Audio Video News

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is considering forming a "task force" to tackle the botched rollout of digital television, according to reports from Washington in late August and early September.

The transition to digital television was formulated at the FCC more than 10 years ago, and had the plan gone smoothly, the US market would have seen 40-50% penetration by the new format by now. Of course, everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong—protracted wrangling about transmission standards, the refusal by cable companies to carry digital signals, and the production of very little original programming by networks and local stations. Recently, there have also been serious proposals by broadcasters to auction off the analog spectrum that they were supposed to return to the FCC in exchange for the six megahertz of bandwidth they were given for digital operations.

With the exception of balking at a proposed requirement that they include digital tuners in television sets at all price points, consumer electronics manufacturers have upheld their end of the bargain, introducing increasingly affordable digital receivers every season.

Now, several years into a badly stalled transition, the FCC is considering playing hardball, with agency oversight substituting for market forces. FCC Chairman Michael Powell "has said this is an important issue that needs our attention and focus," an FCC source told Electronic Media. "We're in the process of figuring out the most effective way to accomplish that." Perhaps to indicate his agency's interest in DTV, Powell recently had a high-definition TV set installed in the lobby of the FCC's Washington office.

A laissez-faire attitude at the agency during the Clinton administration hindered the development of digital television, according to some industry insiders. Because the free market has accomplished so little, many now believe a tougher stance is needed to get the job done. If it comes to pass, the formation of a DTV task force would consolidate responsibilities that are now spread among many different departments and offices. Like Chairman Powell, the FCC's new commissioners—Democrat Michael Copps and Republicans Kathleen Abernathy and Kevin Martin—are said to be more concerned about the transition to digital television than their predecessors were. Their efforts may result in more compromise and accommodation by everyone involved, especially by television networks, which produce most of the programming, and by cable providers, which deliver TV signals to approximately 70% of the US viewership.