On the agenda: Everything, um, A lot of things, er, Several things, Stuff you always wanted to know about channel sharing but were afraid to ask
If your station happens to be on the FCC’s Eligibility List for the upcoming reverse spectrum auction, listen up. The Incentive Auction Task Force and the Media Bureau are teaming up to present a one-hour webinar to go over various aspects of the channel sharing bid option. That’s the option that could let folks sell their current spectrum back to the Feds while staying in the broadcast business by bunking up with another licensee on that other licensee’s channel. (If you’ve been trapped in your sensory deprivation chamber for the last, oh, year or two and aren’t au courant about channel-sharing, check out some of our posts on the subject here.)
Channel-sharing promises to be an attractive opportunity for some broadcasters, but it’s not by any means a simple proposition. As with many aspects of the incentive auction, the Commission is venturing into previously unexplored turf here. As a result, the rules and policies that will govern the process are still a work in progress. Because of that, it would be a good idea to listen in to get updated on the latest and greatest thinking on the topic from the FCC’s Brain Trust. They’ve promised to address the revised channel sharing rules, FCC Channel Sharing Agreement requirements, the bidding process for licensees interested in channel sharing, and the post-auction licensing process. And they’ll be taking questions, too!
The party’s scheduled to run from 2:00-3:00 p.m. (ET) on Wednesday, July 22. To attend, all you’ll need is an Internet connection. Click on this link, enter your name and email address, enter the password “Fcc123” and click on “Join”. (We don’t know for sure whether the password is case sensitive; we’re showing it here as provided by the FCC.) You’ll be able to send in your questions through learn@fcc.gov. You’ll also be able to score a set of the slides off the Commission’s LEARN website.
