Draft Reimbursement Order Seen Having Few Changes
The FCC’s draft low-power TV, translator and FM radio reimbursement order isn’t expected to be much changed from its circulated version and is considered largely uncontroversial, agency and industry officials told us. NPR, T-Mobile and several Class A broadcasters (see 1903070071) lobbied the agency for changes to the item. Now, FCC officials said few changes are likely. The order is to get a vote at Friday's commissioners' meeting.
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The draft item would use $200 million from the FY 2018 reimbursement funds and the FY 2019 reimbursement dollars to compensate translator, LPTV and FM stations for costs of the repacking. The FY 2019 funds would be prioritized for MVPDs, full-power and Class A TV stations, the draft order said. NPR asked the FCC to prioritize full-power services such as FM over the secondary service LPTV and translators (see Ref:1903110082]). Under the draft order, the agency wouldn’t dole out funding to FM stations on a graduated base related to their degree of displacement.
The draft order also doesn’t take up a T-Mobile request to allow LPTV stations compensated for repacking costs by third parties to remain eligible for reimbursement funds. T-Mobile visited the FCC several times since the draft was released seeking edits to make it clearer that LPTV stations that received third-party funding can receive funding from the FCC for costs not already covered. Yet it’s not clear if the language in the order will change. The carrier didn't comment.
LPTV Spectrum Rights Coalition President Mike Gravino told us most LPTV stations are satisfied with the reimbursement rules, and their remaining questions are focused on the upcoming release of a final catalog of reimbursible expenses. The expenses allowed by the catalog ultimately will determine how fully LPTV stations are reimbursed, Gravino said. That especially applies to "phase zero" stations, which had to buy new equipment and move from their frequency before the repacking had actually begun and before LPTV reimbursement was on the table, he said. The Incentive Auction Task Force said in mid-February the catalog would be released in coming weeks (see 1902110044). An IATF spokesperson said the final version of the catalog likely would be approved at the bureau level.
The reimbursement order language wasn’t raised in a meeting last week between Gravino and Chairman Ajit Pai, according to an ex parte filing in docket 18-214. Gravino instead urged the FCC to eliminate the national ownership cap, make it easier for LPTV stations to take advantage of ATSC 3.0 and incorporate LPTV into FCC diversity initiatives.