Copyright 2004 Warren Publishing, Inc.

TELEVISION A.M.

November 2, 2004, Tuesday

From Lexis Nexis

A broad coalition of broadcasters said cable systems should be required to transmit a broadcaster's full digital signal from the headend by the end of the DTV transition — and either provide for down-conversion in subscriber homes with analog sets or send a down-converted version for the homes with analog sets subject to transitional carriage rules.

In an ex parte filing, the NAB, the big 4 network affiliate groups and others said the FCC's plan to convert 85% of consumers' TV sets to digital by 2009 is a useful starting point but must be reformed.

The FCC plan would count toward the 85% anyone with a DTV set, a digital-to-analog converter and/or a cable or satellite set- top box that can down-convert or pass through a broadcaster's digital signal. Satellite operators shouldn't be permitted to down-convert, or degrade, a digital signal at the headend, as the FCC plan proposes, the group said.

The NCTA called the filing a "recycled version" of previous demands that cable operators be required to carry half a dozen or more video channels per broadcast station rather than let multicast carriage be determined by market competition and other program networks.