Repack Timeline Questions, Interest in Additional Funding in Focus at House Hearing

House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., led the way in signaling Republicans' interest in providing additional funds, though “we still don't know for sure” how much broadcasters' final repacking costs will exceed the $1.75 billion currently allocated in the Broadcaster Relocation Fund. The FCC in July said it preliminarily estimated the expense of the post-incentive auction repacking at $2.12 billion (see 1707140054 and 1707140070). Walden said additional funds would need to take into account terrestrial radio stations and TV translators, which he said is “an issue that's on my mind” given translators' importance in amplifying rural signals.

Walden and House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., didn't identify a preference for particular legislation. The Viewer Protection Act (HR-3347) and the newly filed Radio Consumer Protection Act (HR-3685) both got attention during the hearing. HR-3347 and the similar Viewer and Listener Protection Act (S-1632) would establish funds to supplement the $1.75 billion reimbursement allocation (see 1707200051 and 1707260059). HR-3685 would establish a Radio Consumer Protection Fund to reimburse the 678 terrestrial radio stations affected by the repack for related costs through the end of 2022.

Blackburn emphasized it's “now time for industry to work together to ensure that [the incentive auction] agreement is honored and that the repack is completed on time.” NAB members are working to meet the existing timeline but they want Congress to provide flexibility via legislation to give broadcasters additional “assurances” in cases where circumstances beyond their control cause delays, said General Counsel Rick Kaplan. “We want some type of safe harbor” for unforeseen delays, which has happened in previous repacks, said NewsChannel 5 Network General Manager Lyn Plantinga.

House Commerce ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and House Communications ranking member Michael Doyle, D-Pa., promoted HR-3347. Pallone emphasized language that would allocate $90 million to the FCC for consumer outreach on the repack, saying that aligned with the approach Congress took to educating the public on the 2009 DTV transition. Doyle noted his co-sponsorship of HR-3347, which he said is needed to keep the repack on track. It's “critical that we get this repack right because a misstep” could disrupt the U.S. wireless and broadcasting sectors, Doyle said.

Radio Concerns

Rep. Bill Flores, R-Texas, said he and Rep. Gene Green, D-Texas, filed HR-3685 to address “unintended oversight” that left terrestrial radio stations that share towers with TV broadcasters ineligible for the Broadcaster Relocation Fund. Green urged House Communications to “take into account the value of our local broadcasters” in repacking reimbursements. HR-3685 will help “fulfill the promise to hold local broadcasters harmless during the incentive auction,” an NAB spokesman said in a statement.

The repacking effort is expected to affect about 2,368 FM radio stations and translators, said American Tower Principal Engineer RF Broadcast Jim Stenberg on a panel at Radio Show 2017 Thursday. To protect workers from RF radiation exposure, radio stations sharing tower space with repacked TV stations may need to go off air or reduce power while tower work is occurring, Stenberg said. Stations may have to shut down or reduce power intermittently for days or weeks, which could severely affect revenue, said Cox Media Group Vice President-Technical Operations Dave Siegler. “No radio GM wants to be off the air for a day.”

Radio stations need to acquire off-site auxiliary facilities to avoid that, Stenberg said, though he said his company could provide that service for many radio broadcasters. “We have a lot of excess capacity,” he said. Off-site auxiliaries can cost into the hundreds of thousands, Siegler said. The FCC said some radio stations could be compensated for repacking costs if they already have deals with TV stations to be compensated for costs of tower work. None of American Tower’s tenants has such a clause, Stenberg said. He urged broadcasters to lobby legislators to reimburse affected radio stations. Getting reimbursement for off-site auxiliary antennas should be “the focus” of lobbying efforts, Stenberg said.

ATSC 3.0 Concerns

ATSC 3.0 concerns also surfaced.

Doyle and other Democrats highlighted Sinclair buying Tribune as a potential roadblock to a successful repack, echoing arguments that T-Mobile and the Competitive Carriers Association made last week in replies in docket 17-179 (see 1708300053). Doyle said he had “heard allegations” that Sinclair/Tribune could result in some stations “dragging their feet” to force wireless carriers to incorporate 3.0 into handsets. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., said the allegations reinforced her belief that House Communications should hold a hearing on the deal's implications. Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Calif., said Sinclair/Tribune is “hanging over our head.” Such focus came in questioning of CCA General Counsel Rebecca Murphy Thompson, who claimed Sinclair affiliates would have priority access to Sinclair subsidiary Dielectric's repacking technology.

Sinclair/Tribune “has no impact on our repack,” Sinclair Senior Vice President-Strategy and Policy Rebecca Hanson told us. “Sinclair has every interest in completing the repack as quickly as possible because it is the first step towards rolling out ATSC 3.0. We are eager to offer consumers the new, competitive services made possible by next gen TV. Why would we want to delay that?” Sinclair's engineering team is “working hard to transition our stations on schedule,” she said. “It is widely known that Sinclair is diligently working towards meeting all of our phase completion dates, and that Dielectric is ramping up production to meet the needs of all repacking broadcasters.”

Hearing Notebook

NAB drew criticism Thursday from the American Television Alliance for testimony over touting the group's commitment to serve the public during natural disasters like Hurricane Harvey. Kaplan told the subcommittee Harvey showed how “indispensable broadcast TV and radio are to our nation’s safety and well-being.” Stations and their networks “combine to provide critical news and information to keep the public aware and engaged,” he said. “That’s just what we do.” An ATA spokesman said it was hypocritical for Kaplan to speak about broadcasters' commitment to the public after member Hearst Television blacked out Cox Communications customers in the Orlando area and New Orleans days ahead of a potential landfall by Hurricane Irma (see 1709060051). Hearst and Cox have a new retransmission consent agreement that restores the stations to the Cox system in several markets, the companies said. An impasse in their talks meant Hearst stations in New Orleans, the Orlando area, Oklahoma City, Omaha and western Arkansas weren't carried by Cox as of Tuesday (see 1709060051). Hearst's actions are “appalling,” the ATA spokesman said. “Congress should know that NAB’s members are once again engaged in profiteering.” Hearst President Jordan Wertlieb said in a statement he appreciated that “both parties recognized the heightened sense of urgency to resolve these negotiations both fairly and quickly so that our respective viewers and customers could be once again served by our stations.” It's “despicable for Big Cable's hired gun PR outlet to exploit the tragedy of Hurricane Harvey to try to score cheap political points,” an NAB spokesman said. Cox rejected Hearst's offer to extend its existing retrans deal by five days.