In a 9-0 ruling authored by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the U.S. Supreme Court loosened local media ownership restrictions, which could enable more industry consolidation. It’s viewed as a victory for broadcasters that wanted to overturn the 2017 decision of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals that found the FCC did not sufficiently consider the effect of changes on minority and female owners. The FCC appeal was supported by News Corp, Fox Corporation, Sinclair Broadcast Group and the National Association of Broadcasters. Continue reading Supreme Court Allows FCC to Relax Media Ownership Rules

On March 11, NAB president/chief executive Gordon Smith announced that the NAB Show 2020 would be canceled. The NAB Show, which would have taken place April 18-22 in Las Vegas, gathers over 100,000 media, entertainment and technology professionals from all over the world. In a letter to the community, Smith wrote that the organization has been “carefully monitoring coronavirus developments both domestically and globally over the past few weeks.” Additionally, the NATAS Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards dinner was been moved to October. Continue reading Coronavirus: NAB 2020, Tech & Engineering Emmys Canceled

The Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) launched 20 ATSC 3.0-enabled TV models. CTA chair of the video division board John Taylor introduced ATSC president Madeleine Noland, NAB president/chief executive and former Republican senator from Oregon Gordon Smith, and CTA president/chief executive Gary Shapiro. “This year NextGen TV joins the roster of new product announcements, with TV stations building out enhanced TV systems,” said Noland. “ATSC is proud to exhibit at CES for the first time — and we’ll be back next year.” Continue reading CES 2020: Launch of First ATSC 3.0 NextGen TV Products

Following the House of Representatives passage of the Music Modernization Act in April, the U.S. Senate also gave its unanimous consent on September 18. The bill was renamed after Republican Utah senator Orrin Hatch, also a songwriter, scheduled to retire at the end of his term this year. With the Senate passage, the bill will return to the House to get approval for all the changes made to achieve Senate approval. If and when the House approves, the bill will go to President Donald Trump to become law. Continue reading Music Modernization Act Passed in Senate, Returns to House

In the Grand Lobby of the Las Vegas Convention Center at CES 2018, ATSC president Mark Richer, NAB president Sen. Gordon Smith and CTA president/chief executive Gary Shapiro gathered to clink glasses of champagne to celebrate the official rollout of the new ATSC 3.0 television standard. In the audience were ATSC board members and several people who contributed to the standard. “Today’s milestone wouldn’t be possible without the work of hundreds of people,” declared Richer. “It’s been an intensive five year effort by all these people.” Continue reading ATSC, CTA, NAB Chiefs Gather to Celebrate ATSC 3.0 Rollout

President Trump has named Ajit Pai as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. He will replace Tom Wheeler, who stepped down on Friday. Pai, appointed as an FCC commissioner in 2012 by President Obama, has opposed many of the Commission’s recent initiatives, such as regulating cable mergers, introducing consumer privacy protection, and establishing net neutrality. In a December letter to the leaders of CTIA, NTCA, WISPA, the American Cable Association and Competitive Carriers Association, Pai and fellow commissioner Michael O’Rielly wrote of net neutrality’s “disproportionate impact … on smaller sized broadband providers,” promising to “revisit … the Title II Net Neutrality proceeding … as soon as possible.” Continue reading Trump Promotes Net Neutrality Opponent Ajit Pai to FCC Chair

In a 21-page petition, a group comprised of the NAB, America’s Public Television Stations, the Consumer Technology Association and the AWARN Alliance is asking the FCC to authorize use of the new ATSC 3.0 transmission standard — what the collective refers to as “Next Generation TV” — in order to improve delivery of 4K broadcasting, streaming to smartphones and tablets, personalization features and IP-based services. ATSC 3.0 “will create the bedrock for continuing innovation by the television industry for decades to come,” claims the petition. Continue reading ATSC 3.0: NAB Calls on FCC to Authorize Next Generation TV

The winners of the inaugural Best of SPROCKIT Awards have been announced at the NAB Show in Las Vegas. Five out of 30 startups showcased by SPROCKIT were chosen through voting by the trade show’s attendees. The winning companies were Fluendo (video analysis and multimedia), Psychability (big data and analytics for TV), Yottio (real-time video streaming and trafficking), ScoreStream (crowd-sourced sports information and chat), and Unruly (video ad distribution in native formats across the Open Web). Continue reading NAB 2015: Five Startups Win Best of SPROCKIT Awards in Vegas

NAB announced that next month’s show in Las Vegas will feature 10 up-and-coming media and entertainment companies invited to participate in the new SPROCKIT program. Selected for their innovative video, mobile, social and analytics technologies, the market-ready startups participating in the program are expected to provide a glimpse into the future of content creation, management and delivery. Continue reading 2013 NAB Show: Startups Invited to SPROCKIT Program