Dennis Wharton, the executive vice president of communications with NAB, announced his retirement last month. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Dennis for many years, both at NAB and as a member of the press and have found him to be among the most accessible, friendliest and committed spokespersons for the broadcast industry. 

TV Technology got a chance to speak with Dennis before he exits, after 24 years of service to NAB. Here’s an edited transcript:

TV Technology: What are the biggest changes you've seen in the broadcast industry over the past 25 years? What has remained consistent?

Dennis Wharton: The biggest change has been the relentless competition from new players and new platforms. Netflix, Hulu, Twitch, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon Prime. Back in the day, a broadcast TV license was a license to print money. That’s not the case today. Don’t get me wrong—it’s still a fantastic business with great people and good margins. But it’s just a lot more challenging today. 

The one constant—and the thing that makes me most proud—is the public service and the commitment to localism. Think about it—we’re free to every viewer who slaps up a $50 antenna. Free and local still means something. None of our competitors want to do that. They want our spectrum, but they sure don’t want to be free.

TVT: What was your reaction when the NAB Show was cancelled?

DW: Mainly, just sadness, no kidding, just deep sadness. I’ve been going to that show every year for over 30 years. I’ve seen the incredible amount of year-round work of Chris Brown’s Convention team. They build a city of 100,000 people for a week, put on an amazing show, then tear it down and start planning for next year. I felt really bad for them and all of our attendees and exhibitors who are part of the big NAB Show family.

TVT: What impact does the cancellation have on the future of trade shows? Do you think NAB Show NY will still go on?

DW: Unclear about NAB Show NY right now; we’ll know more in a month or so. Once there’s a vaccine for the virus, I’m confident NAB Show in Vegas will be strong again. 

We were really proud of NAB Show Express, which we just concluded—this was the virtual show we put on in place of the Vegas show. We had 15,000 people register for that, and the sessions were first rate. Really, really impressive. I think that shows there’s a loyal NAB Show community that will stick with us, and will be with us when we come out of the COVID-19 crisis.

TVT: Did you tour the new NAB headquarters? What's it like?

DW: Yes, I’ve been to the new building. It’s really nice, and it sends a message to Washington that broadcasting is here to stay. We’re closer to the Capitol, which will help our advocacy. Radio and TV broadcasters will be proud of the new building, and the fact that we’ll be able to better showcase our new technology to policymakers.

TVT: How do you think broadcasters have handled covering the pandemic?

DW: I don’t think in my 24 years at NAB I’ve ever been more proud. Under the most dire of circumstances, our radio and TV stations have done remarkable work. Advertising has plummeted, and people are working in makeshift studios in their basements. But the ratings for local TV and network nightly news are through the roof. I think it’s because broadcasters are giving people what they need the most, which is credible information. They don’t get that from social media and the cable shout shows.

TVT: What will be your role at NAB going forward after you retire? 

DW: I’ll be a PR consultant to NAB, helping on whatever they need. Ann Marie Cumming will be the new top spokesperson—she’s been at NAB off and on for longer than me. I think she’ll do a great job. I’ll be offering advice to her and Gordon, and to the Board. There’s no way I’m going to disappear; I’ve got too much invested in that place to just go away.

TVT: Are you confident about the resiliency of radio and TV broadcasting for the future? Certain FCC commissioners have said they will continue to look at broadcast spectrum for other uses. Do you think broadcasters need to be concerned about this? 

DW: I do get frustrated by the insatiable spectrum grab from broadcasters by our competitors. That’s coming from the pay-TV and wireless broadband folks—two industries that would love to see broadcasting disappear. I can’t blame ‘em— if I could get rid of a competitor who’s giving stuff away for free that I’m charging $100 bucks a month for—I’d tried to eliminate them, too. Hopefully, NextGen TV will give us an opportunity to change the perception of broadcasting. We led the way in HDTV; I’ve got faith that NextGen is going to be a really big deal—even bigger than high definition television.

TVT: Beyond the show cancellation, how else has the pandemic impacted NAB's operations?

DW: We’ve had to make some difficult budget decisions; luckily, we had a nice rainy day fund built up that allows us to sustain the loss of this year’s Vegas Show. The challenge now is helping to keep our radio and TV members afloat during the advertising downturn. I really think that once we’re out of the crisis, the advertising economy will come roaring back—and that businesses will be spending on broadcast TV and radio.

TVT: What was your favorite part of the job? How did it evolve over the past several decades?

DW: The internet means there are no deadlines anymore, so that’s been the biggest evolution in the job over the last 24 years.

My favorite part of the job was mixing it up with reporters. I was D.C. bureau chief for Variety before I got the NAB PR job, so I think I know how reporters think. I really enjoyed helping young reporters understand broadcast law and regulation, and working to shape stories. I felt my job was to present broadcasters in the best possible light. I made it a mission to never, ever, lie to a reporter; once you go down that road, your credibility is shot forever. But that doesn’t mean you have to volunteer dirty laundry, either. I tried to be helpful to reporters, leak an occasional scoop and highlight the positives of what our stations do every day to serve their communities.

Being a PR guy at a place like NAB is not for the faint of heart. A lot of people in D.C. want to see NAB fail. When there’s a screw-up, the easiest person to blame is the PR person. But I read a quote recently from Joe Lockhart, President Clinton’s press secretary, that was so true. He said that “even the best PR people in the world can’t fix an underlying policy problem forever.” My style was to roll with the punches on the bad days, and live to fight another day. Working for folks like Eddie Fritts and Gordon Smith made things a lot easier, because they got the NAB policy positions right.

WASHINGTON—After 24 years serving as the spokesperson for the NAB—the longest tenure in the organization’s history, NAB says—Dennis Wharton, executive vice president of Communications, is set to retire on July 1.

Subsequently, the NAB has announced that it will now merge its Communications and Marketing departments into a new Public Affairs department, which will be led by Michelle Lehman.

Wharton joined the NAB in 1996 as vice president, Media Relations, following a 16-year career in journalism, including time as the Washington bureau chief for Variety. He was promoted to senior vice president in 1997, then in 2006 was given the title of executive vice president. During his time at NAB he oversaw the Media Relations, Research and Public Service departments. Wharton is expected to continue to serve as a senior adviser to the NAB.

Wharton notified the NAB Board of Directors on his retirement in an email on May 4. He called his retirement a “bittersweet moment” and said his time at NAB was “the privilege of my professional life,” and that the public service of local broadcast stations, prominently on display during the COVID-19 pandemic, is the thing that makes him most proud. He praised and thanked the NAB Board, local broadcasters, state broadcast association executives and reporters, but gave special gratitude to his colleagues on the NAB Communications team.

“Dennis is a fervent advocate for local broadcasting and his dedication to NAB and the broadcast industry cannot be overstated,” said Gordon Smith, president and CEO of NAB. “Journalists, broadcasters and colleagues alike value his extensive insight on industry-related issues and appreciate the enthusiasm and good humor he brings to his work. We wish Dennis all the best and are fortunate to have him stay on as an adviser to NAB.”

As Wharton exits his role atop the Communication department, the newly formed Public Affairs department will now serve as the outlet for strategic communications, media and digital outreach, marketing and research to support NAB’s advocacy efforts, events and member-focused initiatives.

Michelle Lehman, who has served as executive vice president of Marketing at NAB since 2006, will lead the new department, advancing the association’s brand before key audiences and implementing marketing, advertising and grassroots campaigns to address specific legislature and business challenges facing the broadcast industry, NAB says.

Lehman has also announced that Ann Marie Cumming, senior vice president of Communications, will now serve as the primary spokesperson for the NAB. She will be assisted by Zamir Ahmed, vice president of Media Relations.

Jen Jose, meanwhile, has been tapped as senior vice president of Public Affairs, overseeing all messaging, digital and public service activities for the organization, with assistance from Gagan Nirula, vice president of digital.

Shermaze Ingram, senior vice president of Marketing and Creative Services, will continue to oversee association marketing and event campaigns, as well as the creative services team.

“We have assembled a talented team of professionals to carry our NAB mission and message to the public, whether that is our membership, press or policymakers,” said Smith. “We see public affairs as critical to advancing our advocacy agenda and positioning the association and our events for success.”

Note that the FCC announced a 90-day extension to the filing deadline on June 21; stations must now file applications for earth stations currently operating in the 3.7-4.2 GHz band no later than Oct. 17.

For years, radio and television broadcasters, as well as cable providers, have been relying on C Band satellite systems for reliable distribution of programming content. Some estimates place the number of C Band downlink sites in the United States at more than 27,000, and demand for new facilities shows no signs of letting up.

But as Radio World has reported in recent months, the C Band isn’t something that broadcasters should take for granted. The system is in imminent peril of being rendered useless by terrestrial interference, at least according to some observers.

Among them are Mark and Karen Johnson, principals of LinkUp Communications Corp., who recently traveled to Washington to make their case before the commission.

MAKE WAY FOR BROADBAND

The problem is the FCC’s consideration of changing the rules to allow 3.7–4.2 GHz to be shared by other services. The move is being spearheaded by broadband companies, including Google and Verizon, who are asking the commission to turn over some or all of the spectrum to internet providers for future 5G technology.

But syndicators and networks such as Premiere, Westwood One and NPR as well as many radio and television broadcasters stand opposed to the proposed changes, claiming that interference from terrestrial services could render satellite reception all but impossible.

While the issue is being considered, the FCC instituted a 90-day freeze starting April 19 on applications for new receive-only Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) earth stations in the C Band. At the same time, it asked users of existing earth stations to register them by July 18. While not mandatory, this registration is being strongly urged by leading broadcast groups as well as the commission.

These developments precede an expected Notice for Proposed Rule Making on the proposal that would allow 5G to operate within the same frequency ranges as C Band in the United States. The FCC expects to vote on the matter at its July meeting.

Karen Johnson said that she and Mark Johnson were excited to present to the FCC a “real-life” perspective on the impact 5G broadband could have on the heavily used C Band frequencies. They presented to members of the International Bureau and to staff members of three commissioners in individual meetings.

“We had been urged by both Intelsat and SES Global to make the trip to Washington. Representatives from the Society of Broadcast Engineers joined us, and began to discuss how we could make the best use of the 30 minutes we had before the FCC,” she said.

Intelsat, Intel and SES Global support what they call a market proposal that would let wireless operators access mid-band while satellite users would continue to receive services in the remaining portions of the band with certainty of high-quality operation; that initiative is explained at www.intelsat.com/about-us/c-band-spectrum.

“We quickly realized that our list of concerns was too long for this initial meeting. We decided to focus on the FCC filing forms for registering earth stations — the complexity of the form, the need for the ability to ‘batch file’ multiple C Band downlinks and the fee itself.”

Mark Johnson noted that members of the FCC’s International Bureau, responsible for collecting and tabulating the earth station registration forms, seemed sympathetic to some of the concerns they raised — “in particular, the sheer number of C Band downlinks that many in the industry were attempting to register, and the unbudgeted expense of registering multiple downlinks.

“Despite that,” he said in May, “the $435 filing fee is likely to remain. We were told it was necessary to compensate staffing for the additional burden of handling so many complex filings in such a short amount of time. We are hopeful the FCC may provide some financial relief for multiple downlink registrations, I believe they understood the undue burden this hefty expense would have on so many broadcast licensees.” (An earlier requirement for independent frequency coordination, however, was dropped, saving registrants another step that typically cost $1,000 or more.)

Karen Johnson felt that the FCC staff responded best to hard numbers.

“As Mark spoke about how we arrived at a true number of C Band downlink earth stations in the U.S. — approximately 27,000 — the FCC took note. They were also most interested when we shared that our customer base covered 144 markets with a listenership of 14 million. More importantly, our clients use C-band communications for as much as 98 percent of the programming distributed by their stations into local communities.”

A CALL FOR ‘RIGOROUS’ ANALYSIS

The National Association of Broadcasters filed comments with the commission at the end of May, emphasizing the extensive use of the C Band for content distribution by broadcasters, the lack of reasonably practical alternatives such as fiber, the need for rigorous technical analysis of proposals for terrestrial uses and finally the need to preserve full-band, full-arc licensing of earth stations (see sidebar).

Commenting separately, Dennis Wharton, NAB executive vice president of communications, said, “Every day, thousands of commercial and public TV and radio stations use so-called ‘C Band spectrum’ to deliver broadcast programming to tens of millions of listeners and viewers. These airwaves are essential to the successful transmission of the most popular program content on TV and radio, and suggestions that there are sufficient content delivery alternatives have yet to be proven.

“The burden is on wireless carriers to provide the FCC with rigorous, fact-based analysis that demonstrates that any proposal would not threaten interference-free reception of free and local broadcasting,” Wharton said.

Asked by Radio World earlier this year about interference worries, Commissioner Michael O’Rielly said, “Radio broadcasters and broadcasters in general should not be concerned. As someone who’s leading the effort on the 3.7 to 4.2 band, and the 6 GHz bands, which are the C Band up and down links, we’re going to take care of incumbents. I’m not interested in disrupting incumbents.”

O’Rielly said at the time that he was open to other approaches but also urged C Band users to register: “Tell us if you exist. It’s hard to protect people we don’t know about.”

But then in late May, Karen Johnson said that broadcasters — already feeling somewhat discouraged by the proposed reallocation — became even more so when Chairman Ajit Pai announced a plan to vote on the matter July 12, seven days before the deadline for broadcasters to register earth stations.

Pai spoke to the Wireless Infrastructure Association Connectivity Expo in Charlotte, N.C. He addressed the dual connectivity challenges of infrastructure and spectrum associated with 5G, and barriers that he said broadband faces in the global race for 5G dominance.

He spoke of freeing up spectrum, including frequencies identified as C Band for wireless services; he then announced his intent to put up an NPRM. Details regarding that proposal were yet be released at press time. If it passes, opponents would have 60 days to try to influence the commission before a final vote.

ECONOMIC QUESTION

As broadcasters rally to protect the C Band, they face opposition from several forces. Not only is a powerful Washington lobby for broadband interests engaged, there are other political driving forces in play.

One is the significant boost to the economy that broadband is expected to provide. CTIA estimates that 5G will create 3 million jobs, add $275 billion in new investment and spur $500 million in economic growth. But in order to do that, these experts say, they must access multiple spectrums, including the mid-band frequencies populated by C Band.

The newsletter Inside Towers reported that CTIA President Meredith Attwell Baker urged the FCC to finish rules for the 3.5 GHz portion of mid-band spectrum in time for the July meeting; Baker was also reported to be urging the FCC to schedule an auction for the Citizens Broadband Radio Service spectrum in 2019.

Yet another driving force for broadband is the global race for connectivity. The consulting firm Analysys Mason ranked 10 countries across key factors to determine which were in the best position to win the race to 5G. It put the United States in third place, behind China and South Korea.

Karen Johnson said this is the time for the C Band community to come together and take action.

“We encourage everyone to address the FCC directly with your concerns about the encroachment of 5G into C Band satellite frequencies. Registering your C Band earth station with the FCC and filing a letter stating your concerns about 5G encroachment into C Band frequencies are two very tangible ways you can make a difference.”

To register, visit http://licensing.fcc.gov/myibfs. If you find that page daunting, several of the organizations cited in this article have posted suppport pages; just do an online search for the term C Band and an organization name like NPR PRSS, Intelsat, SBE or SES for example.

WHAT THE NAB SAID ABOUT C-BAND

Excerpts from NAB’s comments:

“First, the C Band is extensively used for content distribution. Virtually every U.S. television and radio household relies on C Band satellite operations for content distribution in some manner. Content providers rely on the C Band to deliver television programming to thousands of MVPD head-ends, over 1,000 broadcast television stations affiliated with national networks and over-the-top service providers. Radio content also relies heavily on dependable access to the C Band. National Public Radio has stated that the public radio system depends on the C Band ‘for reliable distribution of programming to the 475 public radio earth stations that together broadcast public radio programming to 42 million Americans each week.’

“Second, the availability of reasonable, practical alternative means of content delivery, such as fiber, are significantly overstated. In many cases, substitute modes of delivery are unavailable or less reliable. Even in those areas where fiber is available, it may not be economically viable.

“Third, because of the importance of the C Band, and because of the limited alternatives, the commission should insist on rigorous technical analysis of specific and detailed proposals before making decisions that will impact tens of millions of radio and television households. The commission should not assume that technical solutions will appear that will allow incompatible services to share spectrum. NAB reiterates that, as a practical matter, this means the commission should acknowledge that terrestrial users cannot share C Band frequencies based on geographic separation alone. As commenters have explained, earth stations must be designed to reliably capture highly attenuated signals from satellites more than 22,000 miles away. Accordingly, these facilities are extremely sensitive and highly vulnerable to terrestrial interference. Indeed, this is the reason why the FCC has historically required frequency coordination between satellite and point-to-point microwave users in this band. Significant separation distances, ranging from tens or, under extreme circumstances, even hundreds of kilometers, would be required to ensure that fixed and mobile terrestrial signals do not prevent reliable reception of satellite downlinks. Mobile operations in particular cannot be authorized in the same frequency band as existing C Band operations because there is no reliable means of geofencing mobile users or mobile handsets from operation in exclusion zones.

“Finally, in considering options for expanded fixed use of the C Band, the commission should reject any proposal to eliminate or constrain its longstanding and highly successful full-band, full-arc earth station licensing policy, under which FSS earth stations may coordinate across the entire frequency band over the entire geostationary arc. Preserving the longstanding flexibility that full-band, full-arc licensing provides is essential to broadcasters and other users that rely on satellite services. Because satellites are in orbit high above the earth, on-orbit equipment problems or failures cannot be repaired by a ‘truck roll.’ Significant flexibility in both satellite choice and transponder frequency are absolute necessities to assure reliable operation.”

LAS VEGAS—TV Technology asked a cross-section of NAB Show-goers a series of five questions regarding what they considered the main themes, evidence of those, whether or not these initiatives will take hold, and what promising technologies from past NAB Shows did not see daylight. (A complete list of quotes from respondents and links to their full 5Qs is at “NAB 2016 in 21 Quotes.”)

Dennis Wharton, executive vice president of communications for the National Association of Broadcasters:
Q1.How many NAB Shows have you attended?
D.W. 28

Q2.What, in your opinion, were the main themes of the show this year?
D.W. Next-gen TV, Ultra HD, high dynamic range; drone explosion; virtual and augmented reality; IP-based content delivery.

Q3. What were some examples of these themes?
D.W. Ang Lee’s revolutionary 4K/3D/120 frames per second film trailer using immersive audio and HDR; Kaleidoscope VR Showcase; Virtual Reality Production Summit.

Q4.Do you foresee any or all of these technologies or initiatives taking hold?
D.W. Next-gen TV is off to a great start with the filing of the ATSC 3.0 petition at the FCC by NAB, CTA, APTS (public TV lobby) and AWARN (public safety group). That was followed up by a pledge from FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler to move quickly on the next-gen TV petition. [Editor’s note: Wheeler did so April 26. See, “FCC Puts ATSC 3.0 Out for Comment.”]
Ang Lee’s film screening was so compelling and “buzzworthy” that you have to believe this technology will be embraced by the movie-going public.
Once regulatory issues are settled, drones will unquestionably become a force in newsgathering and filmmaking.

Q5.What technology that impressed you most at a past show didn’t see the light of day?
D.W. For a variety of reasons, 3D has not been the success that many expected.

WASHINGTON — Dennis Wharton, the National Association of Broadcasters executive vice president of communications, has issued a response in support of the introduction of the Consumer Drone Safety Act made by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY). Wharton says the legislation “strikes the right balance by imposing meaningful guidelines on recreational use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.”

“Broadcasters take seriously our role as ‘first informers’ and believe UAV’s hold great potential in improving newsgathering capabilities at local stations,” continued Wharton. “We will continue to engage both Congress and the FAA on a legal framework that encourages responsible use of UAVs.”

While UAVs are most often associated with TV electronic news gathering the radio world has plans for their use as well. Radio stations would be able to use UAVs to inspect towers as well as for newsgathering purposes. Industry experts continue to look into ways that UAVs can be used in more complex operations down the road.