White Spaces NPRM Unites Broadcaster Opposition
An FCC rulemaking on reserving TV spectrum for white spaces use unified disparate broadcast interests in opposition to it, said officials at the LPTV Spectrum Rights Coalition, NAB and National Translator Association in interviews. Coalition Director Mike Gravino, who in recent weeks filed an unsuccessful complaint with the FCC against NAB (see 1506050059) and had recently told us the association wasn't looking out for LPTV interests, said his previous stance no longer applies as of the FCC issuing its NPRM Tuesday. The proposed rule is “a seismic shift” that threatens all licensees who value their spectrum, he said, promising to work with NAB to oppose the proposed rule. “If they're able to do this to primary licensees, they can do it to anyone,” Gravino said. “It's completely unlawful,” said NAB General Counsel Rick Kaplan.
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By leaving the last channel in a market reserved for unlicensed use, the rule would squeeze low powers, translators and full-power stations into a smaller pool of spectrum, a situation that's likely to have the strongest effect on those with low incomes and in rural areas where there are less alternatives to broadcast TV, said Jim McDonald, president of NTA. Stations targeted toward more diverse populations are heavily represented in the low-power ranks, and a rule shrinking the available TV spectrum would have a disproportionate effect on such stations, Gravino said. “For an FCC that claims to care about diversity, this makes no public policy sense,” said Kaplan. “We're the puppy that got ran over by the truck,” McDonald said. “This is a terrible day for LPTV and the American way,” said Advanced Television Broadcasting Alliance Executive Director Louis Libin.
A few days before the white spaces NPRM's release, Gravino expressed concern that NAB and wireless interests were in collusion with the FCC and wireless groups, based on an ex parte filing that Gravino said was too vague. Officials present at that meeting have told us it brought together wireless and broadcast interests to encourage them to work together on issues connected with the repacking. The accusation against NAB coincided with a tonal shift in Gravino's released statements, which he said is intentional. “The professional lobbyists and lawyers who conduct business with the FCC on behalf of clients all tell you to not make it personal, do not make personal attacks on officials, and stick to the facts,” Gravino said in an email to members in which he called FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler a "failure." “I say things others can't, because I don't have transactional business in front of the FCC.” McDonald described Gravino's recent tone as “more strident” than others, but said having a diversity of approaches could be a good thing. “I might have to get more aggressive myself,” McDonald said.
A day before the NPRM, NTA wrote Wheeler and the House and Senate Communications subcommittees warning them that the NTA would ramp up its lobbying efforts among citizens and in Congress if steps weren't taken to protect translators in the auction. Lobbying seems more effective than legal action in the wake of the FCC's recent win on other aspects of the auction against NAB and Sinclair in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (see 1506120050), but a combination of both strategies may be needed, McDonald said. Gravino thinks a legal challenge to a rule reserving a white space channel is inevitable. “This is Internet-age industrial policy run amok,” he said.