NAB and T-Mobile added their voices to low-power TV concerns about “phase zero” stations that will get bumped from their spectrum long before they can move to displacement channels, and LPTV industry officials told us FCC action on the matter is now more likely. The post-repacking displacement window for LPTV and translators isn’t likely to open until 2018, NAB said. “In the meantime, if a new 600 MHz licensee provides its 120-day notice and displaces LPTV or translator stations, those stations will have no opportunity to remain on the air using an alternate channel,” said the letter in docket 16-306. “This outcome effectively defeats the stated purpose of the displacement window.” In a May 30 meeting with the Incentive Auction Task Force and Media Bureau staff, T-Mobile said the FCC should “develop effective and flexible procedures for accommodating the needs of broadcasters impacted by the deployment of 600 MHz broadband services,”
A judicial administrative stay issued against FCC restoration of the UHF discount (see 1706010081) will keep the rule from coming back into effect on its planned June 5 effective date. It doesn’t indicate much about how the case will play out, attorneys said in interviews Friday. The stay is intended to give the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit enough time to consider the emergency request for stay filed by several public interest groups, “and should not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits of that motion,” said the order (in Pacer) issued Thursday evening. Since courts are able to reject outright emergency requests for stay, it should be mildly encouraging for public interest petitioners Free Press, Common Cause, Prometheus Radio Project and the others that the court asked the FCC for a response and set aside more time to consider the matter, said Fletcher Heald appellate lawyer Harry Cole.
Hero Licensco withdrew its application to sell KBEH Oxnard, California (see 1705090067) to Meruelo Television, said a letter posted Wednesday. The deal was seen as a possible precedent setter on how the FCC would treat transactions between stations that committed to channel sharing agreements pre-auction. The deal was put out for comment by the Media Bureau, and comments are due Friday. An Incentive Auction Task Force spokesman told us the docket for comments remains open and the comments will remain part of the record. Neither station would comment on the end of the transaction. A group of broadcasters asked the FCC Wednesday to quickly approve the KBEH deal and not hold up channel sharing transactions (see 1705310047). The FCC may look more favorably on transactions that occur after the companies involved have finalized their sharing agreements, an attorney said.
The FCC will open a window for AM stations to obtain FM translators on June 26, said a public notice Thursday. That's days after the deadline for broadcasters to comment on NAB proposals for handling rising instances of translators coming into interference conflict with full-power FM (FPFM) stations.
The FCC is holding up transactions by treating a proposed sale between two channel sharing stations as new and novel, said the owners of 43 stations in joint comments filed Wednesday in docket 17-121. The docket concerns Meruelo Television’s proposed buy of Hero Licensco’s KBEH Oxnard, California (see 1705090067). KBEH sold its spectrum in the incentive auction and reached a channel sharing agreement to be hosted by Meruelo’s KWHY-TV Los Angeles. By putting that deal out for comments instead of approving it, the Media Bureau created uncertainty for similar transactions, the filing said.
A request by public interest groups that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issue an emergency stay (Pacer) of FCC restoration of the UHF ownership cap discount is seen by broadcast attorneys as a long shot, though courts are difficult to predict (see 1705120058). The D.C. Circuit ordered (Pacer) the FCC Monday to respond to the request for a stay by Thursday. NAB, Ion and Tribune are among those filing to intervene.
After broadcasters pushed hard in the lead-up to the incentive auction for the option to forego repacking reimbursement in exchange for having “flexible use” of their spectrum in the aftermath, the FCC received only six applications for the “service rule” waiver needed to trigger that option by last week’s deadline. Flexible use of their spectrum will allow broadcasters to adjust to changing wireless technology and "mine for innovation,” said WatchTV President Greg Herman, an applicant. He and other broadcast officials agree lack of enthusiasm for flexible use spectrum is a consequence of the increasing viability of ATSC 3.0, which offers many of the same opportunities as flexible use did in what’s seen as a more widely accepted and clearly defined package.
The FCC Enforcement Bureau has “redoubled” its efforts to combat unauthorized broadcasting and is working its way through some of the changes required by the 2015 field modernization order, bureau officials told an FCBA event Tuesday. The bureau is seen as likely to function differently under the current administration than in the past, said a panel of industry officials. The bureau's general policy for enforcement actions is to start with a warning and then proceed in a way that will discourage future violations. “The driving force is what will be needed to encourage the individual to stop,” said Senior Field Counsel Steve Spaeth.
The FCC needs to provide relief for low-power TV stations in danger of getting bumped from their spectrum long before the post-incentive auction displacement window intended to find them a new home takes place, said the LPTV Spectrum Rights Coalition in a letter Tuesday to the Incentive Auction Task Force and Media Bureau staff. Without some sort of action, “whole communities could go dark,” said coalition Executive Director Mike Gravino in an interview. Unless the FCC provides some accommodation for what Gravino calls “phase zero” stations, a court battle that would slow the repacking effort is likely, he said.
The FCC has received 20 applications for construction permits for the post-incentive auction transition, and granted 14, said Media Bureau Associate Chief Hillary DeNigro and Video Division Chief Barbara Kreisman at an FCBA event Monday. Members of the Incentive Auction Task Force also discussed the repacking schedule, timing of payments, and broadcasters seeking payment for equipment upgrades. Though applications aren’t due until July 12, the officials said more applications would be welcome and will be granted on a rolling basis. “We’re ready for the onslaught,” said DeNigro.