WASHINGTON and OVERLAND PARK, Kan. —The National Content & Technology Cooperative (NCTC) and ACA Connects have released new details about the 20th annual Independent Show which is themed “Reach New Heights” and will take place from Aug. 10-13, 2025, at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

“At NCTC, we’re not just talking about innovation—we’re making it real for our members. Whether it’s launching mobile or redefining content, our focus is on delivering actionable ideas that meet the moment,” NCTC CEO Lou Borrelli said. “This year’s Independent Show is about giving every member the information, tools, and connections they need to accelerate growth and stay ahead in our rapidly evolving industry.”

The 2025 Independent Show will focus on driving incremental revenue, innovating for the future, and deepening collaboration to meet the most pressing issues impacting NCTC’s nearly 700 and ACA Connects’ 500 service provider members. Themes include navigating the complexities of a hyper-competitive market, leveraging new technologies for growth, and adapting to shifting consumer behaviors, the organizers reported.

Key initiatives include NCTC’s turnkey solutions for launching mobile services, bundling with Broadband TV and insights from its AI Center of Excellence, a pilot program exploring use cases like smart chatbots, trouble ticket automation and predictive service planning.

In addition, ACA Connects is providing information that will support members in navigating the regulatory landscape, including the Federal Communications Commission’s sweeping deregulatory push, updates to the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, state-level rate regulations, and potential reforms to the Universal Service Fund (USF).

“Our members are the champions of our industry for how they innovate to connect more Americans to reliable internet, video, and voice services,” said ACA Connects president and CEO Grant Spellmeyer. “At the Independent Show, we’ll be empowering them by leading discussions on the major regulatory shifts shaping broadband and telecom policy. Whether it is about changes to the BEAD program, the threat of rate regulation, or opportunities for permitting reforms, ACA Connects is here to cut through the complexity, advocate fiercely, and help our members move forward with confidence.”

Attendees can expect insights from expert-led panels, dynamic speakers, and interactive breakout sessions on topics such as:

• Programming, streaming, bundling, and customer retention strategies.
• Broadband innovation, including DOCSIS 4.0 and fiber.
• Mobile launch strategies.
• AI applications for customer experience and operations.
• Legal and financial readiness for AI adoption.
• The shifting regulatory and broadband funding landscape.
• Workplace culture and talent development.
• Strategic business growth through NCTC partnerships.

Keynotes on the show’s agenda include:

• Marci Rossell, former Chief Economist for CNBC— how inflation, tariffs, and funding uncertainty impact consumers for broadband and video providers.
• Craig Moffett, founding partner at MoffettNathanson—insights on fiber, FWA, video market shifts, and the major mobile opportunity.
• Evan Shapiro, Emmy-winning media cartographer—how media and tech disruption are redefining competition and convergence.

The Independent Show’s signature evening events are also back, organizers said, ranging from a themed welcome party on Sunday night to an unforgettable off-site adventure at Utah Olympic Park featuring the Flying Aces and Olympic medalist Shannon Bahrke.

In addition, an Aug. 9 preshow event for the Marketing Innovators Group (NCTC members only) will offer an interactive workshop with expert sessions on maximizing ROI and customer engagement, including:

• The New Marketing Mosaic: Shawna Suckow.
• Charting the Ascent: Designing the New Customer Journey: Melinda Russell.
• Activating Growth Mindsets in your Team: Susie Tomenchok.
• Ask the Experts , featuring leading broadband providers and fiber innovators.

The organizers also highlighted some upcoming events, including:

• Winter Educational Conference, Feb.16-18, 2026, in Las Vegas at the M Hotel.
• ACA Connects Summit, March -5, 2026, in Washington, D.C.
• The Independent Show, July 26-29, 2026, in Orlando, Fla.

For more information, visit: https://www.nctconline.org/ and www.acaconnects.org.

LENEXA, Kan. & PITTSBURGH, Pa.—The National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC) and ACA Connects (ACAC) have announced that they will host and sponsor the 17th annual Independent Show (TIS) as an in-person event on July 24–27 at Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resorts in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. 

During the show the NCTC will unveil its new name, logo and direction on the opening day of the show to attendees and ACA Connects will introduce its new president and CEO, Grant Spellmeyer, who is replacing retiring president and CEO Matt Polka, who has served ACA Connects for 25 years.

This will be the first time TIS will be held as an in-person event in three years.

“The industry is undergoing massive transformation and this year’s Independent Show will provide invaluable education, news and opportunities to help our members stay ahead of the curve and continue to grow their businesses into the future,” said NCTC leader Borrelli. “We are so pleased to be reuniting in person once again for our flagship event and are confident this year’s gathering will be the best and most talked about yet.”

“The ACAC-NCTC team has prepared an exciting program for this year’s Independent Show, which will be my first as ACA Connects’ new president and CEO,” Spellmeyer explained. “The agenda tracks with all the key issues facing our industry, especially the rollout of fiber networks occurring in so many rural markets and the rules and regulations taking shape in Washington, D.C., that will govern the distribution of billions of dollars in broadband infrastructure grants via policymakers in the 50 states.”

TIS is expected to bring together more than 170 NCTC and ACAC member companies as attendees, as well as more than 120 exhibiting companies.  

In addition to panel discussions, breakout sessions and industry experts, TIS will feature a keynote speech from Mike Schultz, a Paralympic Snowboarding Medalist and CEO and engineer at BIOADAPT, as well as sessions with NCTC CEO Lou Borrelli, ACA Connects new and former leaders, Grant Spellmeyer and Matt Polka, and other senior industry leaders.

Thought leadership discussions will be centered on industry trends, best practices and future forecasts. Panels will examine how the industry is evolving and how business plans must pivot to remain ahead, as well as providing practical advice from ACAC leaders on navigating federal and state regulatory guidelines, gaining insight into accessing governmental funds, breaking news developments and more, the organizers said. 

The event will also feature multiple family-focused events, including a Disney Character Dinner and an after-party at Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park; Pandora - The World of Avatar, with exclusive access to two rides as well as a networking lounge with a bar and music.

NCTC and ACA Connects are closely monitoring updates from the CDC, state and local officials regarding COVID-19. The safety of all attendees will be kept as a top priority. All required and appropriate COVID safety precautions will be taken to ensure a safe experience. Show management will establish onsite protocol and procedures closer to the event.

PITTSBURGH—ACA Connects is bringing the courts into its dealings with the FCC over the C-band lump sum payment deadline, officially filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to stay the current Sept. 14 deadline for earth station operators to decide if they will opt for the lump sum payment reimbursement plan.

The basis for ACAC’s desire to stay the lump sum deadline is the belief that the final cost catalog is not calculated properly, as it does not include the cost for integrated receivers/decoders (IRDs), which would help them transition to fiber delivery. ACAC gave the FCC until Aug. 26 (after the commission extended the lump sum deadline to Sept. 14) to respond to its petition for a stay. Having received nothing, ACAC filed a writ of mandamus with the court

“If MVPDs are forced to make an immediate, irrevocable decision whether to accept the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau’s deficient lump-sum amount, they will have a strong incentive to forgo the lump-sum option and choose earth station relocation—even if upgrading to fiber would be less costly overall,” said Matthew Polka, president and CEO of ACAC. “The added public benefits from fiber upgrades would be lost. And once lost, those benefits cannot easily be salvaged.”

The FCC has previously determined that lump sump payments are meant to be an approximation of the cost of moving earth stations from their current C-band spectrum to the upper 200 MHz, not technology upgrades as they believe the inclusion of IRDs would be.

Because the FCC review of the Wireless Bureau’s action is still pending, ACAC filed the writ of mandamus since it can not seek ordinary appellate. ACAC will need an extraordinary writ issuing from the court to protect ACAC and its members from the Sept. 14 deadline.

The C-band auction, which will make the lower 280 MHz of the spectrum available for wireless and 5G development, is scheduled to take place on Dec. 8.

PITTSBURGH—As cable operators continue to see declines in their video business due to cord-cutting and see the value of their broadband service expand, another cable association has decided to change its name to better reflect today’s market reality.

The American Cable Association, which represents more than 700 smaller and medium-sized independent cable operators, will now be known as the “ACA-American Communications Association,” according to President and CEO Matthew M. Polka, who announced the change to nearly 350 participants attending the association’s 26th annual Summit, held at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. The association has adopted ACA Connects as its “day-to-day name.”

“It's all about the communications and connections our members provide," said ACA Connects’ Polka. "Even though our industry and technology are changing so rapidly, fueled by our members' broadband deployments, what's most important for our members and their customers is the ability to communicate freely and connect in their homes and businesses in countless new ways. With this name change, we’re recognizing that communication is the priority, not the medium.”

ACA Connects will continue to advocate for closing the digital divide for its members, including expanding broadband deployment in some of the most rural and financially challenging areas of the country, eliminating governmental barriers to investment and providing increased access to high-performance connectivity.

This is the first name change for the association in 20 years, when the association changed its name from the Small Cable Business Association (SCBA) to the American Cable Association. Its bigger brother, the National Cable Television Association (NCTA), took a similar tact in 2016 when it changed its name to “NCTA-The Internet and Television Association.”

Fed up by customer service complaints and higher monthly subscription fees, pay-TV providers have seen increasing declines in subscriptions to video services, with millions of subscribers over the past several years cancelling their video subscriptions in favor of so-called “skinny bundles” of virtual multichannel video program distributors (vMVPDs) like DirecTV Now, SlingTV and YouTube TV.

“The pay-TV market saw net losses increase in 2018,” said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group. “Overall, the top pay-TV providers lost 3.1 percent of subscribers in 2018 compared to a loss of 1.6 percent in 2017. Since the industry’s peak in 1Q 2012, pay-TV subscribers for the top providers have declined about 6,000,000. This reflects a decline of about 10,000,000 subscribers for traditional services, offset by the addition of about 4,000,000 subscribers for the publicly reporting vMVPD services.”

PITTSBURGH—The American Cable Association has come out with recommendations to modify a proposal on the FCC’s broadcast carriage election rules made by the NAB and NCTA. ACA says that its proposed changes, filed in hope of amending the rules before they are adopted, are to help look out for smaller operators that could be negatively impacted by the rules.

The proposal from the FCC originally was on whether and how to update the procedures broadcasters take to send notice of their carriage election—either must-carry or retransmission consent—to cable operators every three years.

Under the NAB-NCTA proposal, and starting with the 2020 election cycle, broadcast stations would send a carriage election notice to cable operators only if their election changed from the previous cycle. If so, broadcasters would only need to send a single notice to each cable operator’s corporate headquarters, rather than to each individual cable system. The notices would be sent by email and posted in either the operator’s public inspection file or in an FCC database. Cable operators would be required to send an email response confirming receipt of the notice.

“ACA generally supports the NAB-NCTA plan, which includes some suggestions previously offered by ACA,” said Matthew M. Polka, ACA president and CEO, in a press release. “But other components of the proposal would impose burdens on small providers without any offsetting benefit. The last thing this proposal should do is impose new burdens on the smallest cable operators that operate in only a few markets. By adopting ACA’s modifications to the proposal, these concerns can be addressed.”

Specifically, ACA says that the new proposal would require cable operators to designate and post an email address to an FCC database and send confirmation emails to broadcasters that utilize it. ACA points out that larger operators with dozen of systems may find this beneficial, but for smaller operators with one or a few systems they argue the burden outweighs the benefit.

ACA has made three recommendations it believes would be beneficial to larger and smaller operators:

• Broadcast stations that cannot identify a small system’s email address in the FCC database in time for the next election deadline (2020) should send notice to that system operator via certified mails, as currently required;
• To not create regulatory disparity, if DBS providers can choose to receive election notices from broadcasters by certified mail, then cable operators that prefer to continue receiving notices by certified mail should be able to do so as well; and
• The FCC should move forward with adopting comparable changes to rules that require cable operators to send notices to broadcasters via certified mail.

For ACA’s official comments to the proposal, click here.

WASHINGTON—As expected, Gray Television has now received both FCC and Department of Justice approvals for its $3.6 billion acquisition of Raycom Media.

The FCC helped pave the way this week by dismissing a license challenge to Raycom stations in Honolulu, announcing its approval of the deal late Thursday.

The Media Bureau did not find MVPD objections to some of the station combos and the impact of the deal on retransmission consent negotiations persuasive, and said that the establishment of statewide news bureaus and Raycom stations' access to Gray's Washington, D.C., bureau as reasons the merger would be in the public interest.

The American Cable Association had wanted the FCC to condition the deal on Gray not being able to use after-acquired clauses to raise retrans fees at the stations it is spinning off before it divests them to a third party. The FCC said that since Gray told the commission it would not, that was good enough since Gray is "bound by the Commission's rules and character policy to deal truthfully with the Commission."

The FCC will allow Gray to retain two of the top four stations in Honolulu and Amarillo. In the case of Amarillo, the FCC said it is because one of the stations is usually not in the top four, but was in the last Nielsen book due to an anomalous circumstance. In the case of Honolulu, Raycom argued that Raycom has ramped-up news there, which using the Gray Washington bureau would bolster. The FCC agreed that breaking up the Raycom duopoly would cause more harm than good.

Under a recent reg change, while owning two of the top four stations in a market is still preemptively against FCC local ownership rules, it is a rebuttable presumption, which Gray has successfully rebutted in the case of Honolulu and Amarillo. NCTA-the Internet & Television Association had argued against allowing those combos.

But while there were calls for conditions and concerns expressed by cable and satellite operators, there were not petitions to deny the deal .

Gray says the plan is to close the deal by Jan. 1.

DOJ's approval of the deal last week pointed to its requirement that Gray spin off a bunch of stations, giving the suggestion it was a condition it had extracted, though giving Gray props for cooperating.

But Gray points out in its announcement of the dual DOJ/FCC approvals and closing date, that those stations were the same ones it identified back in June as necessary to comply with FCC duopoly rules and were already part of the deal as structured. "The regulatory consents include no unexpected or unusual terms and conditions," it pointed out.

The company will reach a combined 24% of the country, and Raycom will spin off over 100 local newspapers and the digital ad platform PureCars. But Gray will also be getting Raycom Sports; RTM Productions, an automotive media compan; and Broadview Media, a post-production and signage house.

Gray is divesting Raycom stations WTNZ Knoxville (Fox), WTOL Toledo (CBS), KXXV Waco (ABC), WTXL Tallahassee (ABC), WFXG Augusta(Fox), KWES Odessa (NBC), WGPX Panama City (Fox), WDFX Dothan (Fox), and Gray's WSWG Albany (CBS).

"The American Cable Association applauds the Federal Communications Commission for requiring Gray and Raycom to divest nine television stations in 'duopoly markets' as a condition of their merger," the cable trade said. "ACA is also pleased that, in approving the transaction, the FCC helped avoid the triggering of Gray’s 'after-acquired station' clauses with respect to Raycom stations to be divested."

The American Cable Association has called on the Justice Department to open an antitrust investigation into Comcast-NBCUniversal. It would be a way to keep Justice overseeing the company after the conditions it imposed on the merger expired earlier this year. ACA is saying the government still needs a leash on the company, rather than unleash. The ACA said the problems Justice saw in 2011 when it imposed the conditions are still problems.

Comcast-NBCU said the ACA's call is meritless and "constitutes an inappropriate attempt to gain leverage in the commercial marketplace."

But President Donald Trump, who is no fan of NBC News or most big media companies with news operations that have reported critically on him, took note of the ACA letter in a tweet:

ACA was not complaining about the additional spotlight, thanking the President for his input. A spokesman for the group said they did not know how the President became aware of the letter, though his tweet came after it was reported by Multichannel News and others.

ACA wanted Justice to extend the conditions, but that didn't happen, though antitrust chief Makan Delrahim has signaled that one of the reasons he favors spin-offs over behavioral conditions like those put on the merger is that it is hard to enforce them. He also said Justice would keep an eye on the company now that the conditions have sunsetted. But ACA suggests it needs to do more than monitor to keep the company in line, plus monitoring alone may not be enough to protect the rivals who have information about the company's business practices that they want to share.

ACA also asked the FCC to toughen its program access rules given that the conditions were going away, but the FCC has not done so.

ACA has long complained that large program suppliers force bundled carriage and impose unfair terms due to their size and market power on the smaller entities it represents.

"By opening a formal investigation, the DOJ will demonstrate seriousness of purpose and give it the ability to collect sufficient information to determine whether Comcast-NBC is acting anticompetitively," ACA said.

ACA's letter seeking the investigation was addressed to Delrahim and offered ACA's cooperation, including providing some info on Comcast-NBCU's business practices. ACA has long said the merged company has the incentive and opportunity, and willingness, to inflict anticompetitive harms given its size relative to the smaller cable and broadband operators ACA represents.

"NBCU has shown a willingness to harm rivals, even while being subject to the 2011 DOJ and FCC conditions," said ACA President Matt Polka. "In light of these concerns, which also have been expressed by members of Congress and a diverse array of stakeholders, the Antitrust Division should immediately open an investigation into the firm’s behavior."

In 2011, the DOJ and FCC recognized that the combination of programming and distribution assets within Comcast-NBCU created such serious competitive problems that the transaction could only be approved with robust remedies. Since that time, as demonstrated herein, Comcast-NBCU’s dominant position in the market has not lessened, and in fact, it is even greater-and the 2011 remedies are no longer in effect. As a result, Comcast-NBCU is unleashed, and consumer and rivals are bound to suffer harm."

"The video programming and distribution markets are incredibly competitive," Comcast countered in a statement. "New programmers and distribution platforms are offering consumers increasing choices on what and where to watch. At Comcast NBCUniversal, we are competing in this dynamic environment the way we always have – by continuing to innovate and conducting our business in compliance with antitrust laws and other legal requirements. Among other things, Comcast Cable has brought Netflix and YouTube to our X1 platform. And NBCUniversal has provided content to Hulu, Netflix, and hundreds of other traditional and over-the-top providers."

One of Delrahim's big issues with the AT&T-Time Warner deal, which Justice sued to block because AT&T would not agree to spin-offs rather than behavioral conditions, is that he saw it as incentive and opportunity for that merged company to disadvantage over-the-top rivals by limiting their access to either the company's programming or distribution network.

WASHINGTON—The American Cable Association says MPVDs and full power and Class A TV stations should get priority access to $400 million in 2019 incentive auction relocation funds before FM radio stations or low powers and translators get a share.

The latter were initially not included in the fund, set up to compensate broadcasters and MVPDs for costs of the post-incentive auction repack, but Congress earlier this year made them part of the fund, directing funds for 2018 specifically to FMs ($50 million) and low powers and translators ($150 million), but was less clear about the 2019 funds.

In proposing a framework for allocating that money, the FCC noted the lack of specificity about the 2019 funds and asked whether it should prioritize MVPDs et al. before FMs and low powers. ACA says definitely.

ACA told the FCC in comments this week that it is certainly feasible that MVPDS, full powers and class A's may need all $400 million, and if that is the case, they should get it.

"It would be unfair, therefore, to permit others—including LPTV, TV translator, and FM stations—to access the funds appropriated for 2019 until all entities for whom the reimbursement fund was originally created are fully satisfied," ACA said.

[Read: NAB Urges FCC To Minimize Consumer Disruptions, Wait To Prioritize Repack Reimbursements]

ACA pointed out that while only 136 MVPDs have so far filed for reimbursement—many have to adjust their headends to receive stations being moved in the repack—"hundreds more" are expected to file for reimbursement over the next two years.

Congress has consistently prioritized reimbursement of MVPDs and full power and Class A stations over all others," ACA president and CEO Matthew M. Polka said of the filing.

For a comprehensive list of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see our ATSC3 silo.

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) Monday (July 23) launched another effort at massive communications deregulation, one he has been pushing for most of a decade, so far without success.

Scalise has reintroduced a discussion draft of his Next Generation Television Marketplace Act, which repeals must-carry and retransmission consent rules and the compulsory license. That is the license that allows broadcasters to include nonlocal programming in their retrans deals without having to secure individual rights from national network and syndication rightsholders.

The bill would also "eliminate the government's role in defining the scope of programming exclusivity" and "codify the repeal of certain limitations imposed on local broadcasters that prevent them from adapting to today’s dynamic communications marketplace."

Like previous incarnations, the bill also includes eliminating the network nonduplication and syndicated exclusivity rules, as well as broadcast ownership limits.

[Read: Retransmission Overhaul Launched]

“Innovation tends to follow the path of least government resistance. For proof, look no further than the growth of online streaming services that are operating in a completely free market, while competing against other platforms that are regulated as if they were still monopolies from the 1990s," said Scalise. "My legislation will level the playing field so consumers can benefit from even more freedom in the video marketplace.”

Broadcasters wouldn't mind getting rid of more ownership restrictions, but getting rid of must-carry and retrans and network nondupe and exclusivity rules are nonstarters. The National Association of Broadcasters will strongly oppose the bill, according to an NAB spokesperson, as it has previous versions.

“Today’s media marketplace has never been more robust, with consumer access to broadcast programming on more platforms than at any time in history," said NAB EVP Dennis Wharton. "Unfortunately, the Next Generation Television Marketplace Act would undermine this great American success story. It would severely damage broadcasters’ ability to serve local communities and hurt tens of millions of viewers who rely every day on broadcast TV for news, entertainment and lifeline weather coverage."

But the bill has plenty of supporters.

"As the former president of an association of local TV stations, former president of network distribution for Fox, former president of the ABC Television Network, former executive VP of The Walt Disney Company and a former law professor, I write to strongly support House Majority Whip Steve Scalise’s Bill, The Next Generation Television Act," blogged Preston Padden, whose resume includes expert witness on the Hill for why the compulsory license should go.

"His Bill would repeal a steaming pile of outdated, conflicting and unnecessary government interventions into the market for distributing television programming," said Padden.

"The bill would at long last eliminate or substantially curtail legacy video regulations based on perceptions of the market in the early 1990s, or even earlier," said Free State Foundation President Randolph May. "If adopted, the NextGen TV Act would bolster free market competition and free speech in the video services market."

“The American Television Alliance, a voice for the TV viewer, commends Congressman Steve Scalise for his thoughtful leadership to reform and update America’s broken and outdated video laws," said the American Television Alliance, which has been advocating for major retrans reform in the face of what it says are skyrocketing broadcaster fee asks and blackouts. “The Next Generation Television Marketplace Act will jump-start and elevate a long-overdue conversation about modernizing the rules of the road for how Americans access and pay for video content. The legislation is forward-thinking, free-market oriented and pro-consumer."

"ACA applauds Rep. Scalise for introducing legislation designed to overhaul archaic media laws and policies," said ACA President Matt Polka. "The Scalise bill, to its credit, will prompt lawmakers and stakeholders to begin important conversations that should result in legislation next year that will truly serve the public interest."

“The regulations used to govern the video marketplace are out of date and no longer reflect the options and ways consumers obtain and view their content," said Verizon SVP Robert Fisher. "Congress should consider the changing technology enabled by a growing internet ecosystem as they create a new video marketplace framework....This legislation will begin the conversation to modernize our nation’s video policies as the marketplace responds to rapidly changing consumer demands.”

“Dish commends Rep. Scalise for his continued leadership on behalf of consumers," said Dish SVP Jeff Blum. "The broken retransmission consent regime is in dire need of comprehensive reform, and customers have been left paying the price through broadcaster blackouts and skyrocketing retransmission consent rates.”

“NTCA appreciates Congressman Scalise’s willingness to take on the difficult issue of updating video policy by introducing this legislation," said Shirley Bloomfield, CEO of NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association. "As consumer consumption of video continues to evolve, it is essential to examine video marketplace failures and consider updates to existing laws and regulations, especially in rural areas where many residents can’t receive broadcast signals. We look forward to engaging in this important discussion with Congress, and ultimately to the passage of legislation that will address the critical shortcomings in the existing rules governing this marketplace.”

“Charter applauds Majority Whip Steve Scalise for reintroducing the Next Generation Television Marketplace Act," the company said in a statement. "Congressman Scalise is rightly reexamining a broken system that has resulted in retransmission consent fees rising exponentially over the last decade. We look forward to working with him and his colleagues in Congress to reform the outdated rules and better protect consumers.”

Broadcasters and cable operators are on the same page when it comes to the FCC doing lots more looking before leaping into expanding terrestrial wireless access to the C Band spectrum.

That came in a joint filing that included the American Cable Association and NCTA-The Internet & Television Association, the National Association of Broadcasters and NPR.

They point out in a joint letter to the commission that video and audio programming delivered via the C Band serves 142 million Americans, representing what they called "the backbone of the infrastructure for delivering video content to American consumers.”

[Read: NAB, NTA Object To C Band Wireless Service Use]

The FCC sought input on the band as part of the MOBILE NOW Act requirement it produce a report on expanding access, as well as in its Notice of Inquiry on expanding use of midband spectrum.

To make the point that the FCC still has a lot of questions to answer, they listed more than 40 in their letter, including how interference risks would be mitigated if the band is repacked; how the FCC determines whether or not they will be effective; how big would the guard band between new wireless users and incumbent broadcast and cable users; how incumbents would be compensated if the band is repacked and spectrum auctioned to wireless; what costs would be reimbursed; and the veritable host of others.

The bottom line, they say, is that "much more information is required before the commission can make an informed decision."

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WASHINGTON--The FCC has granted analog-only cable systems a permanent waiver from one of its rules implementing the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) and extended for another five years the waiver to TV broadcasters from the requirement to provide audio description of non-textual emergency info, like maps or radar sweeps.

The FCC requires emergency information provided visually during non-newscast programming--say, a tornado watch or warning crawl--to be made audible to the blind and visually impaired via a secondary audio stream.

The American Cable Association had sought a waiver of the Audio Crawl Rule, saying analog-only systems, which are essentially by definition the smaller systems ACA represents, lacked the equipment needed to pass through the audio.

The current three-year waiver from the requirement was to have expired June 12. ACA had asked for either a permanent waiver or a five-year extension.

The FCC said there was good cause for the permanent waiver, but made that waiver conditional on operators providing ongoing notice to the public of their waiver status.

In November 2016, the National Association of Broadcasters had been granted an 18-month waiver of the requirement for audible descriptions of radar maps and other graphics on the argument that a technical solution was not yet available and that the waiver would not unduly disrupt the availability of emergency info. NAB, joined by the American Council of the Blind (ACB) and the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), then sought the five-year extension saying an automated approach remained elusive and warning that news teams would remove maps and other graphics rather than risk FCC enforcement.

[Read: FCC Increases Video Description Rules]

The Video Programming Subcommittee of the FCC's Disability Advisory Committee (DAC) agreed no solution was in the offing and recommended the five-year extension.

Noting that recommendation the FCC concluded it was a special circumstance and warranted the extension, noting that "in most cases, the critical details of an emergency provided in graphic form are duplicative of information conveyed in textual crawls, which are already aurally described and accessible to individuals who are blind or visually impaired."

NAB will have to file a report to the FCC at the midpoint of the waiver period Nov. 25, 2020) detailing "the extent to which broadcasters have made progress in finding accessible solutions or alternatives to providing critical emergency details generally delivered in a graphic format, as well as the extent to which this waiver continues to be necessary."

'[A]nalog-only cable systems lack the financial capacity to upgrade their equipment as needed to pass through secondary audio streams, and the financial burden of compliance would force financial marginal analog systems to go out of business," said ACA president Matt Polka. "ACA appreciates the Bureau's recognition that these systems frequently provide a value-priced option for subscribers needing only basic service, and the relief granted in this order will help to ensure that such systems can continue to serve their communities." 

PITTSBURGH—The American Cable Association has announced that FCC Chairman Ajit Pai will be a keynote speaker at the 25th ACA Summit, which is slated to take place from March 20-22 in Washington, D.C. Pai spoke at the Summit in 2017.

“Chairman has pursued an agenda during his tenure at the FCC that includes promoting infrastructure investment and innovation and reducing regulatory burdens,” ACA President and CEO Matthew Polka said in the announcement. “This year, at our 25th Anniversary Summit, we look forward to hearing from the Chairman about his continued focus on encouraging broadband deployment. Moreover, we look forward to getting a preview of the year ahead and having a conversation about other matters important to the cable industry.” 

Since being appointed FCC chairman in January 2017 by President Donald Trump, Pai has led the FCC in a number of big developments, including the elimination of the main studio rule, the approval of voluntary rollouts of ATSC 3.0 and he has been a big proponent of deregulation.

[FCC Chairman Elaborates on Broadcast Incubator, Steps to Bridge Digital Divide] 

Pai is scheduled to speak on March 21, from 9:15 a.m. to 9:45 a.m.

For more information on the 25th ACA Summit, click here.

WASHINGTON—The American Cable Association today advised the Federal Communications Commission it will keep a watchful eye on broadcasters to find instances during retransmission negotiations in which broadcasters demand its members carry their ATSC 3.0 signals and promised to file a Petition for Reconsideration of the FCC order authorizing next-gen OTA TV transmission if they do.

In an ex parte letter sent, ACA SVP Ross Lieberman noted that over the next month “a substantial majority” of the association’s small and mid-sized cable operators will be renegotiating retransmission agreements. The ACA has 30 days from when the Order is published in the Federal Register to submit the petition to reconsider and will file the reconsideration petition if ATSC 3.0 carriage is a demand, he wrote.

“We hope, however, that broadcasters will show some measure of restraint, at least while the period for reconsideration remains pending,” Lieberman said in the letter.

During the proceeding authorizing ATSC 3.0 transmission, the ACA and the American Television Alliance (ATA) contended that negotiations for first-time ATSC 3.0 carriage should remain separate from retransmission negotiations. Doing so would “make the ATSC 3.0 transition truly ‘voluntary,’” he wrote.

However, Lieberman wrote there is “evidence showing that broadcasters are already [emphasis Lieberman’s] seeking ATSC 3.0 carriage” in retransmission negotiations.

The ACA senior vice president pointed to an Oct. 25 ex parte letter filed with the agency by Michael Nilsson, an attorney with the Washington D.C. law firm of Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis LLP. In that letter, Nilsson wrote: “The ATVA representatives each reported that broadcasters already seek to require carriage of ATSC 3.0 in recent retransmission consent negotiations.”

Further, Nilsson noted that during an Oct. 23 meeting with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Brendan Carr, Chip McDonald of Cable ONE and Melisa Ordonez of Dish said “that nearly all broadcaster contract offers received in recent months have sought ATSC 3.0 carriage.”

In his letter, Liebermann referenced a statement from FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly that an attempt by broadcasters to make the transition to ATSC 3.0 involuntary “’could violate the obligation for broadcasters to negotiate in good faith.’’

Liebermann wrote : “Because the Commission chose not to adopt new rules preventing forced carriage of ATSC 3.0, broadcasters may now feel more liberated to make such demands,” particularly of ACA members, which are typically smaller and “susceptible to broadcast coercion….”

The NAB declined to comment.

For a comprehensive list of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see our ATSC3 silo.

WASHINGTON—Many broadcasters are excited about the opportunities that the Next Gen standard ATSC 3.0 is likely to produce, but the case is made in a recent letter from the American Cable Association to the FCC, that excitement could lead to detrimental actions to viewers.

The ACA points out in a letter penned by Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Ross Lieberman that broadcasters have made cases and proposed actions that would protect potential disruptions to local viewers when it comes to developments with white space and the spectrum repack. However, despite initial efforts, the ACA claims that broadcasters are choosing to ignore similar potential issues when it comes to making the transition to ATSC 3.0.

Broadcasters have previously stated that during the volunteer transition to ATSC 3.0 they would continue to simulcast the current ATSC 1.0 standard so as not to disrupt local viewers. Instead, according to the ACA, broadcasters are now saying that simulcasting may “not always be practical or even possible,” allowing broadcasters in such cases to drop the current format. In this event, “broadcasters now have the same answer they once accused the Commission of having: too bad,” ACA wrote in its letter.

“If ‘too bad’ is an unacceptable response to potential service losses caused by the repack or white spaces, it is surely an unacceptable response to potential service losses caused by a broadcaster’s voluntary transition to a new transmission standard—especially for broadcasters who undergo the transition in order to open up new revenue streams unrelated to broadcasting,” ACA wrote.

“Broadcasters like to claim that ‘there is no substitute for broadcasters’ service to their local communities,’” the letter reads. “To the extent this is true, the rules governing the ATSC 3.0 transition must reflect this claim and protect viewers from losing this irreplaceable service. ACA and the American Television Alliance have offered reasonable suggestions about how to ensure that the transition does not ‘disenfranchise viewers,’ as broadcasters originally promised. We again urge the Commission to consider those suggestions.”

WASHINGTON—In a letter to the chair and ranking members of the House Communications Subcommittee, the American Cable Association raised the concern that ATSC 3.0 could potentially hurt, not help, emergency alerts. ACA President Matt Polka wrote that “the proposed transition to the new broadcast standard may well harm emergency alerting.”

TVT’s sister publication, B&C, has the full story here.

For more on this subject, visit our ATSC 3.0 silo.

WASHINGTON—Small cable operators want to know how they would fit into the proposed voluntary ATSC 3.0 adoption scheme. The American Cable Association filed comments on the Federal Communications Commission’s recent proposal to allow broadcasters to voluntarily deploy ATSC 3.0, also referred to as the “next-generation” form of signal transition.

“Capacity-constrained MVPDs will face unique burdens associated with the transition, particularly if forced to carry higher resolution ATSC 3.0 signal,” the ACA said.

The FCC published its related Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Feb. 2, acting on a petition by broadcast and consumer equipment lobbies to authorize voluntary adoption of ATSC 3.0, a multifaceted suite of technology standards that will propel broadcast TV into the Internet Age. The NPRM seeks feedback on how to incorporate ATSC 3.0into the post-auction channel repack on track to commence this spring. The NPRM also seeks comment on which elements of the standard to authorize, as well as how to handle simulcasting, interference, public interest obligations, must-carry and retransmission consent.

The ACA suggested adding a few questions about the impact on its members—smaller and rural multichannel video programming distributors, or MVPDs, e.g.:

“ We seek comment on whether small, rural, and capacity-constrained MVPDs would face unique circumstances with regard to the voluntary provision of ATSC 3.0 that we should consider in this proceeding.... Hundreds of small MVPDs will be renegotiating thousands of separate retransmission consent agreements by the end of this year. Should the commission address circumstances where a broadcaster conditions carriage of a 1.0 signal on carriage of a 3.0 signal while the NPRM is pending?

The ACA further suggests the commission should seek comment on how its members are supposed to receive ATSC 3.0 since the technology for them to do so is not yet available, and who will pay for the necessary upgrade. “Will these MVPDs also face particular difficulty in assuming the costs to deliver ATSC 3.0 signals to their customers, such as costs associated with new receivers and other headend equipment,” the filing said.

The NPRM is on the commission’s Feb. 23 agenda for vote but has not yet been published in the Federal Registers, which in turn will trigger a 60-day comment cycle and a subsequent 30-day reply cycle.

Also see…
Feb. 2, 2017
“FCC@3.0: OET-69, Public Interest, Yes; Tuner Edict, No”
A February vote would roughly coincide with the end of the TV spectrum incentive auction, which starts the 39-month deadline clock for stations moving to new channel assignments. The NPRM seeks feedback on how to incorporate ATSC 3.0 into this post-auction channel repack.

Feb. 2, 2017
“FCC Proposes ATSC 3.0 Deployment”
A plan for voluntary adoption the “next-generation” television broadcasting transmission standard known as ATSC 3.0 has been proposed at the FCC, which represents a seminal event in the development of the standard. 

For more TV Technology coverage, check our ATSC 3.0 silo.

PITTSBURGH—FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly will be one of the speakers at the ACA’s 24th annual policy summit that will take place in Washington D.C. in March.

Michael O'Rielly

Summit24 will have small and mid-sized cable operators connecting with lawmakers and regulators as well as media representatives that handle communications policy in Washington. The ACA will specifically look to discuss the new administration’s plans to pass legislation designed to reduce regulatory burdens on communications providers and other businesses.

“ACA is thrilled Commissioner O’Rielly will join us at Summit24,” said ACA President and CEO Matthew M. Polka. “ACA members are eager to hear from this legal and public policy expert about the FCC’s new agenda and how he plans to translate his ideas into action.”

ACA Summit24 will be held on March 29at the Grand Hyatt in Washington. For more information, visit the ACA Summit website.

PITTSBURGH—Significant strides have been made with video description services that are available to the blind and visually impaired says the American Cable Association in a filing with the FCC. However, the ACA does not believe certain new regulations on MVPD are necessary, and potential rule changes to smaller MVPDs should align with existing compliance deadlines. ACA’s comments were in response to an FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on expanding the ability of, and support customer access to, video described programming.

“Given the success of the existing video description program under the existing regulatory regime, and the continuing voluntary efforts on the part of the industry to improve service and make video description more widely available, the FCC need not adopt some of its proposed rules, particularly those applicable to smaller MVPDs,” said Matthew M. Polka, ACA president and CEO. “If the FCC does adopt any new requirements, aligning the compliance deadlines with the deadline for small operators to comply with the requirement to provide audibly accessible video navigation devices will help minimize confusion and administrative costs.”

Under the current rule, MVPDs with under 400,000 or fewer subscribers (as of 2012) and MVPD systems with 20,000 or fewer subscribers that are not affiliated with an operator serving more than 10 percent of all MVPD subscribers (as of 2012) must come into compliance by Dec. 20, 2018.

To read ACA’s full comments, click here.

PITTSBURGH – The American Cable Association has announced that Mary Lovejoy has been named to the new position of vice president of regulatory affairs. Lovejoy, an attorney, will work in Washington, D.C., with the goal of strengthening ACA’s legal and policy advocacy.

Lovejoy will advocate on behalf of the ACA with federal agencies, as well as develop policy positions, prepare regulatory filings and help keep members informed of relevant policymaking and compliance matters. Lovejoy will report to Ross Lieberman, senior vice president of government affairs.

Previously, Lovejoy worked at Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo in Washington, focusing on policy and regulatory matters of interest to cable operators and broadband Internet service providers.

Lovejoy began at ACA on July 1.