Satellite TV Station Item Seen Unanimous; Changes to NPRM Expected
A draft NPRM on streamlining reauthorization for satellite TV stations is considered likely to be approved 5-0 but may undergo some changes to its language before Thursday’s commissioners’ meeting, FCC officials told us. The language change in the NPRM is a compromise between two eighth-floor offices, the officials said. Broadcast attorneys said the item isn’t expected to generate much controversy (see 1803010047).
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Satellite stations are full-power stations that largely retransmit the content of a parent station, usually another full-power station owned by the same licensee. Such stations usually exist in out-of-the-way markets that aren’t viable for regular full-power stations and are exempt from some rules such as ownership restrictions, broadcast lawyers said. The draft seeks comment on relaxing rules so when such stations change owners with no other material change to their circumstances, the FCC no longer requires the new owner to make extensive showings that the station should keep its satellite status.
The possible language change concerns what would happen if a license transfer includes a new parent station, FCC officials said. The draft NPRM released earlier this month includes a tentative conclusion that a change in parent “constitutes a material change in the underlying circumstances” that would trigger the need for more extensive showings. Under the compromise, the NPRM would seek comment on that question without drawing any tentative conclusion, an FCC official said.
The draft NPRM cites a June ex parte filing from Gray Television as backing removing the requirement that a satellite station be linked to its parent. The change would give licensees “sufficient flexibility to change a satellite’s parent station to better serve local market conditions without the need to undergo additional Commission review,” Gray said. “We are skeptical at this point that the potential for benefits in some circumstances obviates the need for Commission review of the proposed new parent/satellite combination,” said the original draft NPRM.
The FCC didn't comment.