NAB Blog Post Warns Of Impact On Radio From TV Channel Repack

McFadden

The National Association of Broadcasters' blog has a post TODAY from Associate General Counsel PATRICK MCFADDEN that warns of possible impact on radio for the future from the FCC's repack of TV channels after the broadcast spectrum incentive auction.

In the post, MCFADDEN notes that the NAB had asked the Commission during the TV incentive auction rulemaking to reimburse FM stations located near repacked television stations for whatever costs the stations would incur from the move, but the FCC disagreed.  "Regardless," MCFADDEN writes, "those FM stations and their millions of listeners are still there. They still face the real possibility that repacking may disrupt their operations, even though they have literally nothing to do with the incentive auction. Work on nearby television antennas may require FM stations to reduce power, or seek alternate facilities. A repacking plan that does not take FM stations into consideration risks depriving listeners of local radio on which they rely. The right answer is to coordinate repacking efforts to minimize disruption, while also reimbursing bystander stations for costs they incur to maintain service – not to make them collateral damage."

Read MCFADDEN's post here.

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