First, the suggestion that broadcasters have been "given free spectrum". True enough, they are not being charged for their second digital channels. However, stations must implement their digital facility, or lose their ability to broadcast altogether. This requires a new transmitter, and in most cases a new antenna. Often, a new tower is required. This equipment is not free. Nor is the legal assistance necessary to get the permits from local government to build it, and from the FCC to operate it. There are huge, uncompensated expenses involved.
Second, that stations are violating some kind of agreement with the government if they use part of their digital bandwidth for anything except the highest quality TV picture possible. The law is that stations must deliver one free-to-air standard-definition program. Beyond that, legally, it's the station's choice what to do with the rest of their bandwidth.
TV stations are in business to make money. Force them to lose money, and they will eventually surrender their licenses and disappear. Think your cable operator is going to deliver multiple channels of high-definition programming? Greater image resolution doesn't bring greater revenue. McDonald's(tm) doesn't pay more for a commercial just because it's sharper. Second programs or non-video data streams bring in additional revenue, revenue necessary to pay for the added expenses that have been imposed on stations.
Third, the suggestion that broadcasters are now trying to sell off their existing channels - channels that are supposed to be surrendered to the government at the end of the digital transition. This is a misreading of an initiative by the Paxson station group. Paxson owns a number of analog stations in channels 60-69. These channels are being auctioned for use after analog TV is closed. Paxson is suggesting that the winners of these auctions be allowed to pay the licensees in these channels to vacate their channels early, allowing the auction winners earlier access than would otherwise be possible.
Allowing these payments increases the value of these channels in auction, by allowing their use before analog TV is shut down. If the payments are prohibited, the TV stations will have to continue operation in channels 60-69 until the digital transition is complete. Access to this spectrum could be delayed for years, and government revenues from these auctions slashed.
© D. Smith W9WI 2009
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