Broadcasters to wrestle with technology, indecency at NAB

Kevin Rademacher

Friday, April 15, 2005 | 11:11 a.m.

Calls and e-mails are coming into the offices of Nevada Public Radio.

They want the station's programming, just not necessarily in the same manner that stations KNPR 88.9-FM and KCNV 89.7-FM broadcast it.

Lamar Marchese, general manager of Nevada Public Radio, said listeners are seeking permission to download programming on their digital devices, allowing them the ability to listen to shows like "State of Nevada" -- which airs at 9 a.m. -- on their 7 a.m. drive to work the next day.

"Technologically, there is no reason we can't do it," he said.

But when it comes to regulations and legal rights to content, the story gets much more complicated.

"The technology forges on, but the regulations don't," Marchese lamented.

The phenomenon of so-called POD casting for radio stations is following similar dilemmas with television and Internet-based broadcasting. Marchese said the debate stands to be a central topic at next week's National Association of Broadcasters Convention in Las Vegas.

The event, which runs from Sunday to Thursday, is expected to draw more than 100,000 attendees to Las Vegas, making it one of the city's largest conventions.

Among the attendees and speakers will be federal regulators, members of Congress and top executives with some of the world's most influential broadcast, technology and entertainment companies.

Marchese is hoping some insight into the direction of his industry will be gained at the convention.

"It's a mish-mash of all this technology and we're trying to figure out what's going to work," he said. "It will take time for these things to work themselves out ... This is definitely a big change in how we do business."

A recent study confirms Marchese's thoughts on the changing nature of broadcasting.

Study results collected by Arbitron Inc. and Edison Media Research said that 10 percent of consumers watched on-demand programming through their cable or satellite television provider in the past month. Another 11 percent of consumers accessed news online and 37 million people listened to an Internet radio broadcast.

The study also showed that 27 million Americans own at least one on-demand media device, such as a TiVo digital video recorder, iPod or other portable MP3 player.

A full 66 percent of consumers own at least one digital video disc (DVD), and 39 percent own two or more. Awareness of XM Satellite Radio has tripled since 2002, from 17 percent to 50 percent. Awareness of rival Sirius Satellite Radio, which recently signed a contract with celebrity host Howard Stern, jumped even more dramatically from 8 percent to 54 percent.

"The study shows that consumers, while still using traditional media, have great enthusiasm and passion for on-demand media," Bill Rose, vice president for marketing with Arbitron's U.S. Media Services division, said in a statement.

"Traditional and Internet broadcasters need to adjust their approaches accommodate this increasingly important consumer segment," he said.

The new pressure on the broadcast industry has sparked a resurgence of the broadcasters convention, said Dennis Wharton, a spokesman for NAB.

The convention peaked in 2001 with about 115,000 attendees amid a telecommunications boom. As that boom subsided, attendance bottomed out at 87,000 in 2003, but climbed back to 97,000 last year.

The decision to allow a broad range of media providers a place at the convention was made more than 10 years ago, Wharton said.

"We made the strategic decision whether we wanted to be a pure broadcast show or showcase the future of media technology," he said. "I think we made the right call. It exposes (broadcasters) to the competitive threats and also exposes them to opportunities to expand their business opportunities."

Among the other topics that will receive attention at the convention include the ongoing debate over decency standards which has been pushed into the forefront by the now-infamous 2004 Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction and the censor-testing antics of on-air personalities like Stern.

In recent years local broadcasters at the convention have complained about the crackdown on them by the Federal Communications Commission while cable and satellite broadcasters are free from the same standards.

"I do expect there to be talk about leveling the playing field," said Bob Fisher, president of the Nevada Broadcasters Association. "You can talk about indecency and you talk about fines, but you are really only talking about it with regard to free, over-the-air broadcasters. People, however, are just watching television."

Broadcasters will be paying particular attention to an appearance by FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, who was recently elevated to the commission's top spot after the resignation of former FCC boss Michael Powell.

The leadership change marks an uncertainty that has not been lost on the industry, Wharton said.

"I think people are going to be very interested in that discussion," he said.

Fisher agreed, and added that not only does the emergence of Martin mark a new era for the FCC, the convention could be the last for longtime NAB Chief Executive Eddie Fritts, who has initiated plans to find his successor.

That upheaval in two critical broadcasting organizations is cause for concern amid such rapid changes in the industry.

"There is a sense of not being sure where NAB is going and a sense that we don't know where the FCC is going to go," Fisher said.