The over-the-air television drama continues as broadcasters continue to stumble rolling out the new ATSC 3.0 / NextgenTV broadcast standard. The original plan involved a market-based transition where both ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 signals would run in parallel, with the hopes that technical advancements of 3.0 would lure consumers to purchase new hardware and adopt the new standard.
But, a decision by major broadcasters to encrypt the new standard has created significant hurdles for both manufacturers and viewers. And now, a major broadcast group admits the market test has essentially failed and a government mandate is needed.
See more in my latest analysis video!
Ahead of this year’s National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show in Las Vegas, broadcasters touted a new “affordable” tuning box program that they said would accelerate consumer adoption of DRM certified tuners. But as I noted in my prior video, they had very little on display beyond some circuit boards.
In a follow-up interview with TVTechnology.com, broadcast owner association Pearl TV made a stunning admission through their president Anne Schelle :
“We’re in a situation where the marketplace took it as far as it could, and this is what’s needed in order to really fully realize a full transition. So that’s basically my answer to that.”
The industry is now looking for a government mandate to move the transition forward despite consumers rejecting the expensive and limited hardware capable of decrypting their content. Broadcasters are advocating for a sunset of the 1.0 standard by 2028 in major markets, with the rest of the country following by 2030. They are also requesting that the FCC mandate the inclusion of expensive DRM certified ATSC 3.0 tuners in all new television sets. So much for the free market…
Part of the disconnect appears to stem from broadcaster misunderstanding of consumer behavior. Research cited by broadcast advocacy groups suggests consumers are willing to pay $60 for a basic converter box that tunes into a single channel at a time. My own observations of current market trends show a different preference.
Currently, the most popular items on retail platforms like Amazon are $30-40 ATSC 1.0 boxes that include recording and playback features that will be lacking in the new ATSC 3.0 “affordable” program. And selling just as strongly are gateway devices like the Tablo or HDHomeRun (compensated affiliate links). These devices allow users to watch TV on any of their devices (Smart TVs, phones, tablets etc) in the home through a single antenna connection – a level of flexibility that current encryption requirements do not allow.
An Amazon search for ATSC 3.0 tuners ordered by sales popularity shows the SiliconDust ATSC 3.0 compatible gateway that broadcasters refuse to DRM certify is outselling a certified ADTH tuning box by a rate of 10 to 1 !
The DRM encryption is at the center of this friction. When the new standard was unencrypted, there was early interest from various makers of tuning hardware. Now, the technical requirements to satisfy these DRM measures have made it difficult for manufacturers to produce affordable, high-functioning equipment. Even existing products that promised gateway functionality for encrypted signals have seen those features delayed repeatedly.
While broadcasters are waiting for a signal from regulators to force a transition, the current lack of adoption suggests that the existing encryption framework does not align with how people actually watch television in 2026.
This is not a market in need of a government mandate; it is a market that will thrive once large broadcasters stop interfering with it.