WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission proposed its game plan for reimbursing TV stations displaced by the spectrum incentive auction, now in a fourth stage. The commission issued a Public Notice describing the proposed requirements for periodic progress reports from broadcasters eligible for reimbursements, as well as for ineligible displaced stations- in the same manner and on the same schedule as reimbursement-eligible television stations, the PN stated.
Comments are due on the proposal by Jan. 25, 2017, with replies due Feb. 6, 2017.
Congress authorized a $1.75 billion relocation reimbursement fund in the 2012 Spectrum Act for TV stations involuntarily displaced by the auction. The current stage of the auction seeks to reassign 84 out of roughly 300 MHz of TV spectrum, at UHF Chs. 38-51, for wireless broadband, so stations on those frequencies will have to move if the auction closes at 84 MHz.
Stations eligible for reimbursement comprise all full-power and some Class A stations involuntarily assigned to a new channel. The PN said a small number of Class A stations are not protected during the repacking process, and if displaced as a result of repacking will not be eligible for reimbursement.
Stations ineligible for reimbursements include reverse auction winners, non-Class A low-power TV stations and translators-used primarily in sparsely populated areas. Additionally, LPTVs and translators are not guaranteed a channel assignment after the auction.
Another proposal in accordance with the Spectrum Act allows eligible stations to opt out of a reimbursement for a waiver of FCC service rules to permit the licensee, subject to interference protections, to make flexible use of the spectrum assigned to the licensee to provide services other than broadcast television services. Such waiver shall only remain in effect while the licensee provides at least one broadcast television program stream on such spectrum at no charge to the public. (Stat. 227)
Eligible stations seeking reimbursements for relocation expenses will be required to provide quarterly reports to the FCC on construction progress how the funds are being spent. The proposed form for these reports (Appendix A of the PN) asks about the need for approval and permits, environmental impact reviews, tower modifications, what equipment is needed and whether or not it will be available in time for the station to meet its construction deadline.
The reporting requirement will be triggered by the FCC's Closing Auction and Reassignment Public Notice announcing the close of the auction, starting with the first full calendar quarter after the notice with a deadline of the 10th day of the succeeding calendar quarter.
In addition to the quarterly reports, stations seeking reimbursement will have to file transition progress reports 10 weeks before their construction deadline; 10 days after construction is completed, and five days after they cease broadcasting on their pre-auction channel assignment. All reports will be filed electronically.
Again, comments are due on the proposal by Jan. 25, 2017, with replies due Feb. 6, 2017 on MB Docket No. 16-306, GN Docket No. 12-268.
Also see...
Oct. 4, 2016
FCC Launches TV Station Reimbursement Beta Test
Television stations reassigned to new channels and the multichannel video distributors that carry those stations will file Form 399 to claim reimbursements from the $1.75 billion TV Broadcaster Relocation Fund for expenses they reasonably incur in the post-incentive auction repack.
March 25, 2016
Repack Reimbursement Process Outlined
Assuming the auction does close, the statute requires reimbursement within three years of that time.
March 15, 2010
FCC Proposes Reallocating 40 Percent of Broadcast Spectrum
Broadcasters stand to lose 40 percent of their spectrum under the FCC's new National Broadband Plan.
See more TV Technology coverage at our spectrum auction silo.
Most recent headlines
22/12/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Presidio's Neerav Shah on the Role of Its Captiva...
22/12/2025
Hitting the bullseye: Sky Sports readies itself for the biggest PDC World Darts ...
22/12/2025
Unique skillset: Bringing new directors to the world of darts at The Worlds with...
22/12/2025
Gravity Media prepares for a flight of fancy with the PDC World Darts Championsh...
22/12/2025
One hundred and eighty: Gravity Media on hitting the production bullseye at the ...
22/12/2025
The Famous Group's Jon Slusser on Fascinating Fans Through Immersive Content...
22/12/2025
ESPN's Meg Aronowitz on Continuing High-Quality Broadcasts of Collegiate Spo...
22/12/2025
ESPN Takes Data-Driven Storytelling to New Heights with MNF Playbook with Next ...
22/12/2025
For a decade, popular German podcast Fest & Flauschig has hosted an annual Chris...
22/12/2025
Paramount Scores Largest Share Increase Among Distributors as Paramount and CBS...
22/12/2025
New multi-year deal integrates Roku's data to fuel Nielsen's measurement suite
Roku gains access to Nielsen's streaming ratings, showing The Roku C...
22/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
22/12/2025
Berklee Wrapped 2025: Our Top News and Stories A look back at a year highlighted by faculty milestones, major film and television projects, Bob Dylan's ho...
22/12/2025
Partnership integrates complementary satellite data and AI analytics to enhance security, infrastructure, and environmental monitoring solutions for global cust...
22/12/2025
Workflows allow you to create a sequence of planned events which may be added to your template(s) or inserted directly into your sequential or background playli...
22/12/2025
Monday 22 December 2025
Sky extends PGA TOUR partnership until 2029, as Sky Spo...
22/12/2025
Back to All News
Global Anime Hits and New Releases Take Center Stage at Jump Festa 2026
Entertainment
22 December 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied to clipboar...
22/12/2025
Siobh n McSweeney, Rory McIlroy, Elon Musk, Catherine Connolly, Jim Gavin, Ivan Yates and Traitor Paudie Moloney lead new characters for Callan Kicks the Year 2...
22/12/2025
Winner announced in the picturesque surroundings of Wicklow's Avondale Tower and Treetop Walk
Andrew Trimble wins the show in his first series as coach
Th...
22/12/2025
The 2025 winners have been announced today, Sunday 21 December, for Ireland's largest choral competition Choirs for Christmas hosted by RT lyric fm.
Ove...
21/12/2025
Back to All News
Legoshi and Haru's Story Reaches Its Finale: BEASTARS Fin...
21/12/2025
John Shortt named Young Sportsperson of the Year Kerry are the Team of the Year
...
20/12/2025
Atomos announced the immediate availability of a new firmware update for its Ninja TX GO and Ninja TX monitor-recorders, unlocking ProRes RAW recording from the...
20/12/2025
CJP Broadcast has completed the digitisation of the European Gymnastics tape archive, converting 328 tapes containing more than forty years of recorded material...
20/12/2025
Bitmovin, the leading provider of video streaming solutions, today announced the launch of the Stream Lab MCP Server, to give AI agents and large language model...
20/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/12/2025
Barack Obama Includes Laufey on His 2025 Favorite Music List The former presidents roundup of books, music, and movies includes a song from the Berklee alums ...
20/12/2025
Study reveals a key hormonal circuit in the kidneys Scripps Research scientists identify the protein that helps kidney cells regulate renin, providing foundatio...
19/12/2025
With Playout Release 2025.4, ToolsOnAir continues to push professional playout w...
19/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Diversified's Jared Timmins on AI for Broadcast Sports and Cre...
19/12/2025
2025 SVG Summit Audio Recap: Say What?The Audio Production and Distribution Workshop at the SVG Summit 20 took on issues including speech intelligibility, Next-...
19/12/2025
Gamified fun: Channel 5 on its NFL Big Game Night ambitions with Hungry Bear Med...
19/12/2025
College Football Playoff Preview: For ESPN, Round 1 is a Fantastic Yet Familia...
19/12/2025
AWS's Jason Dvorkin on Developing Partnerships With the NBA and PGA Tour, Em...
19/12/2025
Netflix Kicks Off Packed Sports Week with Paul-Joshua Fight Before Shifting to N...
19/12/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Presidio's Nareev Shah on the Role of Its Captiva...
19/12/2025
Mounted to the pylon of an AH-1Z Viper helicopter, a Red Wolf vehicle successful...
19/12/2025
L3Harris technology for the SDA Tranche 3 Tracking Layer program will provide in...
19/12/2025
Partnership brings Nielsen ONE measurement activation directly into XR's adv...
19/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
19/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
19/12/2025
Berklee Announces Spring 2026 Signature Series This season's highlights include the Gospel Extravaganza, the 40th International Folk Festival, special gue...
19/12/2025
Performing arts centres across the globe have doubled down on live production infrastructure in recent years. For venues like the Queensland Performing Arts Cen...
19/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission proposed its game plan for reimbursing TV stations displaced by the spectrum incentive auction, now in a fourth stage. The commission issued a Public Notice describing the proposed requirements for periodic progress reports from broadcasters eligible for reimbursements, as well as for ineligible displaced stations- in the same manner and on the same schedule as reimbursement-eligible television stations, the PN stated.
