FCC Gives Broadcasters Flexibility on Shutting Down ATSC 1.0

By George Winslow, tvtechnology.com, 10-28-25

Despite the government shutdown, the Federal Communications Commission has passed, with some revisions, a previously announced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that the agency believes will accelerate the nation’s ongoing transition to NextGen TV aka ATSC 3.0.

Commissioners unanimously approved the NPRM. It continues the agency’s longstanding market-driven, voluntary approach, which tries to remove regulatory obstacles to the transition and provide broadcasters with greater flexibility on how they make the transition.

More specifically, the NPRM would end some simulcasting rules that currently require broadcasters who launch 3.0 broadcasts to also offer 1.0 signals. That would allow broadcasters to make their own decision on when to end ATSC 1.0 transmissions, which in turn could free up bandwidth for new services. » Read More