The president of the Consumer Technology Association is criticizing a proposal from the National Association of Broadcasters to have the FCC mandate that TV sets sold in the U.S. support ATSC 3.0 (aka “NextGen TV”).
In a petition submitted to the FCC this week, NAB is asking the commission to sunset the current U.S. DTV standard—ATSC 1.0 by 2030, paving the way for further adoption of NextGen TV, which is now available within reach of 75% of U.S. households. As part of the proposal the association is asking the commission to mandate the inclusion of tuners that support over the air reception of NextGen TV.
Unlike the first transition to DTV 25 years ago, the transition to 3.0 is voluntary in scope. Like the DTV transition though, the same organization, (then called the “Consumer Electronics Association”), vehemently opposed a mandate, which was eventually approved by Congress. Congress also created a program to provide discounts on low-cost analog-to-digital converters. The campaign was successful enough that the June 2009 analog shutoff registered fewer consumer complaints than feared.
Currently, certain TV sets from Sony, Samsung, TCL, Panasonic, RCA and Hisense and a small but growing variety of dongles and boxes from companies like Atlanta DTH support NextGen TV.
Pearl TV, an advocacy group for ATSC 3.0, estimated that more than 14 million NextGen TV capable devices will have shipped by the end of 2024. The Consumer Technology Association estimates that 120 million NextGen TV sets were sold by 2024. The ATSC says that more than 100 NextGen TV-capable products will be available to consumers in 2025.
CTA President Gary Shapiro, who led the opposition to the mandate the first time around, issued the following statement on Linkedin:
“The National Association of Broadcasters is at it again—first pushing to mandate FM chips in phones, then misleading policymakers about AM radio, and now forcing NEXTGEN TV onto every consumer and manufacturer. This is a product that costs more and consumers have not embraced. This will impose a large percentage increase in costs at a time when the TV set has proved to be the rare deflationary product.
The simple fact is fewer than 10% of Americans rely on antennas for TV viewing. These proposed mandates only add unnecessary costs at a time when affordability is top of mind for American families.
Rather than innovating, broadcasters are lobbying for regulations to prop up their failing business model. It’s also a stark reminder of why they should not be allowed to consolidate and control markets. If their technology had real value, they wouldn’t need government mandates to sustain it.
This administration has made cutting red tape a priority, yet here in 2025, broadcasters are pushing for new regulation to benefit themselves at the expense of competition and consumer choice. What’s next—a mandate for 3D TVs? Instead of working to modernize their industry, NAB is doubling down on outdated policies that stifle innovation.
The Consumer Technology Association remains focused on delivering real value and choice to consumers, not propping up failing business models through regulation.
Broadcasters would be better off paying musicians the royalties they deserve and spend less energy and time trying to restrict technology companies who are better at supporting our economy, innovation, and jobs and reaching consumers on a targeted basis with advertising.”
NOTE: In 2017, CTA and NAB jointly opposed an ATSC 3.0/NEXTGEN TV tuner mandate emphasizing that any transition should be voluntary, calling it “counterproductive and unnecessary.”