The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to make a hard deadline for shutting down ATSC 1.0 and transitioning to ATSC 3.0, also known as NextGen TV.
The petition to the FCC suggests a two-phase plan. First, they ask that stations in the top 55 markets, which cover about 70% of U.S. households, switch to ATSC 3.0 by February 2028. The second phase would have all remaining markets make the switch before February 2030.
In the petition, NAB notes that “In addition to setting a timeline, this transition requires updates to outdated rules. NAB is also calling on the FCC to modernize regulations governing television reception devices – ensuring consumers who buy new TVs can continue receiving broadcast programming – and to adjust MVPD carriage rules so that obligations remain fair and unchanged during the transition.”
One specific rule that was outlined is that TV manufacturers need to be required to include ATSC 3.0 receivers in all new TVs, so that by the time the transition to ATSC 3.0 is complete, any new TV being purchased will be set up for it. Currently, it’s not required that a TV have the receiver, so many manufacturers aren’t including them on lower end or more affordable models.
Why are broadcasters pushing for the deadline? First and foremost, it’s expensive for them to broadcast with both standards. But there are also major benefits to consumers including “better picture quality with higher frame rates and high dynamic range, interactive applications that give over-the-air viewers a more personalized experience, and groundbreaking tests of a Broadcast Positioning System (BPS) that could provide a powerful backup to GPS, addressing critical vulnerabilities in national security and infrastructure.”