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NATIONWIDE Filing OpportunitY For LPTV and |
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On July 26, 2010, the FCC
will begin accepting applications, on a nationwide basis, for new digital
LPTV and TV translator stations, for major changes to existing analog and digital
LPTV and TV translators, and for digital companion channels. Since
August 2009, the FCC has only accepted such applications from applicants in
rural areas where the proposed antenna coordinates are more than 75 miles
from the reference coordinates of the cities in the top 100 Nielsen
DMAs. The nationwide filing opportunity opening in July replaces the
original January 2010 filing opportunity that was subsequently delayed by the
FCC, as we have previously reported. Licensees
of LPTV, TV translator and Class A stations in non-rural areas that have not
yet filed an application to convert their station to digital operations may
wish to file a flash cut application prior to the start of the July filing
opportunity. These applications may be filed at any time. By
doing so, licensees can obtain processing priority for their applications and
guard against third-party applications that may limit their station’s
proposed digital coverage area. Under the FCC’s rules, a station filing
a flash cut application may propose any digital facility whose protected
digital signal contour overlaps any portion of the station’s protected analog
signal contour. Applications
filed in connection with the nationwide filing opportunity will be processed
on a first-come, first-served basis and will be “cut-off” daily. Thus,
earlier filed applications will receive processing priority over later-filed
applications, but mutually-exclusive applications filed on the same day will
be resolved by the FCC’s competitive bidding (auction) rules. If
you have any questions concerning the new digital LPTV, TV translator and
digital companion channel filing opportunities, please contact your primary
attorney in our office. June 17, 2010 |
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This memorandum is intended only as a general discussion of these issues and should not be regarded as legal advice. We would be pleased to provide additional details or advice about specific situations if desired. Copyright © 2010, Lerman Senter PLLC 2000 K Street NW,
Suite 600 | Washington, DC 20006-1809 To Unsubscribe: Unsubscribe | To Update Client Info: Update Client Info |
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