Evan Kwerel The DTV Transition in the US--.pptVIP

The DTV Transition in the US Evan Kwerel Senior Economic Advisor Federal Communications Commission evan.kwerel@ JSICR International Communications Forum, Tokyo November 7, 2003 Disclaimer The opinions expressed in this talk are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the FCC or any other members of its staff Digital Migration All communications are going digital Video, voice and data Wired and wireless Importance of digital transition for broadcast TV More and better services for consumers/viewers Efficient use of the spectrum Where we are: DTV Distribution Broadcast 1,230 DTV stations in operation (73% of total DTV allotments) 96% (114) of the 119 top-4 network affiliates in markets 1-30 77% (921) of remaining 1196 commercial stations 52% (195) of the 373 noncommercial and educational stations Cable 60 million homes passed with HDTV service DBS All digital format Some HDTV 20.4 million subscribers Where We Are: DTV Content High definition Increasing HD content Broadcast prime-time All major networks (Fox just committed) Cable and satellite networks Sports (e.g., ESPN) Movies (e.g., HBO, Showtime) Original content (e.g., Discovery) Multicasting Some innovative broadcast DTV multicasting (e.g. PBS) Where We Are: DTV Equipment Cumulative US sales of DTV equipment (mid 2003) Total units: 6.8 million DTV displays: 5.9 million Tuners (Set-top boxes + integrated receivers) 0.9 million DTV sales small relative to analog TV receivers 25 million analog-only TV sets sold in US per year 250 million analog-only TV sets in US households FCC ATSC Tuner Mandate – Adopted Aug. 2002 Phase-in schedule 100% of sets 13” and larger by 7/1/07 Key Pending Issues Digital Rights Management Content owners reluctant to make digital content available without protection against unauthorized copying and retransmission DRM critical to DTV penetration because digital content (broadcast, cable, DBS, DVD) key driver of DTV adoption DRM policy seeks t