Broadcasters Seen on Smooth Road to DTV Waivers
The FCC probably will grant a slew of DTV waivers to broadcasters seeking 6 more months to transmit digital signals at full power, said 3 lawyers at firms handling such requests. The Commission has fielded at least 189 petitions for waiver of the July 1 “use it or lose it” DTV deadline since the Media Bureau reminded the industry of the date, our review found. Bureau officials couldn’t give us the total number of requests in the docket (05-13), but 300-plus filings have been received since a notice on the subject (CD June 15 p18).
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Many TV stations want more time to operate full power DTV transmitters because the Commission hasn’t acted on their construction permit (CP) modification requests. The FCC is swamped with such requests, usually involving minor changes, said a broadcast executive. The FCC likely will grant a blanket 6-month extension to those stations -- as it did stations with a deadline last year, broadcast lawyer Gregg Skall said: “That’s probably what will happen this time, and they'll be watching to see what people do… rather than actually acting on the waivers.”
“The Commission very strongly wants broadcasters to move on to digital, so it would not behoove any of us to throw additional roadblocks in the way,” Skall said: “If people appear to be really dragging their feet, then I think there would be some action.” He said he wasn’t basing his remarks on recent contact with the FCC, which declined to comment.
Industry seems to be acting in good faith on the 2009 DTV transition, Media Access Project Senior Vp Harold Feld said: “Now that Congress has a hard date, there is a lot less worry about game playing here. Because there is an automatic shut-off date, the fear of endless extensions is a little bit allayed.”
“I'd be surprised if [the FCC] had any problem with this,” a broadcast attorney said: “I'd think the lion’s share they should be able to be flexible with.” Our sampling of broadcaster petitions found many involve building permits, including Fox’s WRBW Orlando; Gannett’s WMAZ-TV Macon, Ga.; Journal Bcst.’s WSYM-TV Lansing, Mich; NBC Telemundo’s KMAS- TV Steamboat Springs, Colo.; and Tribune’s KTWB-TV Seattle.
Some requests may be more complex for the FCC to sort out, sources said. Paxson’s WPXN-TV needs more time to shift to full DTV because its antenna was on the World Trade Center, destroyed on 9/11, and “the Freedom Tower has not yet been constructed,” it said in an FCC filing. Fox said WDCA D.C. “has been operating at low power from a tower owned by Gannett” since 2002. WDCA said it was stymied in using a new antenna in a dispute between would-be builder American Tower and a local govt.