In a research report issued July 25, the NAB said that 40 percent of full-power local television stations in the United States would have to vacate their current TV channel assignment under the FCC’s plan. A minimum of 210 of those stations could go off the air permanently, according to NAB President Gordon Smith.

   “If the FCC’s National Broadband Plan to recapture 20 more TV channels is implemented, service disruption, confusion and inconvenience for local television viewers will make the 2009 DTV transition seem like child’s play,” said Smith. “NAB endorses truly voluntary spectrum auctions. Our concern is that the FCC plan will morph into involuntary, because it is impossible for the FCC to meet spectrum reclamation goals without this becoming a government mandate.”

   The NAB conducted an internal research analysis claiming that 672 of the nation’s 1,735 full-power TV stations must be cleared from channels 31 to 51 to make room for the reclaimed broadcast spectrum.

   In 2009, broadcasters returned more 108 MHz of TV spectrum between channels 52 and 69 to the FCC following its efforts to transition from analog to digital TV. Broadcasters cleared 174 stations and moved them to new channels under the FCC’s assurance that TV viewers would benefit from a DTV transition and that the initiative would usher in HDTV programming, and live and local mobile DTV.

   “Many of those promises could go unfulfilled if the National Broadband Plan is implemented,” said Smith. “Our analysis of the FCC proposal to recapture 20 more TV channels reveals that top 10 TV markets would be dramatically impacted by the proposal, with 73 stations in the largest ten markets going off the air.”

The NAB also called on the FCC to publicly release its analysis of the Broadband Plan’s potential negative impact on viewers of free and local television, claiming that more than half of all TV stations would likely need to disrupt service for as long as a few weeks to accommodate channel repositioning.

   “We’ve waited patiently for over a year for FCC data on how the Broadband Plan impacts broadcasters, and more importantly, the tens of millions of viewers who rely every day on local TV for news, entertainment, sports and lifeline emergency weather information," said Smith. “Even Congress can’t get information from the FCC. All we are seeking is more transparency. We have but one chance to get this right if we are to preserve future innovation for broadcasters and our viewers.”

The FCC declined to comment on the report.

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