WTA Asks FCC To Protect Small MVPDs In Next Generation TV Transition

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Today, WTA filed comments with the FCC regarding authorization for local broadcast stations to launch broadcasts in the new ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard. As broadcast stations begin to launch Next Generation TV broadcasts, small MVPDs may be required to undertake substantial investments to continue offering local broadcast stations to their cable/IPTV customers. WTA’s comments urge the FCC to prohibit the one-sided tying of Next Generation TV signals with legacy broadcast signals currently retransmitted by carriers to avoid diverting critically needed resources from broadband investment and preserve access to independent programming on rural cable systems. WTA’s comments also ask the Commission to ensure that MVPDs have sufficient notice of local broadcast stations’ intentions to launch Next Generation TV operations.