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Irwin Podhajser: “LPTV + Streaming Is the Real Next‑Gen TV”

LAS VEGAS—Welcoming guests to the Advanced Television Broadcasting Alliance’s (ATBA) evening reception, Irwin Podhajser cut straight to the point. “The trend is not streaming. The trend is not ATSC 3.0. The trend is all of it working together,” the FreeCast executive vice‑president declared, urging low‑power television (LPTV) owners to see OTT services as partners, not rivals.

A former LPTV licensee himself, Podhajser said FreeCast’s roadmap hinges on pairing local broadcast brands with national streaming reach. That hybrid, he argued, will let stations monetize cord‑cutters, capitalize on ATSC 3.0 datacasting, and deliver “next‑gen TV” without surrendering community roots. “Low‑power broadcasters and companies like mine have unlimited potential—but only if we change the face of media together,” he said, drawing applause from the packed hospitality suite inside the Westgate. ​

Podhajser’s call‑to‑action set the tone for the night’s theme: collaboration across platforms, standards and business models to keep local signals—and revenues—viable in a streaming‑first world.

Lee Miller Rallies ATBA Members: “Local Broadcasting Still Matters—Now More Than Ever”

Stepping to the podium after Podhajser’s introduction, ATBA Executive Director Lee Miller thanked attendees for keeping the “passionate community” of LPTV alive. “The ATBA was founded to advocate, protect and advance the power of digital broadcasting,” he reminded the crowd. “Local broadcasting still matters, and in many ways it matters now more than ever before.” ​

Miller highlighted the alliance’s three‑part legacy—past, present and future—before introducing a who’s‑who of board members, from long‑time pillar Gary Cocola to newcomers Alessandra Works and Josh Weiss. He noted that veteran broadcaster Cocola said he will finally retire “for good” after multiple false starts, while Rob Folliard continues to represent LPTV interests as immediate past chair on the board.

He closed by saluting event sponsors flashing on the screen and teeing up the evening’s headline announcement: the election of a new board chair who, he promised, would “lead with vision, integrity and a collaborative spirit.” ​

Kristina Bruni Takes the Gavel: Spectrum Security Tops ATBA’s 2025 Agenda

Newly elected ATBA Chair Kristina Bruni—hailed by Miller as “passionate for innovation, advocacy and keeping ATBA powerful”—laid out a three‑point policy platform moments after accepting the gavel.

1. Protect and Preserve LPTV Spectrum. “Safeguarding these resources ensures local voices keep a platform in an increasingly crowded media landscape,” she said, pledging aggressive engagement in FCC spectrum dockets.
2. Guide the ATSC 3.0 Transition. As stations migrate to the new standard, Bruni promised “clear guidelines, technical assistance and advocacy” so no operator is left behind.
3. Enhance Public‑Safety & Emergency Communications. Calling broadcast infrastructure “critical” for alerts, she vowed to champion technical upgrades that fortify EAS and next‑gen warning systems. ​

Bruni, who has straddled engineering and policy roles throughout her career, said her tenure will prioritize community service and technological innovation in equal measure. “Local broadcasting isn’t just about delivering content; it’s about building community, preserving public trust, and paving the way for innovation,” she concluded to a standing ovation. ​

“Delete, Delete, Delete”: Josh Weiss Rallies LPTV Owners to Slash the Red Tape

LAS VEGAS—“Regulations are for everybody else—not for me,” joked Josh Weiss as he opened the afternoon brainstorming session at NAB’s LPTV Day. Yet the Spectrum Multicast executive quickly shifted from humor to a pointed call for collective action: with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s new “Delete, Delete, Delete” docket inviting broadcasters to identify rules worth scrapping, low‑power TV stations “have a once‑in‑a‑generation chance to write our own playbook,” Weiss said. ​

Top of the hit list

• 30‑mile relocation cap – The existing rule that bars moving a transmitter more than 30 miles has outlived its purpose, Weiss argued. “If a move expands service without causing interference, why punish success?” he asked, drawing murmurs of agreement across a room dominated by station owners.
• “One‑year rule” – Attendees blasted the unwritten FCC practice that forces LPTV licensees to keep a facility at its initial site for 12 months before filing any minor modification. “It’s not in the regulations, yet enforcement letters show up anyway—challenge it,” Weiss urged. ​
• Power ceilings and contour limits – Multiple engineers supported Weiss’s plea to lift UHF’s 15 kW ERP cap and allow contour expansion where no interference is created. “Let budget and physics—not an arbitrary number—decide coverage,” he said. ​
• Ownership reports & EAS mandates – “Why file biennial ownership forms when the duopoly rules don’t even apply to us?” Weiss asked. On emergency alerts, he proposed either national‑feed pass‑throughs or a temporary waiver while software‑only EAS decoders advance, sparing “thin‑margin stations from another stranded cost.” ​

Permanence—or at least predictability

Weiss conceded that full‑power lobbyists will never cede primary status, but he pushed for a clearer definition of “secondary” so LPTV isn’t displaced by every frequency shuffle. “We’ve built viewer loyalty and invested millions; moving goalposts after the fact kills capital,” he said. One tactic: tie LPTV’s future to Broadcast Positioning System datacasting tests the FCC now touts as a back‑up to GPS. “You can’t rely on us for national security yet treat us as disposable.”

ATSC 3.0, 5G Broadcast and MPEG‑4

The room split over whether to back HC2’s petition to drop the 1.0 simulcast requirement and allow pure 5G‑Broadcast data services. Weiss warned of a “slippery slope—give up the free video stream and the FCC may hand our spectrum to cellular.” Still, he endorsed eliminating the mandate that 1.0 streams remain in MPEG‑2: “Viewers with pre‑2011 sets are vanishing; don’t chain us to a 20‑year‑old codec.”

Window shopping and Class A hopes

Owners lamented the last construction‑permit window’s 75‑mile exclusion zones around major markets. Weiss promised to lobby for a broader 2026 window and for reopening Class A status—“but without the full slate of children’s‑TV paperwork that sinks small operators,” he added.

Next steps

Weiss closed by drafting a to‑do list:

1. Crowd‑source data showing how LPTV multiplexes now carry “more subchannels than the full‑power tier” to rebut niche‑only stereotypes.
2. File narrowly tailored petitions—“Pigs get fat; hogs get slaughtered,” he quipped—starting with power increases, relocation flexibility and EAS relief.
3. Coordinate talking points so every comment docket echoes the same themes: spectrum efficiency, viewer service, rural inclusion, and fairness to small business.

“If we don’t flood the FCC with smart, unified requests, someone else will write the rules for us,” Weiss warned. Judging by the packed aisles of note‑takers, LPTV operators plan to hit “delete” sooner rather than later.

New FCC Chair, New Mood: Wiley’s Ari Meltzer Maps a Bolder Washington for LPTV

LAS VEGAS—“The last few years were slow and steady; January 20 changed that.” With that understatement, communications attorney Ari Meltzer opened a policy briefing that ranged from FCC leadership shake‑ups to possible deadlines for ATSC 3.0.

The Carr era begins

Brendan Carr, sworn in as FCC chair on Inauguration Day, “has already put his stamp on the agency,” Meltzer said. Carr revived content complaints against the big‑three networks, questioned federal subsidies for PBS and NPR, and launched a wide‑ranging “Delete, Delete, Delete” docket that invites industry to scrap any rule it deems burdensome. Expect thousands of comments, Meltzer predicted—some of which could become Carr’s deregulatory road map.

What’s on the rulemaking radar

• LPTV NPRM: Carr dissented when the prior commission floated public‑file mandates for all low‑power stations. Meltzer expects the current chair “to dial back new burdens but keep the ‘good stuff’—such as looser mileage limits for minor mods and higher ERP ceilings.” ​
• Ownership caps: The once‑every‑four‑years TV ownership review is still open; Carr could try to scrap the 39 percent national reach limit or, at minimum, relax the local duopoly rule. Cable giants will push back, Meltzer warned. ​
• ATSC 3.0 vs. 5G Broadcast: Industry lobbying for a hard 3.0 transition date persists, but Carr is also entertaining a petition to let broadcasters deploy 5G Broadcast with no obligatory video stream—“a potential game‑changer,” Meltzer said.

Enforcement climate: zero tolerance for sloppiness

The Media Bureau is auditing expired construction permits without licenses to cover, and forthcoming consent decrees will include fines for unauthorized operation, Meltzer cautioned. LPTV licensees were also reminded to renew STAs before they lapse, file biennial ownership reports on time, and maintain EAS compliance—even if the commission eventually rethinks whether every low‑power outlet needs full EAS gear. ​

Bottom line

Carr’s FCC is “purpose‑built for aggressive housekeeping,” Meltzer concluded. For LPTV owners, that could mean lighter paperwork—but also quicker penalties when deadlines are missed. “Stay alert, file cleanly and use the new docket to ask for the relief you really need.” ​

On April 22, 2025, ATBA leadership met with key FCC decision-makers to advocate for a stronger, more flexible future for Low Power Television (LPTV). Chair Kristina Bruni, Immediate Past Chair Robert Folliard, and counsel Ari Meltzer presented a clear vision to senior staff, including Media Bureau Chief Erin Boone and Chairman Brendan Carr's office.

🔹 Highlights from the Meeting:

End the 30-Year Freeze on Major Changes: ATBA pushed to allow LPTV stations to modernize their service areas to match current demographics.

More Flexibility in Minor Changes: Advocated for removing restrictions that prevent LPTV stations from adjusting operations efficiently.

Higher Power Levels: Proposed increasing LPTV transmission power for better over-the-air reception.

Fairness in Channel Sharing: Requested that stations who shared channels during the repack be allowed to reclaim full channels when available.

Opposition to Online Political File Mandates: Reaffirmed that small broadcasters should not be burdened with complex filing requirements.

Support for NAB’s ATSC 3.0 Transition Timeline: ATBA supports a firm national shift to ATSC 3.0 to unlock datacasting, BPS (Broadcast Positioning System), and other innovations.

Call for Investment Protection: Urged the FCC to create more safeguards for LPTV stations delivering trusted local content.

This high-level engagement ensures ATBA’s voice is heard as policies are shaped—and reinforces our commitment to LPTV’s future.

At the 2025 NAB Show, the Advanced Television Broadcasting Alliance (ATBA) hosted a highly anticipated and refreshingly honest debate that could help shape the future of Low Power Television (LPTV). Titled “5G Broadcast vs. ATSC 3.0 – Competing Visions or Complementary Tools?” the session featured two of the most influential voices in the space: Vern Fotheringham, a wireless innovator and co-founder of BIDA (Broadcast Internet & Digital Alliance), and Mark Aitken, President of ONE Media and a key architect of ATSC 3.0.

Moderated by Dr. Josh Weiss, ATBA Board Member and LPTV owner, the discussion dove deep into how each technology framework could serve LPTV station owners and operators. What emerged wasn’t a clash of ideologies but a compelling convergence around the potential synergy between ATSC 3.0 and 5G Broadcast.

Key Takeaways:

1. ATSC 3.0: Built for Evolution, Ready for Innovation
Mark Aitken reaffirmed why ATSC 3.0 is widely recognized as “the best broadcast standard in the world.” Designed with a bootstrap layer and a flexible architecture, ATSC 3.0 enables broadcasters to adapt over time—offering not just television delivery, but robust data transmission services. Aitken emphasized the importance of maintaining regulatory stability to preserve broadcaster value and guard against spectrum sell-offs that could destabilize LPTV.

2. 5G Broadcast: An Application, Not a Replacement
Vern Fotheringham clarified that 5G Broadcast isn’t a competitor to ATSC 3.0, but rather an “application layer” that could ride atop the existing standard. Calling it a “killer app” for the low power industry, Vern explained how a hybrid approach can enable LPTV broadcasters to leverage their spectrum for mobile, data-centric, and IoT services. This path allows stations to participate in the rapidly growing 5G ecosystem without abandoning ATSC 3.0.

3. The Hybrid Future: ATSC 3.0 + 5G Broadcast
Perhaps the most exciting outcome of the debate was consensus: both experts endorsed the hybrid model as the best path forward for LPTV. This model enables broadcasters to keep their investment in ATSC 3.0 while layering 5G Broadcast capabilities as demand and device compatibility evolve.

4. The Role of LPTV: Spectrum Opportunity Meets Grassroots Innovation
Throughout the session, both speakers acknowledged the unique position of LPTV in this next phase of broadcast transformation. Low power stations, with their ability to flash-cut and scale distributed transmission systems, hold a distinct advantage in deploying broadcast internet services. Aitken and Fotheringham encouraged collaboration among LPTV licensees to create a national, scalable network ready for monetization and service innovation.

5. Industry Urgency: Don’t Wait to Act
Both speakers issued a word of caution: the window of opportunity is now. With ATSC 1.0 eventually sunsetting and the growing momentum behind broadcast internet, station owners should prepare to make infrastructure investments and build relationships that support long-term growth.

Whether you’re bullish on 5G, loyal to ATSC 3.0, or cautiously evaluating both—this conversation marks a turning point. The broadcast future isn’t an “either/or” proposition. It’s a “yes, and.” And for LPTV operators, that future is brighter—and more technically exciting—than ever before.

🎥 Watch the full video debate Here.

📣 Stay tuned for further updates, partner opportunities, and educational resources from ATBA as we continue advancing television—together.

PLYMOUTH, Wis. — April 3, 2025 — Heartland Video Systems, Inc. (HVS), a premier video systems integration and consulting firm, announces that our ATSC 3.0 expert team has assisted New Mexico PBS (NMPBS) to optimize their existing ATSC 3.0 over-the-air (OTA) signal with Advanced Emergency Information (AEI) / Advanced Emergency Alert (AEA) capability.  In addition, HVS supplied NMPBS the necessary equipment for the country’s very first ATSC 3.0 translator that works in conjunction with their existing ATSC 3.0 facility.

Advanced Emergency Information (AEI) is a new capability within the ATSC 3.0 TV standard available to all broadcasters.  The current Emergency Alert System (EAS) was deployed in the late 90’s and provides standardized messaging for DTV and radio broadcasters.  In ATSC 1.0, the EAS signal is implemented via audio messaging and is usually accompanied with a text crawl across the live video program.  It is important to remember that EAS is mandatory for ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 OTA broadcasts.

AEI is in addition to EAS and supplements the warnings with additional real-time data customized to the region or type of emergency.  AEI can also be used to provide non-emergency information such as school closings, traffic updates, and other community specific alerts.  And consumers will have the ability to opt in or out for AEI updates.

To take full advantage of AEI, a TV station needs to implement a Broadcaster App (BA) as part of their OTA signal.  The BA is used in the consumer’s ATSC 3.0 receiver providing the ability to properly render or display the AEI information on the consumer’s NextGenTV display.  HVS worked closely with NMPBS to implement their AEI solution by partnering with Digital Alert Systems and EiTV USA to configure, test, and deploy an end-to-end AEI+BA solution on NMPBS’ KNMD-TV ATSC 3.0 station in Santa Fe, NM.  

The EiTV USA team led the development of a Broadcast App (BA) delivered over the broadcast signal to ensure the reception of Advanced Emergency Information (AEI) messages on a wide range of TVs and set-top boxes. While AEI follows a standard, not all devices are fully compliant, making the BA essential for guaranteeing that AEI information is correctly received and displayed across different receivers.

“Our main challenge was ensuring that the app consistently supported the display of AEI-MF messages and all associated multimedia content—including video clips, audio, and graphic files—across all ATSC 3.0 receivers while maintaining a uniform look and feel,” said Rodrigo Cascao Araujo, CEO of EiTV USA.

"ATSC 3.0 will transform public alerting and targeted messaging to audiences. Digital Alert Systems and our DASDEC™ messaging platform play a central role in the Advanced Emergency Information infrastructure," said Ed Czarnecki, VP of Global and Government Affairs at Digital Alert Systems. "As shown here at KNME, integrating our proven emergency messaging solutions with the power of NextGen TV will enable broadcasters to deliver faster, more informative, and more accessible messaging directly to audiences than ever before.  With the DASDEC already at over 80% of U. S television stations, we are showing how this can be a seamless, cost-effective, and modular open-architecture migration for broadcasters."

“HVS worked with KNME, EiTV, and Digital Alert Systems to develop an AEI solution.  Because of the wide variances in how the different manufacturers, models, and years of the TV’s and set top devices behaved, we used our fully functional ATSC 3.0 lab to mock up KNME’s on air system and run many months of tests and report back findings to EiTV. The data was mostly reports of how the different devices behaved with the app look, the remote buttons behavior, audio behavior, and the actual test message display.  Getting all devices to eventually have a common look and feel was a challenge.  This was an iterative process, but eventually HVS and EiTV achieved the end goal of a fully functional app.  Throughout the process, Ed Czarnecki at Digital Alert Systems provided expert advice about AEI that proved to be very helpful.  HVS then worked with KNME and Digital Alert Systems to get connectivity between the DASDEC and the ATSC 3.0 broadcast equipment, program the DASDEC for AEI, set up various AEI data sources, and run on air tests.  This is a big milestone for HVS and we were excited to be part of such ground breaking work.” said Mike Schmidt, HVS Sr. Engineer, ATSC 3.0 Specialist 

New Mexico PBS also operates over 35 translators primarily covering the northern half of the state.  Their first translator site that will transition to ATSC 3.0 service will be K33QV-D in Tres Piedras, NM.  K33QV-D will augment K28GV-D currently on ATSC 1.0 and the new translator will receive an ATSC 3.0 off-air signal from KNMD-TV including the new AEI+BA capability.  For K33QV-D, HVS supplied a BE-TV25-GFU 25W ATSC 3.0 translator.  K33QV-D is the very first ATSC 3.0 translator licensed by the FCC and the station is expected to be on-the-air by mid-2025.  NMPBS intends to transition additional translator sites to ATSC 3.0 in 2025.

“New Mexico PBS is proud to help lead the industry toward better emergency alerting. We have partnered with Heartland Video Systems on our ASTC 3.0 project since our adoption in 2021 and eagerly came on board when they asked us to participate in AEA testing. Public television is the backbone of the emergency alerting system in the United States and we are excited to help the system evolve and advance.”  said Jason Quinn Director of Engineering At New Mexico PBS

A little more than a week before the annual NAB trade show, the largest low-power TV station owner in the U.S. has advanced a bold idea that could become the talk of the Las Vegas-based event. HC2 Broadcasting Holdings has asked the FCC to embrace a fundamental restructuring of the LPTV sector. He wants the commission to consider allowing LPTVs to rely exclusively on datacasting using the global 5G broadcasting transmission standard and eventually sunset their obligation to provide any free over-the-air TV service.

READ MORE  - https://www.policyband.com/p/dc-memo-shocker-largest-lptv-owner