The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) has invited comments on a “catalog” of categories and amounts it thinks are reasonable for reimbursement of expenses incurred by low power TV (“LPTV”) stations as a result of involuntary channel changes imposed by the post-incentive auction repacking of the TV spectrum. Congress initially appropriated funds to reimburse costs incurred … Continue Reading
In case you forgot, this a reminder to Low Power Television and TV Translator broadcasters of the FCC’s Special Displacement Window for LPTV Stations. The FCC issued a 60-day advanced notice of the filing window which opens up on Tuesday, April 10 and lasts through Tuesday, May 15 at 11:59 p.m. EST. This special window … Continue Reading
On Friday, March 23 President Trump signed a $1.3 trillion appropriations bill that will mean some significant changes to the broadcasting community. The 2,232-page omnibus bill not only includes an additional $1 billion for spectrum repack on top of the already $1.75 billion already allocated, but also changes how broadcasters are treated in terms of … Continue Reading
January 16, 2018 – Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth is proud to announce that, through its efforts, the FCC’s Incentive Auction Task Force and the Media Bureau division on Jan. 11, 2018 granted a request to allow 20 broadcast TV stations in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to construct post-incentive auction facilities early. The … Continue Reading
On Sept. 20, the FCC announced the second filing window for all full power and Class A television stations receiving new channel assignment as part of the post-incentive auction repack. The filing window will open Oct. 3 and close at 11:59 p.m. EDT on Nov. 2. During this “second priority” filing window, all eligible stations … Continue Reading
With the release of the Incentive Auction Closing and Channel Reassignment Public Notice (affectionately known as the “CCR”), the FCC officially draws the spectrum Incentive Auction to a close. The CCR is a must-read for TV broadcasters and wireless carriers alike. It announces broadcast and wireless winning bidders, sets deadlines and timetables for filings, and … Continue Reading
On March 29, 2017, the FCC released a Public Notice providing instructions to full power and Class A television broadcasters and Multi-Channel Video Programming Distributors (MVPDs) on receiving incentive and/or reimbursement payments following the closure of the Incentive Auction. The Public Notice stated that, in order to receive payments, winning bidders in the reverse auction … Continue Reading
After teasing that such relief was coming, the FCC has confirmed a partial waiver of the limitations on communications for reverse auction participants. In other words, broadcasters who participated in the auction, regardless of whether they were successful bidders or will remain on the air, are now free to communicate with all parties about their … Continue Reading
If you’re the owner of a full-power or Class A broadcast television station or are a multichannel video program distributor, and anticipate receiving a winning bid or seeking reimbursement funds from the Commission post-incentive auction, how will you get your money? The FCC has created an online tutorial to explain how this will work. To … Continue Reading
Input sought on revised catalog of likely repack expenses As we all know, TV stations forced by the Incentive Auction/spectrum repack process to modify their facilities will be entitled to reimbursement of their reasonable repacking-related costs. And as we reported a couple of years ago, to give everybody – FCC and affected broadcasters (and MVPDs) … Continue Reading
Sure, we all still have a ways to go before the Incentive Auction wraps, but it’s not too early to start thinking about relocation reimbursements. As we all know, TV stations re-assigned to new channels as a result of the auction (and the consequent spectrum repack) will be entitled to reimbursement from the Feds. Ditto … Continue Reading
D.C. Circuit tosses LPTV challenge to auction/repack process, but $65 billion differential between forward and reverse auction bids forces second bid round with lower clearing target. On the Spectrum Auction front, August, 2016 ended in Dickensian style for the FCC: it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. A victory at … Continue Reading
Slowly but surely the post-repack regulatory landscape for LPTVs and TV translators is getting established. Back in December, the Commission adopted a number of provisions addressing the predicaments likely to be faced by the LPTV/translator industries once the Broadcast Incentive Auction – and the consequent channel repack – and over and done with. As part … Continue Reading
Effective date of a Wireless Medical Telemetry Service rule is still pending. Last August we reported on a number of changes in the rules governing wireless mics and white space devices, and last November we reported that the effective date of some, but not all, of those rule changes had been set. The rules not … Continue Reading
Bureau announces, sort of, deadline for eligibility for first post-Spectrum Auction displacement window. LPTV and TV Translator licensees have known for some time – at least since last December – that they’re going to need to be “operating” as of a certain date in order to be eligible for the first displacement window that will … Continue Reading
A couple of weeks ago we reported on the FCC’s announcement of the final steps in the run-up to the start of bidding in the clock phase of the reverse auction portion of the long-awaited, much-anticipated Broadcast Incentive Auction. One of those steps: an FCC-conducted workshop on the online bidding system that participants will have … Continue Reading
It’s crunch time – so everybody looking to participate in the Incentive Auction should pay close attention. At long last, the Commission has announced the Initial Clearing Target that it plans to shoot for in the Incentive Auction, and it has set the dates for the commencement of the reverse auction. These are developments of … Continue Reading
Announcement clears up uncertainty, ideally encourages preparations that might move repack along faster. If you’re a broadcaster thinking about getting a head start on the incentive auction’s relocation process, you may be in luck. The FCC has announced that some repack-related expenses will be eligible for reimbursement even if they are incurred before the auction … Continue Reading
Last fall we reported that the Commission had released the form (official dubbed Form 2100, Schedule 399) to be used by repacked TV licensees seeking reimbursement for their relocation costs once the dust has settled on the Incentive Auction. While the FCC had declared the form it released to be the “final” version, that version … Continue Reading
Second Confidential Status Letters are on the way! If you’re a TV licensee who submitted a “complete” application to participate in the upcoming reverse auction component of the Incentive Auction, be on the lookout for a package coming to you from the FCC. It’s your Second Confidential Status Letter (SCSL) – a/k/a your Golden Ticket … Continue Reading
FCC releases samples of file formats to be provided to reverse auction participants during auction. In case we were all figuring that the reverse auction was going to be a walk in the park, the FCC has given us a glimpse of Reverse Auction Future by posting the “reverse auction file format specifications” that will … Continue Reading
We have previously reported that one party (Latina Broadcasters of Daytona Beach, LLC) has asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to stay either (a) the exclusion of Latina’s application from the upcoming reverse auction) or (b) the reverse auction itself. And now the Videohouse Three (about whose appeal we have also … Continue Reading
The actual Module itself is not slated to become available until two business days before the commitment “window” opens. It’s “damn the stay requests (and appeals), full speed ahead” on the reverse auction front. Notwithstanding the frenzy of activity down at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the Commission has issued further … Continue Reading
As the FCC plows ahead with plans to start its reverse auction process by requiring initial commitments by 6:00 p.m. (ET) on March 29, 2016, efforts by stations seeking a ticket into the reverse auction through Class A protection continue down at the D.C. Circuit. As we have reported, the Videohouse Three managed to get … Continue Reading
