DTV America wants some respect for LPTV. While many are concerned about using the incentive auction to acquire spectrum or to earn cash by selling spectrum, LPTV stations are more concerned with simple survival. And for those that do, it wants some guarantees.
It believes this should be the last time ever that LPTV licensees face extinction due to secondary status.
One of the big plusses will be the licensee ownership diversity that the LPTV class has already brought to the broadcast business.
In its filing, it said, “DTV America urges the Commission to take affirmative steps now, in this proceeding, to save at least some of the diversity that is rapidly disappearing from the media scene, as merger after merger rolls through the governmental approval process. LPTV stations that provide a specified level of service should be allowed to declare their eligibility for permanent status prior to the incentive auction. After the auction and re-pack, those that made a timely declaration should be permitted to apply for permanent status.”
It explained that it was not looking for a negative impact on the auction, but for a positive impact on what’s left of LPTV.
“This proposal is intended neither to impair nor to delay the incentive auction. The auction can proceed, and the TV spectrum can be re-packed, without guaranteeing a long-term home for any LPTV station. But when the process is over, that should be the last time that qualifying LPTV stations are banished to Never Never Land, not knowing how long they may survive or when they may be snuffed out no matter how much they have invested or how much service they have provided to the public. Moreover, the groundwork should be laid now, so that LPTV stations that want to qualify for primary status will understand what it will take to qualify and can stake their claim and then weather the re-pack with the hope that their post-auction survival prospects will be enhanced.”
Addressing the mechanics, DTV Corp. said, “When the re-packing of full power stations and existing Class A stations has been completed, the Commission should give priority to new Class A stations in applying for any remaining available television channels. And once they find their new home, they should finally become primary spectrum users, safe from being dug up and tossed out at any time by full power stations. Notwithstanding the virtues of full power television, not every political unit, ethnic group, or other small community can afford a full power station; nor can full power stations afford to sell advertising at rates that are realistic for small business enterprises of many kinds in their communities. Existing Class A stations and LPTV stations have offered significant opportunities.”
