Why? The economy is too strained now. The penetration rate of over-the-air is maybe 15-20%, the rest using cable or satellite. People with cable or sat won't care about lower power levels, but the station operators would care about lower power costs. Of those with OTA, most of them are closer to the transmitter; for them, lower power levels mean reduced or eliminated wind-related multipath intereference. Super-long-range OTA viewers are usually not lucrative enough for advertising, anyway, to spend the extra dough on transmitting costs. So it's a win-win-win for broadcasters.
So, stations should reduce their power levels to more manageable levels, in the 150-400 kW range for UHF. Maybe 500 kW in areas with high OTA penetration throughout a very large DMA, like Houston.
Here's an example: In Washington, DC, there are two UHF digital TV stations broadcast from the same tower site: WRC, at 813 kW, and WFDC, at 325 kW, both omnidirectional. Where I live, WRC is usually plagued with multipath interference in even mild wind, however I seem to orient the antenna, yet WFDC is very stable. But look at the TVFool coverage areas of both WRC and WFDC . They look shockingly similar at longer ranges, which is especially interesting, considering that WRC's antenna is 40% higher than WFDC's (242 vs. 173 meters above average terrain). If someone can get WRC-DT with an antenna, chances are they could pull in enough signal to lock WFDC-DT, especially if the WFDC antenna were as high as WRC's.
On a related note: Lower power levels open UHF stations up to solid-state transmitter technology that's getting more power-efficient per watt of TPO than ever. By next NAB show, I'd think that there would be new transmitters that incorporate new technology that further improves solid-state technology. The concept of selling a higher-power IOT transmitter to pay for a lower-power solid-state transmitter will become a serious consideration. Who would buy used IOT transmitters? Canadian and Mexican broadcasters; after all, those countries are going through their own digital transition, and they'll need transmitters at as low a price as possible in a down economy.
(Speaking of the Canadian and Mexican transition, there will be a glut of unused, yet usable, VHF and UHF transmitters at the end of the US digital transition. These could also be sold to Mexican and Canadian stations in anticipation of their transition.)
So, stations should reduce their power levels to more manageable levels, in the 150-400 kW range for UHF. Maybe 500 kW in areas with high OTA penetration throughout a very large DMA, like Houston.
Here's an example: In Washington, DC, there are two UHF digital TV stations broadcast from the same tower site: WRC, at 813 kW, and WFDC, at 325 kW, both omnidirectional. Where I live, WRC is usually plagued with multipath interference in even mild wind, however I seem to orient the antenna, yet WFDC is very stable. But look at the TVFool coverage areas of both WRC and WFDC . They look shockingly similar at longer ranges, which is especially interesting, considering that WRC's antenna is 40% higher than WFDC's (242 vs. 173 meters above average terrain). If someone can get WRC-DT with an antenna, chances are they could pull in enough signal to lock WFDC-DT, especially if the WFDC antenna were as high as WRC's.
On a related note: Lower power levels open UHF stations up to solid-state transmitter technology that's getting more power-efficient per watt of TPO than ever. By next NAB show, I'd think that there would be new transmitters that incorporate new technology that further improves solid-state technology. The concept of selling a higher-power IOT transmitter to pay for a lower-power solid-state transmitter will become a serious consideration. Who would buy used IOT transmitters? Canadian and Mexican broadcasters; after all, those countries are going through their own digital transition, and they'll need transmitters at as low a price as possible in a down economy.
(Speaking of the Canadian and Mexican transition, there will be a glut of unused, yet usable, VHF and UHF transmitters at the end of the US digital transition. These could also be sold to Mexican and Canadian stations in anticipation of their transition.)