Recent Political Victories a Concern at NAB Meeting

While still reveling in two major victories, broadcasters kicked off their annual convention Monday with several stern warnings that government regulators may exact a price for those gains.

The National Assn. of Broadcasters convention, sprawling throughout two venues with a record 100,000 attendees, in part has become a celebration over two recent decisions favoring the industry: a Supreme Court ruling upholding the so-called must-carry rules, which require cable operators to carry local TV stations, and free allocation of spectrum to broadcasters so they can affect the shift to digital television.

The latter action, taken last week by the Federal Communications Commission, is fueling the technical aspect of this convention--always a major technology showcase--along with the convergence of the television, telephone and computer industries in distributing information and entertainment.

During opening sessions Monday, however, much of the focus was on the near-term political toll broadcasters could pay in the wake of their recent victories.

Industry figures as well as elected officials who are friendly to broadcasting warned that pressure will increase in regard to providing free air time for politicians, regulation of program content and the imposition of government-mandated public-interest obligations--all issues that broadcasters say threaten their 1st Amendment rights while potentially cutting into their profits.

Free air time, in particular, has been trumpeted as a key potential component of campaign finance reform--one that could cost broadcasters millions of dollars. A presidential commission is also being assembled to determine, as Assistant Secretary of Commerce Larry Irving put it, “What does [fulfilling the] ‘public interest’ mean in the digital age?”

NAB President Edward O. Fritts stressed that broadcasters must be responsive to public-interest concerns to be competitive on a local level, making government interference unnecessary.

“We don’t need, nor does the public want, Washington telling us how to best serve our local communities,” he said.

Speaking at a panel, several lawmakers also cautioned broadcasters to temper their recent enthusiasm in light of such issues. “I can see a whole mess of more rules and regulations about how we figure out free television time,” said Sen. John Breaux (D-La.).

“We won on spectrum,” added one broadcaster. “Now we pay.”

More cynical observers have called such concessions--including a commitment to air three hours of educational children’s programming and the new TV ratings system, both implemented in the last year--a relatively modest price for the industry’s victory on spectrum, which the public-interest group Common Cause labeled “corporate welfare” and a “$70-billion giveaway.”

The FCC decision to change broadcasting from the currently used analog signals to digital--with clearer pictures and CD-quality sound--has become a focal point at this year’s convention. Banners read “Digital TV: It’s Ready . . . Are You?,” and the technology has drawn considerable interest among international broadcasters, who this year account for roughly one-fifth of the convention crowd.