The prospects for making money from live mobile DTV broadcasts...
The prospects for making money from live mobile DTV broadcasts seem slim in 2013, Gray TV President Bob Prather said during the company’s Q3 earnings teleconference Wednesday. “I'm not overly confident anything is going to happen soon where we can…
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actually show real dollars coming in 2013,” he said. “I hate to say it, because I had big hopes for it a few years ago.” Technologically, the service works great, he said. On the commercial side, it’s been bogged down “by the usual suspects” such as the broadcast networks and syndicated programming owners, who are asking “who’s going to get paid and when,” Prather said. “Everybody has their hand out … nobody has come up with the formula that seems to work yet.” Gray is unlikely to contribute any of its spectrum in the FCC voluntary broadcast incentive auction, Prather said. “I never say never, but I really can’t see that.” Gray is the “poster child” for making the most of its spectrum by operating so many digital multicasts of major broadcast networks, he said. It could be a long time before the auction occurs, he said. “I think this spectrum thing is still a good ways off,” he said. “If we get a new administration, all that stuff could change,” he said. “The FCC … they're about like Congress these days and can’t seem to make a decision.” Gray Q3 sales increased 34 percent from a year earlier to $102.8 million on higher political ad sales and retransmission consent revenue. Profit increased to $15.8 million from $1.9 million a year earlier on higher sales.