FCC Should Let LPTV Stations in MX Auction Settle, Says Word of God
The FCC should let low-power TV stations with mutually exclusive (MX) applications filed during the post-incentive auction LPTV displacement window (see 1903290048) avoid auction if they can “reach a legal or engineering settlement before the short form application deadline,” said…
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Word of God Fellowship, licensee of KDTS-LD San Francisco, in replies in docket 19-61. KDTS is an MX group slated for the displacement auction. Recent Media Bureau actions clarified which LPTV stations will be mutually exclusive, putting Word of God and the other stations in its MX group in position to negotiate a settlement, the broadcaster said. “Nevertheless, a three-way negotiation that potentially pertains to the permanent use of a channel remains a complex endeavor that will take weeks, if not months, to fully resolve.” The FCC “should encourage private resolution of mutual exclusivity by providing a new settlement window” or declaring it won’t require an auction if all parties to an MX group submit a valid settlement before the short-form deadline, Word of God said. Another licensee with stations slated for the auction, Venture Technologies Group, said the agency should ensure the validity of applications in the auction and prevent collusive negotiations between participants.