The NAB has urged Congress to enact legislation ensuring viewer access to a variety of new local television programming options in the digital TV era.
NAB unveiled results of a new study, www.multicasting.com/documents/BIAEconBenefitsRpt.pdf, demonstrating the financial benefits of multicast DTV carriage by cable systems.
In addition, NAB released a survey, www.multicasting.com/documents/Multicasting_Plans705.ppt#1, finding that 85 percent of TV stations intend to create additional local program streams if pro-multicast DTV legislation is passed by Congress. Types of programming includes:
- local news
- local weather
- local sports
- local public affairs/community affairs programming
- foreign language programming
- coverage of community and political events
- local high school and college programming (sports and non-sports)
- educational/children's programming
- cultural events and local arts/entertainment programming
NAB's survey found that nearly 80 percent of TV stations are unlikely to create multicast local program streams without cable system carriage assurances.
For more information, visit www.nab.org.
