D.C. Memo: O’Rielly Says NextGen TV A Lot about Extracting 'Side Hustles' from 'Soviet-Era Politicos'
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NextGen TV: That was fast. Yesterday, former Republican FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly took the side of the pay-TV industry against broadcast giants Sinclair Inc. and Nexstar Media Group over the transition to NextGen TV. “No matter how wonderful NextGen TV may or may not be, the market – and not regulators being asked to emulate Soviet-era politicos– should decide whether it succeeds, O’Rielly said in a blog posted on the website of the Free State Foundation, where he serves as an Adjunct Senior Fellow. On Tuesday, Rick Kaplan, Chief Legal Officer and Executive Vice President at the National Association of Broadcasters, slammed the cable TV industry and the Consumer Technology Association, for refusing to cooperate on the transition. Pay-TV providers have cited steep technology costs and the risk of offering enhanced digital video services that consumers are not equipped to view on current TVs. “They’re protecting their turf,” Kaplan said. O’Rielly also accused TV station owners of being more interested in monetizing their digital payload than in providing enhanced TV sound and pictures for free. “While there likely would be prettier picture quality and improved audio, broadcasters’ real hope is that new television mandates will unlock the use of its underlying spectrum for side hustles paid for by consumers,” O’Rielly said. Instead of mandates, such as requiring the installation of NextGen TV tuners in new sets, the FCC should let the transition “develop naturally and voluntarily to determine if consumers even want it,” O’Rielly said. NAB has asked the FCC to adopt rules that would sunset the transition no later than 2030 nationally.
