In implementing Congress’s mandate to conduct a broadcast television spectrum incentive auction, the FCC previously established rules to allow full power and Class A stations that relinquish licensed spectrum usage rights in the reverse auction to share a channel with another station. These rules, however, confine channel sharing to auction-related agreements. The FCC also authorized channel sharing between low power television (LPTV) and television translator stations (collectively, “secondary stations”) to help mitigate the auction’s potential to displace secondary stations. The FCC adopted rules to allow full power and Class A stations with auction-related channel sharing agreements (CSAs) to become sharees outside of the auction context so that they can continue to operate if their auction-related CSAs expire or otherwise terminate. They also adopted rules to allow all secondary stations to share a channel with another secondary station or with a full power or Class A station. This action will assist secondary stations that are displaced by the incentive auction and the repacking process to continue to operate in the post-auction television bands. The rules adopted will enhance the benefits of channel sharing for broadcasters without imposing significant burdens on multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs).
Attachments:
Report and Order [309 KB PDF]Statement from Commissioner Pai [76 KB PDF]
Statement from Commissioner Clyburn [81 KB PDF]
Statement from Commissioner O'Rielly [71 KB PDF]