DTV multicasts: Spectrum is going to waste
June 22nd, 2007Viewers who switch to digital TV are surprised, in some cases, to discover new channels available over the air—channels you can’t receive on an analog TV set. Each local DTV station is capable of delivering several channels instead of just one. They’re not just broadcasting, they’re multicasting.
Broadcasters are in no apparent rush to realize the full possibilities of the windfall (each station can now offer up to six channels) bestowed upon them by the FCC. Station owners want Congress or federal regulators to require cable TV companies to carry the new channels. But the efforts of broadcast lobbyists have been without success—thanks in part to cable lobbyists. Kyle McSlarrow, president of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), seems to question whether broadcasters even have their heart in the battle for multicast carriage.
McSlarrow, from a TV Newsday interview:
“What I’m getting from broadcasters is a serious question mark about what the value of multicast must-carry would actually be as a practical matter….when you actually walk through what the business model is, what kind of programming you would actually get, how you would actually earn a rate of return, I think they’re starting to question whether or not there is a value there.”
Broadcasters vary in their multicast ambitions. Weather forecasts, ad infinitum, are available on the digital channels in several cities. Public television stations in many markets offer programming aimed at specialized audiences, including Spanish speakers, do-it-yourselfers and documentary buffs. Other multicast channels offer music videos or—ughh!—infomercials.
The story is much different in Britain, where over-the-air DTV broadcast penetration enjoys a dramatic lead over cable (8.4 million households, versus 3.4 million cable subscribers). Free DTV broadcasts, with more than 30 channels provided under the Freeview marketing umbrella, have now overtaken the popular satellite TV provider Sky (8 million homes), according to a news report yesterday.
In America, HD broadcasts leave less spectrum available for multicasts during certain hours, because high-def programming carries a larger quantity of data. Still, for much of the broadcast day, a large chunk of spectrum is wasted—its potential channels offering little or nothing, watched by almost no one.
Earlier:
• Multicast, OK
• Will DTV advances spawn new channels?
• FCC’s Martin revives multicast debate
• Links: Freepress.net, Manchester Evening News