Congress voted last Friday to give the FCC the authority to conduct voluntary incentive auctions — a tool the commission considers to be essential as it tries to clear 120MHz of TV spectrum to meet the goals laid out in its National Broadband Plan.
Within moments of the announcement that a deal had been reached, praise started pouring in from the wireless industry, the consumer electronics industry and even the broadcast industry. Is it possible that Congress actually struck a deal on such a hotly contested issue that those representing the competing interests of different industries could be pleased?
To gain a little perspective on the deal from the point of view of a television broadcaster, I turned to Mark Hyman, VP of corporate relations at Sinclair Broadcast Group, one of the nation's largest TV groups. In this podcast interview, Hyman says broadcasters have good reason to remain wary of the new legislation.
