Broadcasters Have Trouble Accessing Online FCC Event on Easing Online Access

Some initial web stream jitters have broadcasters expressing concern about FCC online access

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 7/17/2012 1:40:24 PM

According to various sources, a number of interested broadcasters who logged into the FCC's live stream of its online political file posting web tool walk-through Tuesday were met with delayed or frozen video and difficult-to-follow visual aids.

The commission is requiring all TV stations to start posting their public files Aug. 2, and  200 top-market stations also have  to start posting their political files at that time. The rest of the TV stations have a couple more years to post online political files.

Brroadcasters are concerned that those online streaming issues did not bode well for ease of online access to the FCC generally.

One TV station general manager who tried to log into the FCC's stream of the event said they were met with stuttering video and audio and a screen -- the FCC was projecting a we site on a screen at the front of the room -- that was too small to read.

An FCC spokesman was still looking into the issue at press time, but website guru Greg Elin responded to a similar complaint about readability during the seminar by saying that there would be shorter, how-to videos available and the stream was being recorded and would be posted online. He also said during the event that, in terms of broadcaster access to the FCC site, TV stations would on a separate track from any surge in public traffic site to view the postings.

"We did get calls this morning from broadcasters commenting about the problems they had accessing the FCC website for the online political file webinar," said NAB spokesman Dennis Wharton. "There are obviously some major challenges going forward with this initiative, as was in evidence this morning."

B&C/Multichannel News also had issues with delay and jitter and timing out of the video early in the process.