Splitting Air Could Pay for Broadcasters

Content may be king. But in wireless circles, spectrum still reigns supreme. That is good news for owners of broadcast-television stations who hold licenses to large swaths of airwaves.

Amid lower ratings and potentially disruptive technology, that spectrum looks even more valuable and may help underpin some broadcasters' shares. Wireless operators are eager for new spectrum as mobile-data use rockets. Broadcast spectrum borders one of the main bands used for wireless networks and could also be used for that purpose. Getting that into the hands of wireless carriers has long been one of the Federal Communications Commissions' goals. In early 2012, Congress authorized it to auction broadcast spectrum, which it aims to do in 2014. Meanwhile, cracks have begun appearing in the traditional broadcast model. Aereo, for example, lets users stream broadcast-television signals over the Web. That threatens retransmission fees, which pay-TV operators pay to carry broadcasters' signals.