NAB Smith Keynote

NAB CEO Gordon Smith used his opening keynote at the NAB Show Mon to hoist broadcasters up for local programming, while slamming cable. “In a time when cable news media is becoming incredibly polarized and partisan, Sen. [Chuck] Schumer (D-NY) rightly pointed out that local news has become even more valuable,” Smith said, referring to comments the senator made at a past NAB State Leadership Conference. Local broadcast is “where Americans turn when they want ‘just the facts’ with no yelling, screaming and finger pointing,” the NAB chief said in prepared remarks. He also highlighted the show’s look at next generation broadcasting, from 4K Ultra HDTV to NextRadio (a hybrid FM experience for smartphones). Of course, he also touched on the FCC’s incentive auction: “The FCC must simplify its rules and stay out of the price-determining business, and instead allow the market to determine the price of each 6 MHz channel. If the Commission can stay out of the way, I believe we can have a successful incentive auction.”