View source for All-Channel Receiver Act

{{short description|United States legislation}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox U.S. legislation
| shorttitle        = All-Channel Receiver Act
| othershorttitles  = 
| longtitle         = An Act to amend the Communications Act of 1934 in order to give the Federal Communications Commission certain regulatory authority over television receiving apparatus.
| colloquialacronym = ACRA
| nickname          = All-Channels Act
| enacted by        = 87th
| effective date    = 
| public law url    = 
| cite public law   = {{uspl|87|529}}
| cite statutes at large = {{USStat|76|150}}
| acts amended    = [[Communications Act of 1934]]
| acts repealed   = 
| title amended   = [[Title 47 of the United States Code|47]]
| sections created = 47 U.S.C. § 330
| sections amended = 47 U.S.C. § 303
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| agreedbody3     = <!-- used when the other body agrees without going into committee -->
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| agreedbody4     = <!-- used if agreedbody3 further amends legislation -->
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| agreedvote4     = <!-- used if agreedbody3 further amends legislation -->
| passedbody4     = 
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| signedpresident = [[John F. Kennedy]]
| signeddate      = July 10, 1962
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}}

The '''All-Channel Receiver Act''' of 1962 ('''ACRA''') ({{USCSub|47|303|s}}), commonly known as the '''All-Channels Act''', was passed by the [[United States Congress]] in 1961, to allow the [[Federal Communications Commission]] to require that all [[television set]] [[manufacturer]]s must include [[Ultra high frequency|UHF]] [[tuner (television)|tuner]]s, so that new UHF-[[band (radio)|band]] [[TV station]]s (then [[television channel frequencies|channels]] 14 to 83) could be received by the [[general public|public]]. This was a problem at the time since most affiliated stations of the [[Big Three television networks]] ([[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], [[CBS]], [[NBC]]) were well-established on [[Very high frequency|VHF]], while many local-only stations on UHF were struggling for survival.

The All-Channel Receiver Act provides that the Federal Communications Commission shall "have authority to require that apparatus designed to receive television pictures broadcast simultaneously with sound be capable of adequately receiving all frequencies allocated by the Commission to television broadcasting."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Engineering_Technology/Notices/1995/fcc95389.txt |title=Archived copy |access-date=2009-12-10 |archive-date=2009-05-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090510040016/http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Engineering_Technology/Notices/1995/fcc95389.txt |url-status=live }}</ref> Under authority provided by the All Channel Receiver Act, the FCC adopted a number of technical standards to increase parity between the UHF and VHF television services, including a 14&nbsp;dB maximum UHF [[noise figure]] for television receivers.

== History ==
[[File:Sparton "Kingsway" Television (Model 23L1T), circa 1965 - Advertising Postcard (7298953220).jpg|thumb|Sparton "Kingsway" television set (model 23L1T), {{circa|1965}}. Under the All-Channel Receiver Act, this set was required to have a UHF tuner.]]

While the first U.S. commercially licensed UHF television stations signed on as early as 1952, the majority of the 165 UHF stations to begin telecasting between 1952 and 1959 did not survive. UHF local stations of the 1950s were limited by the range their signals could supposedly travel, the lack of UHF tuners in most TV sets and difficulties in finding advertisers and TV network affiliations. Of the 82 new UHF TV stations in the United States broadcasting as of June 1954, only 24 remained on the air a year later.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tulsatvmemories.com/tvthesi3.html|title=Tulsa TV history thesis, Chapter 3 (KCEB)|work=tulsatvmemories.com|access-date=2009-12-10|archive-date=2006-09-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060914050317/http://www.tulsatvmemories.com/tvthesi3.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Fourth-network operators such as the [[DuMont Television Network]], forced to expand using UHF affiliates due to a lack of available VHF channels, were not viable and soon folded. The fraction of new TV receivers that were factory-equipped with all-channel tuners dropped from 20% in 1953 to 9.0% by 1958, a drop that was only partially compensated for by field upgrades or the availability of [[set-top box|UHF converters]] for separate purchase. By 1961, with 83 commercial UHF stations still on-air, the number of new TVs capable of receiving UHF as well as VHF channels had fallen to a record low of 5.5%<ref>[http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/OSEC/library/legislative_histories/612.pdf The FCC and the All-Channel Receiver Bill of 1962] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081025042320/http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/OSEC/library/legislative_histories/612.pdf |date=2008-10-25 }}, LAWRENCE D. LONGLEY, JOURNAL OF BROADCASTING. Vol. XLII. NO. 3 (Summer 1969)</ref> with a small number of viable stations situated in localities where a [[UHF television broadcasting#UHF islands|lack of available VHF frequencies]] had forced early expansion onto UHF.

While public [[educational television]] was available from 105 US stations by 1965,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.current.org/pbpb/legislation/ETVProgressRept1965.html |title= PBPB &#124; Public Broadcasting PolicyBase|website=www.current.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090305232419/http://www.current.org/pbpb/legislation/ETVProgressRept1965.html |archive-date=March 5, 2009}}</ref> many of them in the already-crowded VHF spectrum, only 18 percent of the large number of UHF frequencies reserved for educational use in US cities were in active use. In areas where audiences had no UHF receivers, a station broadcasting above channel 13 was unlikely to survive.

Under the All-Channel Receiver Act, FCC regulations would ensure that all new TV sets sold in the U.S. after 1964 had built-in UHF tuners. By 1971, there would be more than 170 full-service UHF broadcast stations nationwide;<ref>Stay Tuned: A History of American Broadcasting; pp 387-388; Christopher H. Sterling, John M. Kittross; Erlbaum 2002; {{ISBN|978-0-8058-2624-1}}</ref> the number of UHF stations would grow further to accommodate new television networks such as the [[PBS|Public Broadcasting Service]] (1970), [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] (1986), [[Univision]] (1986) and [[Telemundo]] (1987).

Today, UHF TV stations outnumber their long-established VHF counterparts, with more stations switching to physical UHF channels after the digital TV transition of 2009.

==Digital television==
The act has most recently been used in 2005-2007 ({{USCFR|47|15|115|c}} and {{USCFR|47|15|117|b}}) to require TV manufacturers to include [[List of ATSC standards|ATSC]]-T ([[terrestrial TV]]) tuners for [[digital television]], in any [[TV]] set that includes an [[NTSC]] [[analog TV]] [[tuner (radio)|tuner]].  This requirement has been phased-in during the mid-2000s, starting with the largest TV sets. By early 2007, every device sold that was capable of receiving [[Terrestrial television|over-the-air]] TV (including [[VCR]]s) was required to include an [[ATSC tuner]]. Millions of dollars in fines were imposed in 2008 by the [[Federal Communications Commission]] against vendors, including various name-brand retail chains such as [[Best Buy]], [[Sears]]/[[Kmart (United States)|Kmart]] and [[Wal-Mart|Walmart]]. Best Buy is disputing both the fines and the authority of the FCC to impose the penalties;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080519-best-buy-fcc-has-no-power-to-fine-us-over-analog-tvs.html|title=Best Buy: FCC has no power to fine us over analog TVs|work=Ars Technica|date=19 May 2008|access-date=14 June 2017|archive-date=20 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920072936/http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080519-best-buy-fcc-has-no-power-to-fine-us-over-analog-tvs.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Circuit City]] and Sears also disputed the charges.

In late March 2008, the [[Community Broadcasters Association]] filed a [[lawsuit]] in the [[U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia]], seeking an [[injunction]] to halt the sale and distribution of DTV [[set-top box|converter box]]es,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dtvnow.org/links.php?linkno=273|title=Community Broadcasters Association<!-- Bot generated title -->|work=dtvnow.org|access-date=2008-06-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090101101058/http://www.dtvnow.org/links.php?linkno=273|archive-date=2009-01-01|url-status=dead}}</ref> charging that their failure to include analog tuners or [[analog passthrough]] violates the All-Channel Receiver Act.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://broadcastengineering.com/newsrooms/community_broadcasters_association_petitions_0328|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204165323/http://broadcastengineering.com/newsrooms/community_broadcasters_association_petitions_0328 |url-status=dead |title=Community Broadcasters Association petitions court to order DTV converter halt<!-- Bot generated title -->|archive-date=December 4, 2008}}</ref>  Responding to CBA's actions, the [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]] and [[National Telecommunications and Information Administration|NTIA]] urged manufacturers to include the feature voluntarily in all converter boxes, and manufacturers responded by releasing a new generation of models with the feature.  In early May 2008, the D.C. district court denied the CBA petition without comment,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvtechnology.com/pages/s.0157/t.13436.html |title=Broadcast – Production – NAB - Broadband – Satellite – Mobile – www.tvtechnology.com |work=tvtechnology.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724082750/http://tvtechnology.com/pages/s.0157/t.13436.html |archive-date=2008-07-24 }}</ref> effectively telling the association that it had not exhausted all its efforts, and that there was not enough merit to take the case to the courts.

In July 2010, the FCC granted a [[waiver]] allowing [[Dell]], [[LG]], and [[Hauppauge Computer Works|Hauppauge]] to fail to include tuners for NTSC analog TV or standard ATSC digital TV in [[mobile television]] [[TV set|device]]s designed to receive [[ATSC-M/H]] signals. While all full-power stations have been forced to turn off their analog signals, and most [[low-power TV]] stations therefore have been forced to digital as the ''[[de facto]]'' standard, the vast majority of stations do not transmit a mobile-TV signal, which will leave viewers with these devices unable to receive most broadcasts.  Because LPTV stations have already had their limited financial resources drained by having to buy and install new digital equipment, it is unlikely that any LPTV stations will be seen on mobile TV because of this waiver, which also applies to other companies.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://broadcastengineering.com/RF/media-bureau-grants-waiver-ntsc-a_53-receiver-requirement-mobile-dtv-devices-0804/ |title=Media Bureau grants waiver of NTSC, A/53 receiver requirement for Mobile DTV devices |access-date=2010-08-06 |archive-date=2012-03-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321172704/http://broadcastengineering.com/RF/media-bureau-grants-waiver-ntsc-a_53-receiver-requirement-mobile-dtv-devices-0804/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Broadcast radio ==

It has been proposed in 2009 to require [[HD Radio]] receivers to be included in all [[satellite radio]] ([[SDARS]]) receivers, in response to the [[monopoly]] created by the [[XM/Sirius merger]].  All three use [[Property|proprietary]] systems, and there have been no considerations to require the inclusion of [[open standard]]s like [[FMeXtra]], [[DRM+]], [[DAB+]] or [[Digital Multimedia Broadcasting|DMB]], which are compatible anywhere outside of the United States.  A [[notice of inquiry]] (a predecessor to a full [[rulemaking]] proceeding) is before the FCC as [[docket (court)|docket]] 08-172.  A [[bill (law)|bill]] had been submitted to the [[U.S. House]] as the '''Radio All Digital Channel Receiver Act'''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://radiomagonline.com/digital_radio/hd_radio/fcc-may-mandate-reception/|title=FCC may mandate HD Radio reception by satellite receivers|work=radiomagonline.com|access-date=2009-05-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101127112417/http://radiomagonline.com/digital_radio/hd_radio/fcc-may-mandate-reception/|archive-date=2010-11-27|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.orbitcast.com/archives/rep-markey-launches-bill-for-hd-radio-mandate-in-all-satellite-radios.html|title=Rep. Markey launches bill for HD Radio mandate in all Satellite Radios|work=orbitcast.com|access-date=2009-05-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081103020645/http://www.orbitcast.com/archives/rep-markey-launches-bill-for-hd-radio-mandate-in-all-satellite-radios.html|archive-date=2008-11-03|url-status=dead}}</ref> in 2008 but was not passed into law.<ref>[http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-7157 H.R. 7157: Radio All Digital Channel Receiver Act] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081130195419/http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-7157 |date=2008-11-30 }}, 110th Congress 2007-2008</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Ultra high frequency]]
* [[DTV transition in the United States]]

== References ==
{{reflist|35em}}

{{Federal Communications Commission}}
{{North American DTV}}
{{John F. Kennedy}}

[[Category:United States federal communications legislation]]
[[Category:1961 in American law]]
[[Category:1961 in American television]]
[[Category:Broadcast law]]
[[Category:Digital television]]
[[Category:87th United States Congress]]