and efficiency, he continued. “The goal is to make that work.”
The wireless industry “desires to bring the spectrum to market, and the process by which spectrum comes to market involves the industry paying a great deal of money,” Guttman-McCabe said. “This industry is not going to do that unless there is a need,” since it sees the “incredible spike in usage” that’s occurring, he added. Industry paid about $33 billion in the two most recent FCC spectrum auctions, he noted. Guttman-McCabe conceded CTIA’s estimate that 800 MHz of spectrum needs to be freed up wasn’t “rocket science” but instead used the equivalent of “second-grade math” from a well-known report. Donovan wants a spectrum inventory before going further. Guttman-McCabe supported spectrum inventory legislation but said not all issues need to wait for a Hill vote.
Broadcasting works well when viewers want “their video at the same time” but not when they prefer to time shift or “want their video when they want it,” Guttman-McCabe said. Viewers’ ability to select content on demand “is simply a function of the receiver,” Donovan said. “It’s not simply people being tied to particular network schedules, particular programming schedules” and it “becomes an on-demand service,” he said. Besides, he continued, referring to Washington’s football team, “I don’t think anyone wants to see a Redskins game a day later.”