February 27, 2014 — The Advanced Television Broadcasting Alliance (ATBA) supports the unanimous voice of the experts on the Broadcaster Panel at the recent HPA Tech Retreat in Indian Wells, California. The industry’s top techs say that they will not surrender some or all of their spectrum back to the commission for auction to broadband wireless providers.
Mark Aitken of Sinclair Broadcast Group and board member of the Advanced Television Broadcasting Alliance was a panelist at the HPA Tech Retreat.
Louis Libin, executive director of the ATBA was pleased with the comments delivered by Aitken. “When Mark Aitken speaks, he speaks not as a high power broadcaster, but speaks to the significant value of all broadcasters including LPTV and translator stations.”
“Broadcasting relies on a network of high-power, low-power, translator and broadcast repeater assets that bring programming to all of America,” said Aitken, VP of Advanced Technology for Sinclair Broadcast Group. “If we are to survive as a broadcast industry, we must embrace and fully enable all of the many and varied participants in an increasingly hybrid connected society.”
According to Aitken, “any new broadcast standard must meet all the needs of all broadcasters rather than perpetuating an old-world view that all broadcasting is just about television, which is what politicians in Washington think of when they hear the word ‘broadcasting’.”
“ATBA believes that LPTV operators should be able to be prepared for the future standards, and be able to take full advantage of new technological innovations,” said Libin. “We are engaged in the discussion for the next generation of broadcasting because we believe that only through the adoption of new techniques can we offer innovative solutions. This will allow LPTV broadcasting to continue to expand on its pivotal role in meeting the needs of a diverse American data consuming public.”
At the HPA Session Aitken continued, “No matter what happens, if the next generation of broadcasting is planned using legacy ATSC 1.0 and MPEG-2 standards, everyone will be ‘half of a broadcaster’ because what you can do within the limitations of ATSC 1.0 is only half of what broadcasters are capable of doing.”
ATBA is currently advocating for preserving and promoting the efficient and effective use of all television broadcast spectrum. The ATBA has laid out to Congress an economic plan that would provide the possibility of true success in a forthcoming auction predicated on next generation technologies.
The Advanced Television Broadcasting Alliance is an industry organization comprised of low power television broadcasters, translators, full power television broadcasters and allied industry organizations and companies. The goal of the Alliance is to preserve and promote the efficient and effective use of all television broadcast spectrum. Visit www.BroadcastingAlliance.org for more information and to join.
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