What Wheeler Is Selling, Smith Isn’t Buying

A Q&A with National Association of Broadcasters President Gordon Smith.

When asked about his reaction to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler’s suggestion that giving up some spectrum is a great opportunity for broadcasters, Smith replied: “Certainly we have always supported a voluntary auction that is truly voluntary, and we support the freedom of broadcasters to make these economic decisions. But we want broadcasters to know that sharing means separating themselves from the future of broadcast television, by which I mean mobile, 4K, 8K [new HD formats] and multicasting. You are going to need 6 MHz to do that.” Furthermore, Smith does not feel confident that participation in spectrum auctions are particularly advantageous for more diversity in broadcasting in the future. Instead, Smith views the auctions as a trap leading participants to degrade one’s own place in broadcasting just for the fast money.

Smith recently met with Chairman Wheeler and other association chiefs, but so far nothing concrete has come out of it, he said. Smith looks forward to future, more in-depth meetings with the Chairman. “I think he needs to hear the other side the way the other commissioners have and we look forward to sharing that with him,” Smith said.