PBS Seeks Federal Funds for Katrina-Hit Public TV Stations

In a Wed. conference call with Commerce officials, Caleca said he described public TV stations’ straits in La., Miss. and Ala. They assured him that, pending damage assessment, efforts will be made to release Public Telecom Facilities Program (PTFP) funds through an emergency appropriation or existing funds, Caleca said.

PBS wasn’t able to make contact with any of 8 La. stations for the 3rd day, Caleca said Wed., but he was able to e-mail WYES New Orleans Gen. Mgr. Randall Feldman, who had not yet been able to talk with his staff. Feldman lost his house, which was submerged, Caleca said. “Given the location of the station, we believe clearly the station has significant water damage,” Caleca said. He said PBS may petition the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the FCC for “special dispensation” to go into New Orleans to assess damage to public TV stations on a priority basis once the authorities let people back into the city, he added.

Miss. and Ala. public TV stations are running on generators and have concerns about maintaining service because of the “fuel situation down there,” Caleca said. The 2 state public TV networks are running all transmitters and microwave links on emergency power, he said. Neither state network has been able to assess damage to facilities, he added.

WWNO(FM) New Orleans is off the air, its transmitter and generator inundated, according to NPR. WRKF(FM) Baton Rouge has been running on generator since Mon. The storm generally did not affect La. stations KRVS(FM) Lafayette and KEDM(FM) Monroe, NPR said. In Miss., WJSU(FM)Jackson and WURC(FM) Holly Springs are off the air due to lack of power.

Meanwhile, the FCC Media Bureau is providing relief to multichannel video programming distributors and TV and radio broadcasters affected by Hurricane Katrina. The FCC released 2 public notices that will mean additional, expedited assistance to get systems and stations back on the air, the FCC said. For TV and radio stations, the FCC will: (1) Promptly handle special temporary authority (STA) requests. (2) Let FM and TV stations erect temporary antennas without prior FCC authority, and let AM stations use wire or a nondirectional vertical element of a directional antenna as an emergency antenna. (3) Let AM stations use their full daytime facilities during nighttime hours to broadcast emergency information. (4) Waive rules on notification of discontinued operations and accept notifications within 30 days and requests to remain silent within 60 days of the discontinued operation. (5) Give, on request, permittees of broadcast stations located in a federal disaster area an extra 90 days to complete construction. For cable TV relay service (CARS) stations, the notice will begin expedited procedures for STAs for facilities or modification to existing facilities for restoration of services. All requests for emergency operation must be coordinated with local frequency coordinators and interference protection to state and local emergency and public safety services. The FCC also is extending the regulatory fee filing window for those affected by Katrina from Sept. 7 to Sept. 28.

Nielsen Media Research isn’t reporting local TV ratings in New Orleans due to power outages caused by Hurricane Katrina. Nielsen has local meters in New Orleans representing about 400 homes, a Nielsen spokesman told us. The metered sample, which represents only about 100 households, doesn’t affect the national sample, the spokesman said. Nielsen has no local meters in Miss. or Mobile, Ala., the 2 other areas hardest hit by the storm. The metered market in Birmingham, Ala., which also has about 400 metered households, isn’t being reported. “But we expect that to change fairly soon,” the spokesman said. Though power was out in Birmingham, the area wasn’t affected as much as Mobile, he said. Since late Aug. and early Sept. aren’t sweeps periods, no diaries in which viewers are to write down who in a household watched which program on which channel -- were being reported.

Katrina Cable Outages Worsen; No Restoration Timetable

Many cable customers in Ala., La. and Miss. remained without service Wed., as some outages worsened in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Officials at Cable One and Cox, respectively the largest operators in Miss. and La., called the damage unprecedented. Those companies and Comcast, with extensive operations in Ala., couldn’t provide a timetable for restoring all service. A lack of landline, wireless and power service is hampering restoration efforts.

Cable operators’ first priority is accounting for workers, none of whom have been reported injured. Basic issues of how to pay workers when banks are closed have taken precedence, before crews even begin to fix downed lines. Cox has heard from “very few” New Orleans system workers, said a spokesman for the city’s largest cable operator. “We continue striving to verify their health and safety,” he said. “This is unprecedented in our company’s history, and obviously the country’s history, and we are figuring out some things as we go.”

Telecom services in New Orleans have deteriorated since the storm. Switched-circuit phone, fast Internet and cable service has been interrupted for all Cox customers in the city, according to the spokesman. On Mon., all Cox phone users could place calls within the city and 1/2 had broadband (CD Aug 30 p6). “We can’t even make an assessment in New Orleans, they are still making everyone get out of the city,” the spokesman said. “No amount of preparation is enough for what we are presently facing,” Claus Kroeger, senior VP-operations for Cox’s Central division, said in a prepared statement: “We are continuing to try and reach those employees who have not yet made contact.”

Cox customers in Baton Rouge are faring better. About 1/3 of Cox VoIP phone customers lacked service at 4 p.m. Eastern time Wed., the spokesman said. Less than 1/2 of broadband customers lacked fast connections. Mobile and Hattiesburg, Ala., were “among [Comcast’s] worst-hit areas,” said Reg Griffin, vp-community affairs & communications for the firm’s Southeast area. Mobile, without power and phone service due to severe flooding, has no power and Comcast’s office and headend there were operating on generators at 9 a.m. Eastern Wed. No timetable was available for restoration of cable.

Cable One can’t start fixing Miss. systems because many areas are closed to all but search & rescue and relief work, a spokeswoman said. She said the Washington Post unit, with systems in Biloxi and Gulfport, has been told by electric utilities it will be 4-6 weeks before power is back -- meaning customers probably will be without cable at least that long: “We are still very much in survival mode, trying to account for our associates… and then assessing the damage of our plant, we are assuming that it’s going to be very extensive.” Media companies have started making donations for relief and related efforts. Disney will contribute $2.5 million, including $1 million to the American Red Cross, the company said Wed.