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Knowledge Partner(Page 1 of 1 pages for this article ) Filed under: *VIDEO* •Audio •Business •Distribution •Interactive •Legal •Mobile Devices •NAB 2010 •NAB 2010 Insight •NAB 2010 Production •NAB 2010 Video • NAB2010: The CEO Of the NAB SpeaksGordon Smith Lays Down The Law
As a broadcaster, I’m always interested in what the NAB has up it’s sleeve. And when someone throws a big party for you, it’s just common courtesy to liosten to what they have to say. New NAB president Gordon Smith gave his first keynote address this morning, and he came out swinging against the forces that would diminish the over-the-air services in the US. After pointing out that he is a former Republican Senator in a staunchly Democratic DC, he acknowledged that he knows pilkotics inside and out:
“And in politics, perception is reality. Unfortunately, the perception of some is that broadcasting is the technology of the past. The days of radio’s Edward R. Murrow reporting from wartime London and TV’s Walter Cronkite influencing the nation from his anchor desk—some think those days are gone. Yes, those days may be in the past, but broadcasting’s vitality and reason for being are not…” “Broadcasting is the original wireless technology. We are mobile, and both radio and television are adapting to new technologies and finding new ways to deliver the most popular and important content. That is not the past—that is the future—still. “ Addressing the forces that would strip away a huge part of the over-the-air television spectrum, Smith opined: “We agree that broadband is good for America. And we also know that broadcasting is good for America. We want to see a bright future for both. Our concern is that the broadband plan would yank away more than one third of the spectrum used for TV broadcasting so that wireless broadband companies can have more. Now, broadcasters just spent $15 billion to meet the government-mandated transition to digital; the government, incidentally, spent another $2 to 3 billion to ensure a smooth switch for viewers. In fact, American consumers have spent untold billions swapping out analog TV sets for HDTV sets in detrimental reliance upon the urging of the United States Congress. In that transition, we gave back more than a quarter of the TV spectrum, which the government then auctioned off to broadband companies. And they haven’t even started to use it yet. Unfortunately, this plan appears to be an example of unnecessary government intervention when technology in the marketplace is already working through the issue. And if history is a teacher, industry innovation solves issues far better and far faster than government.” Now, the NAB and broadcasters aren’t blameless in this fight - indeed, they have sat on vast swaths of bandwidth for over 70 years, never paying a cent for the privledge - but it seems that if technology was applied to the spectrum issue, ways of sharing “white space” without putting TV stations off the air could be found. Smith continued: “The sad truth is that the people who would be most hurt by the new broadband plan are the disadvantaged and the elderly. Fifteen percent of households rely exclusively on free, over the air television. And that number appears to be growing, post DTV transition.” The sadder truth is that this is the same group that was - and still is - most inconvienienced by the DTV transition, but where was all the concern three years ago? I recognize that technology must advance, but we have to be congizant of that advancement’s effect on the least of us, who can’t afford smartphone data plans or 3-D TVs. On the whole, though, Gordon Smith gave a very compelling and very entertaining speech. It remains to be seen if the NAB and its member broadcasters can live up to the promise to be partners in a more rational, better-planned move towards spectrum sharing. If they canm’t, I fear broadcasters will be gazing at a modern version of a medeival map of the sea, one where it says “This Way Lie Monsters.” (Page 1 of 1 pages for this article ) 
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