NAB: Walden Pledges to Work for Vibrant Post-Auction Broadcast Biz

Says conversation needs to begin on Internet access to video, including to broadcasting.

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 4/8/2013 4:09:40 PM

Complete Coverage: NAB Show 2013

Rep. Greg Walden, chair of the House Communications Subcommittee, promised Monday to make sure the FCC treats broadcasters fairly in the incentive auctions.

The Oregon Republican and former broadcaster was speaking to the National Broadcasters Association convention in Las Vegas, where he talked about the incentive auctions -- he was instrumental in the legislation that established them -- the 2014 expiration of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act (STELA) and FCC process reform, which he backed in the last Congress.

"The decision by a full-power broadcaster to relinquish spectrum is strictly voluntary," Walden said, "and the ability to share spectrum through multicasting may allow stations to generate substantial revenue by shedding only some spectrum while remaining on the air."

Walden said that the incentive auctions give broadcasters who want to sell a new option, including investing the proceeds of the sale into other stations. "I intend to ensure that the Commission properly implements the provisions of the Act to preserve a vibrant post-auction broadcast environment," he said.

He said that includes making sure the government mitigates border interference, reimburses broadcasters for relocation, and that the FCC does not give away spectrum after it collects it. Walden is concerned about the FCC setting aside too much spectrum for unlicensed use, which will reduce the amount that can be re-auctioned for licensed wireless.

Walden did not weigh in on broadcasters concerns about the FCC's band plan for repacking stations with co-existing wireless licensees, but he did cite broadcasters joint filing with wireless companies, who also have concerns about the band plan. "I think you have many reasons to work together to make this auction successful, as can be seen in your recent collaboration regarding potential band plans," he said.

Walden raised retransmission consent reform, or at least its discussion, as part of the reauthorization of STELA, which is the law that allows satellite operators to deliver distant network signals into local markets via a compulsory license. Broadcasters are not looking for a wide-ranging discussion of attendant issues as part of that re-authorization, but Walden suggested one might be coming, if not in STELA, then somewhere else. "[R]ules surrounding regulation of broadcasters and satellite television providers are some of the most arcane areas of law," he said.

"[A]s we go forward I am open to an examination of the larger video marketplace and asking some difficult questions," he said. "While I'm not yet convinced retransmission consent needs reforming, we must begin a discussion on other issues in light of competition and the rise of Internet video." He did not pin himself to a particular position. "The central questions we should be asking are, first, can we better ensure television viewers have access to the broadcast programming they want while respecting the rights of stations that transmit it over the air, the networks that create it, and the cable, satellite and broadband companies that deliver it? And second, does doing so require more or less government intervention?"

The FCC is currently seeking input on the definition of multichannel video provider and whether those rights and responsibilities should attack to over-the-top video.

Walden said the FCC was in need of reforming, saying lately it had spent more time trying to expand its authority than working with Congress to improve the process.

"It's not asking too much to have the FCC actually codify a set of best practices and operate by them," he wrote, referring to process reform legislation he and other Republicans backed in the last Congress, including putting a shot clock on FCC decisions and applying a cost-benefit analysis to new regs.

Walden did give FCC chairman Julius Genachowski credit for publishing more specific rules texts, requiring more details in ex parte submissions, and releasing orders sooner after adoption, he said there was more that needed to be done and no guaranteed Genachowski's changes would not be rolled back by the next chairman. Genachowski will be exiting in the next few weeks.