NAB’s Sander Strives to Quiet DTV Controversies
National Association of Broadcasters board joint chairman Jack Sander stresses digital-TV transition over retransmission-consent talks.
By P.J. Bednarski -- Broadcasting & Cable, 8/17/2008 7:21:00 AM EDT
Last week, the National Association of Broadcasters’ board called for a timeout from negotiations for retransmission consent with cable and satellite providers, from Feb. 4 to the end of March of next year. The hope was that those sometimes-nasty contract battles wouldn’t interfere with the broadcasters’ switch from analog to digital Feb. 17, 2009.
But the moment the NAB made its announcement, the American Cable Association, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association and Dish Network all complained about this so-called quiet period.
Their problem was one of timing. Contracts with many stations conclude in December. And cable and satellite operators might be worried because the Super Bowl airs on NBC Feb. 1 -- three days before that quiet period begins. That gives some stations or station groups a powerful weapon to extract lucrative retransmission-consent pacts from operators. The ACA and Dish said they want a quiet period between December and May 31, while the ACA asked the FCC to help.
NAB board joint chairman Jack Sander, senior advisor to Belo, is helping to coordinate the NAB’s digital-conversion efforts, including the quiet period. He spoke with B&C’s P.J. Bednarskiabout what he called the NAB’s good intentions, bitterness caused by the retransmission-consent debate and progress he sees in the marketplace as the conversion looms. Following is an edited transcript.
Q: Was anybody forcing the NAB’s hand to carve out a quiet period, or did you do it because cable operators were starting to make it an issue?
A: It was a little bit of both. Over the past few weeks, however, it was getting a lot more buzz and energy than maybe it even deserved. So the board had to ask: What’s a logical quiet period? And with the ACA sending in a request to the FCC for six months, that clearly wasn’t designed for the DTV transition. That was designed for other interests.
Q: Any other interests besides retransmission consent?
A: No, I don’t think so. But we said, “Let’s separate retransmission-consent issues [from the DTV transition].” There are retransmission-consent discussions going on 52 weeks a year. There’s probably one going on today somewhere. So we decided, “Let’s not make the quiet period confusing or disruptive to the viewer,” and that’s how we really got to it.
Q: But the quiet period starts after hundreds of retransmission-consent agreements expire in December and right after the Super Bowl. And it ends, essentially, right before the NCAA Final Four. Doesn’t that give broadcasters an advantage?
A: Again, I think whatever period you picked [would have some problem]. What about this? What about that? I heard today that one of the commissioners was proposing Dec. 15 and I said, “What’s Dec. 15 have to do with the DTV transition? Nothing.” What we really tried to do is say that retransmission consent is a business issue between stations and cable and satellite providers. We’re trying to stay focused on the DTV transition.
Q: Wilmington, N.C., is going to shut off its analog signal for good in September. How’s the education campaign doing down there? And there have been those simulated one-day turns at a lot of stations. What do you think of those?
A: I think we’re going to learn a lot from Wilmington. But what we’re going to do is accelerate these analog-shutoff tests. Post-Labor Day, we’re really going to encourage stations and even more markets to do this [for a day]. I think these tests are going to be critical to the overall success. We have to tell the consumer what is going to happen, let it happen and then tell them what just happened. [The simulated analog turnoff] is a very good tool, and it’s one we didn’t even have on our radar a year ago.
Q: If some station pulled its NBC affiliate off a cable system right before the Super Bowl, wouldn’t people howl?
A: I hope that doesn’t happen. But if there are one or two of them, they’ll get an incredible amount of publicity and create a lot of angst about that screwing up the DTV transition. [The NAB board is] a volunteer group. We can’t tell [stations] what to do. But we tell them to work now with your cable companies on distribution issues -- get out in front of this thing.
Q: I’ve been told the Midwest may have the most homes that get television over the air, rather than by cable or satellite. Is that where you want more simulated analog turnoff tests?
A: Well, when you think about it, where the terrain is flat, where there’s not a lot of buildings [it makes sense]. Dallas-Fort Worth, for how big it is, has a very large over-the-air signal penetration. One of the interesting things -- we haven’t got it settled yet -- the state of Idaho, we’re discussing with them about doing a statewide analog shutoff.
