FCC Announces Plans for Post-Auction LPTV Displacement Window

As LPTV and TV translator stations are staring at the impacts to their operations from the post-auction repacking of full power and Class A television stations, the FCC has issued a public notice that lays out the game plan for displaced low power stations.

The FCC anticipates announcing and issuing procedures for a displacement filing window late this year, with the window itself occurring 60 days after the announcement and lasting 30 days. Ultimately then, the actual filing window will fall somewhere in the first quarter of 2018. This window filing opportunity will occur after repacked and relocating full power and Class A television stations have completed their application windows, which continue until the fall.

Notably, the FCC anticipates making a “channel finder” tool available to displaced stations, and will also allow stations already operating digitally to relocate up to 48 km as part of a channel change.