In the days leading up to the CES show and throughout the week in Las Vegas, several cord cutting news items related to the ATSC 3.0 over the air TV standard were announced. In my latest video, I provide a more in-depth overview of these developments that I touched on briefly during my CES Dispatch series.
As a recap, a central issue remains DRM encryption over the new ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard. Broadcasters are pushing to lock down over-the-air signals, limiting how viewers can receive and use content that has traditionally been freely accessible. While they say this is to prevent piracy, the real outcome is that it pushes consumers to expensive cable and streaming plans to maintain recording and time shifting features they enjoy today.
This matters because retransmission fees charged by broadcasters continue to rise at almost an exponential rate. In my area, the Broadcast TV fees are now $48.30 per month – and that’s before other cable charges. Even the most basic cable subscription will now cost consumers more than $60 monthly. Of course using an antenna to receive television is completely free.
Shortly after I began asking viewers to download and share their Comcast rate cards, Comcast removed the broadcast TV fee line item from their published rates entirely. The company says this was done to simplify pricing, but the effect is reduced transparency. The costs haven’t disappeared; they’ve simply been folded into higher base prices.
At CES, Pearl TV announced what it described as an affordable ATSC 3.0 converter box program. This is positioned as a way to lower the barrier to entry for consumers and manufacturers, but it closely resembles a similar failed effort announced in 2022 that never materialized.
The underlying root cause of Pearl’s troubles with consumer adoption hasn’t changed. Encryption and certification requirements add cost and complexity in a market that is already small. Even the proposed “affordable” devices are expected to cost under sixty dollars, still roughly double the price of many ATSC 1.0 tuners (compensated affiliate link) that include DVR functionality.
The certification process itself remains a problem. Pearl TV and the A3SA encryption body are private entities made up of the same major broadcasters, effectively controlling which devices are allowed to receive encrypted signals and ultimately be sold to consumers. This introduces a layer of private regulation on top of what has traditionally been governed by FCC standards alone.
Another announcement hinted at some movement on gateway devices, which take an antenna signal and distribute it across a home network. After years of delays, A3SA says encrypted gateway functionality is now working on a limited number of products, including the ZapperBox and an upcoming ADTH device. These solutions, however, are expensive and tightly constrained. ZapperBox requires multiple expensive proprietary devices for multi-TV households, and the ADTH approach is limited to Android and Fire TV platforms, excluding market leader Roku.
Visiting the ATSC booth at the CES show made it clear how confusing this ecosystem has become. Devices carried different combinations of NextGen TV and A3SA certifications, each with different implications for compatibility and functionality. By contrast, current ATSC 1.0 devices work simply because they can receive the signal, without needing approval from a private consortium.
There may be signs of easing tensions. An interview with SiliconDust CEO Nick Kelsey suggested that support for encrypted ATSC 3.0 signals could eventually come to HDHomeRun devices without additional hardware. That would be a meaningful shift, though it still leaves unanswered questions about support on non-Android platforms and the broader role of DRM on public airwaves.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr addressed these issues during a CES discussion, emphasizing the public interest obligations tied to broadcast licenses. He noted that broadcasters unwilling to meet those obligations have other distribution options, from cable to online platforms, and raised the possibility of revisiting how spectrum is allocated if public interest standards are not upheld. Those comments echo questions raised by the FCC in its current ATSC 3.0 docket, particularly around whether encryption serves consumers or primarily protects broadcaster revenue.
That docket remains open for public comment, with additional opportunities to respond once broadcasters file their answers. The outcome is still uncertain, but it’s clear the FCC has heard our concerns and is waiting for the broadcasters to make their case as to why restricting access to the public airwaves will better serve the public.