WASHINGTON--The FCC has cancelled a planned construction permit auction for low power and translator TV facilities affected by the channel repack.
The commission adopted rules that gave LPTV/Class A TV facilities that would be displaced by the repack until July 22, 2019 to enter into agreements that would resolve mutual exclusivity. On Friday, it announced that it had accepted and approved all dismissal requests or settlement proposals surrounding the issue.
LPTVs and Class A/translator stations are not protected in the channel repack, which is scheduled to be completed a year from now.
"It is good to see that these displacements from the incentive auction repacking process have been resolved, and that the spectrum can be quickly put into productive use," said Mike Gravino of the Next Gen TV Coalition, an organization representing LPTV/Class A stations. "These are along with the 1,456 displacements filed, and the 1,390 which have been granted, and 66 pending.
"The FCC's Video Division and Media Bureau have served the industry well with this efficient and user-friendly process," Gravino continued. "And along with the thousands of those not impacted by the auction or repack, the LPTV industry can say for sure it survived and has great potential going forward and into next gen TV. We trust this bodes well for the $150 million displacement fund process next fiscal year, as those funds need to be equitably distributed."
For more information on the repack, visit TV Technology's repack silo.
This article has been updated.
