NABA Supports NAB's Request To FCC For DTV Standards

11-Jul-00

The North American Broadcasters Association (NABA) urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to take proactive measures to ensure a successful transition to digital television, as advocated by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). NABA asserts that baseline standards for digital television will not preclude competition between manufacturers of digital equipment. These manufacturers will be able to compete on the basis of performance, functionality, and added features. ""The inevitable final transition from an analog to digital environment is fast upon us. As broadcasters dedicated to the highest quality service to our viewing and listening audiences, we believe this transition must occur in a timely and virtually seamless manner. What we are asking the FCC to do is help facilitate this process in the public interest,"" commented Bill Roberts, NABAís Secretary-General. Standards are needed so that consumers can receive a digital signal. So far, the Commissionís call for voluntary agreements for standards from cable companies and manufacturers has not been successful. Digital receivers on the market are not compatible with other digital equipment like VCRs, or with digital cable. NABA supports the NAB and its position that the FCC needs to: - Require that TV sets with screens greater than thirteen inches diagonally be capable of receiving all frequencies, including DTV signals - Mandate interoperability of digital television with cable systems and digital VCRs - Set minimum performance standards for digital TV, so that consumers can receive the benefits of digital technology. It has been argued that prices would go up because of the above standards. But NABA is confident that any price increase would be temporary, and that prices would begin to decrease as sales of digital TVs increased. NABA and NABís comments to the FCC can be found online at www.fcc.gov, under proceedings 00-39.About NABAThe North American Broadcasters Association represents major broadcasting entities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, and provides a framework for the identification, study, and active solution of issues affecting broadcasters on the global stage. NABA members include public and private broadcasters, direct-to-home service providers, specialty networks, national broadcasts associations, leading-edge telecommunications operations and pioneers in broadcast technology. Full NABA members are ABC Inc., CBS Corporation, CBC/SRC, CTV Inc., Discovery Communications Inc., NBC Inc., NPR, PBS, TV Azteca, Grupo Televisa S.A. and Turner Broadcasting Systems/Cable News Network (TBS/CNN). For more information, visit www.nabanet.com.

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