In opening remarks at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention in Las Vegas, NAB President Gordon Smith challenged the FCC to develop a national broadcast plan to safeguard the viability of the U.S. broadcast industry and to level the playing field between broadcasters and wireless carriers as the FCC prepares to reallocate broadcast television spectrum for wireless broadband use through the incentive auction process. Addressing NAB members on Tuesday, Smith voiced dismay not only with recent FCC rulings (such as last week’s orders pertaining to retransmission consent and joint sales agreements) that broadcasters’ fear will weaken their ability to compete, but also with agency actions that appear to favor wireless carriers over the broadcast industry. As he observed that local broadcasters contribute nearly $1.3 billion to the gross domestic product while offering real-time, free-of-charge access to vital information that saves lives in times of crisis, Smith questioned: “why is there no focus [at the FCC] to foster innovation and investment in broadcasting to ensure our business continues to be a world leader alongside our broadband industries?” Citing the FCC’s multi-million dollar effort in establishing a National Broadband Plan to extend high-speed broadband service to every U.S. household by 2021, Smith urged the agency to craft a National Broadcast Plan that “would capitalize on broadcasting’s one-to-many network architecture that transmits one signal to many viewers.” While warning that a collapse of the broadcast industry would leave wireless and cable operators powerless to “carry out the public interest mandates of diversity and localism,” Smith charged that the dilemma of the wireless spectrum crunch that spurred the National Broadband Plan and related FCC efforts to redistribute broadcast spectrum through the incentive auction process came about because wireless carriers “chew through their massive allocation of spectrum attempting to deliver the video we deliver far more efficiently.” Meanwhile, in a speech to NAB members on Wednesday, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler advised broadcasters to view the challenges they face as an opportunity to change with the times. While agreeing that “nobody likes technological change and the way it restructures business,” Wheeler emphasized that “those who win are those who say, ‘“okay, how do I take advantage of this?’” Envisioning local broadcasters “as a growing source of competition in the digital content market,” Wheeler told his audience, “your content . . . can be the basis for fixed and mobile cable-like services.” As he maintained that AT&T, Verizon and other carriers which have expanded into online and mobile video services are “embracing something new that looks startlingly like your business,” Wheeler voiced optimism that “broadcast licensees will see this as a call to action.”