FCC to Soon Tackle Kidvid, Reimbursement, Translator Interference, Media Bureau Says

The FCC will issue a PN on a secondary allocation of repacking reimbursement funds to full-power broadcasters “very, very shortly,” Kreisman said. The in-progress NPRMs on the influx of reimbursement funds concern the specifics of providing them to low-power TV (LPTV) and FM broadcasters, Kreisman said. The NPRMs will address matters such as eligibility and expenses, she said. Providing the funding to FM stations will require some adjustments to the FCC's License Management System (LMS), which is “in the queue,” Kreisman said. The FCC isn't actively looking at expanding the scope of reimbursable expenses for full power stations, an Incentive Auction Task Force spokesman said. The current list of reimbursable expenses omits common expenses such as studio-transmitter links, said Fletcher Heald broadcast attorney Davina Sashkin.

Also at the NAB show, House Commerce Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore, told NAB CEO Gordon Smith the bill providing the additional repacking funds was carefully worded to encourage the FCC to spend the funds quickly to allow broadcasters to complete the repacking by the 39-month deadline. Walden said “no one” was seeking to kick broadcasters off their spectrum but the needs of the buyers of the spectrum in the incentive auction also needed to be considered.

A media deregulation item on the kidvid rules should be ready for circulation by the summer, Kreisman said. The Media Bureau and Commissioner Mike O'Rielly are looking into both programming and reporting obligations, Kreisman said. Possible changes to the time requirement are likely to be the most controversial, she said. The Media Bureau is also looking at possibly controversial media deregulation involving retransmission consent reform, Kreisman said.

The FCC can't license commercial ATSC 3.0 stations because it doesn't yet have a licensing system to do so, Kreisman said. Instead, the FCC has been issuing experimental licenses for 3.0 pilot projects. Pearl TV Managing Director Anne Schelle made similar comments at an earlier show event (see 1804080002). Work on creating a parallel system in the LMS is planned, she said. The marketwide agreements contemplated by broadcasters for the ATSC 3.0 transition are “very difficult” because they involve programmers, LPTV broadcasters and other entities, Kreisman said. The agreements are likely to face delays on the private side rather than from the FCC, she said. Broadcasters should “stay tuned” on the matter of vacant channels, Kreisman said, though she said the issue was very complicated.

The overwhelming bulk of audience questions at the Media Bureau panel concerned the possibility of commission action on interference issues between the growing number of FM translators and full-power stations. The Media Bureau is “actively working” on that matter and on a possible FM C4 class, Shuldiner said repeatedly. Shuldiner wouldn't specify whether action on the matter would come as a rulemaking or through a ruling on a complaint. Many broadcasters in the audience focused on the issue of looser frequency relocation rules for translators found to be interfering with full-power stations. Such relocation “is a great burden,” said Thunderbolt Broadcasting President Paul Tinkle.” You have to take a look at these rules more sincerely,” he told Shuldiner. Radio licensee Ed Henson said in an interview he felt the FCC is now aware of how important the issue is to broadcasters.