WASHINGTON—The LPTV Spectrum Rights Coalition has announced it is cancelling its annual event at the 2020 NAB Show in Las Vegas, citing coronavirus (COVID-19) as its primary reason.

Prior to making its decision, the coalition surveyed its members and general newsletter readers. The results showed that 64.7% of respondents were no longer planning to attend the NAB Show, with 47% saying it was not best for them to attend because of the coronavirus. 

The coalition also sought information on the ages of respondents, as coronavirus is supposed to be more dangerous to older individuals. The survey showed that 80% of respondents were over 51 years old and 50% were over 60.

In addition, 71% of respondents said they would welcome receiving the information that was going to be presented at the event in alternative ways. The coalition says it is currently exploring possible alternatives to replace the canceled event.

The LPTV Spectrum Rights Coalition event was scheduled to take place April 19 at the Convention Center Westgate Hotel.

The 2020 NAB Show is still scheduled to occur as planned.

“The coalition understands that the NAB needs to make its own decision for this economically important event to them,” the LPTV Spectrum Right Coalition’s statement read. “But when the CDC urgently is recommending against travel for those 60 and above, and not to attend events larger than 10, and when the FCC chair cancels a major event just 20 blocks from the FCC office, the NAB needs to be more responsible in the matter. Not many, if any, LPTV licensees can book a private jet to the NAB Show.”

TVT is keeping track of all the latest news involving the coronavirus’ impact on the 2020 NAB Show. 

WASHINGTON—The item in the Aug. 14 edition of the Federal Register might as easily have been labeled “Existential Threat Averted,” but instead it was called “Final rule; announcement of compliance date.”

But the former more aptly describes what publication of rules establishing a 60-day filing window for LPTV and TV translator stations to apply for reimbursement of TV spectrum repack-related expenses amounts to for many such stations, says Mike Gravino, director of the LPTV Spectrum Rights Coalition.

“… [D]espite a movement to end the LPTV service, our industry has prevailed over those forces and is now poised with [a] new next gen TV standard to blaze the trail into the future, once again,” he says.

The newly opened window gives LPTV stations and TV translator stations displaced by the repack a way to apply for repack expense reimbursement from a $150 million fund Congress established in 2018 to address a segment of the TV industry overlooked when it initially authorized the TV spectrum auction.

“The opening of the filing window … for the Post Auction LPTV Displacement Funding, some $150 million in Congressional funding, is an historic step in keeping over 1,500 of the nations’ secondary TV stations in business and is most welcomed in many small and large communities across the country,” says Gravino.

The coalition director sees the filing window as the culmination of a process that has taken the FCC more than six years to complete.

The coalition of more than 300 LPTV and TV translator licensees is appreciative of “the careful attention to detail” the agency has paid to make sure “as many as possible LPTV and TV translator qualifying entities” have quick access to the reimbursement funds, he says.

Gravino also is urging displaced LPTV stations, in particular, to get busy with their expense reimbursement filings. As opposed to the TV translator community, most LPTV operators affected by the repack haven’t yet begun the preparatory steps, he says.

For more news and insight on the repack, visit TV Technology'srepack silo.