Media Bureau Considering Blanket Extension of LPTV Digital Construction Permit Deadlines

The FCC’s Media Bureau has announced a comment deadline of August 14, 2014 on a petition filed by the Advanced Television Broadcasting Alliance (ATBA). The ATBA petition asks the FCC to issue a blanket extension of all current LPTV and TV translator digital construction permits to September 1, 2015, the current deadline for such stations to transition from analog to digital.

The move would help current digital permit holders to avoid the necessity of filing for six-month extensions of any expiring permit, and would avoid the expense of constructing digital facilities now, only to be displaced and forced to rebuild as a result of the spectrum auction, currently targeted for mid-2015. Comments can be filed using the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS).