The FCC yesterday amended its rules to allow broadcast television licensees to transmit ancillary digital data within the video portion of the standard NTSC (North American Television Standards Committee) television signal, FCC spokesperson Paul Gordon told Newsbytes.

Through the transmission of digital data, broadcasters may provide a wide variety of services, including digital newspapers and magazines, low-speed computer data functions, the signaling of interactive toys that are responsive to the television signal, and the capability to download computer software and financial data, Gordon said.

The Commission approved four transmission methods, stating that they can be used by all broadcast licensees, including low power television licensees, without prior Commission authorization, and without compromising the essential integrity of the delivered NTSC television picture or causing any other harmful effects on the television viewing public.

Licensees, however, will remain responsible for the proper technical operation of their facilities and for curing problems that might arise in using these systems.

The amended rules "will allow licensees to provide a wide variety of ancillary communications services useful and valuable to the public and to industry, while helping licensees to raise revenue," Gordon told Newsbytes.

The Commission approved use of the "overscan" methods of ancillary data transmission proposed by Yes! Entertainment Corp. and A.C. Nielsen Co. and the "sub-video" methods proposed by Digideck Inc. and WavePhore Inc.

Systems using the overscan method replace the transmitted video signal with digitally encoded information in the margins of the picture not normally seen by viewers; sub-video systems distribute the ancillary signals throughout the visible picture in a way that is imperceptible to the viewer, Godron noted.

The Commission declined to approve a third, "signal substitution" method proposed in comments by En Technology Corp.

In making its decision against En, the Commission said En would need to provide more information or request an experimental authorization in order for the FCC to consider its system.

"The Commission said the authorization of these systems is not inconsistent with others' ongoing efforts to develop a national standard recommendation for certain data services, nor may it negatively impact the introduction of digital TV technology," Gordon told Newsbytes, and that the use of these systems will help broadcasters' transition to digital TV by providing them with experience in digital data transmission and a means of earning station revenue that could be used to develop and implement digital TV facilities.

The Commission noted that the use of these ancillary signals will be considered an elective service and will not be considered broadcasting for the purposes of FCC rules.

However, "ancillary services that are common carrier in nature will be subject to common carrier regulation," Gordon said.

(Bill Pietrucha/19960624/Press Contact: Paul Gordon, Federal Communications Commission, 202-418-2120)