WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission's Media Bureau has announced that the agency is initiating a phased process to lift the current freeze on major changes for Class A television, low power television (LPTV), and television (TV) translator stations, in its entirety, and as part of the same process permit the filing of applications for new LPTV and TV translator stations.

Applications for new LPTV stations have been frozen since 2010. The new Public Notice starts a process that will lift the freeze on LPTV applications, "opening the door for stations to file for new displacement relief and technical changes", according to the Advanced Television Broadcast Alliance, which represents LPTV stations.

As part of the process for opening up those applications, the FCC will initially freeze certain applications. The FCC said that these freezes are necessary in order to provide a stable database for stations to prepare for the filing of major modification applications.

In a Public Notice, the FCC highlighted the following dates for the phased process and the procedures that applicants must follow when filing during these opportunities:

• September 3, 2025. Temporary application filing freeze for all major change 11:59 p.m. ETapplications for Class A, LPTV, and TV Translator stations.
• October 15, 2025. Temporary application filing freeze for all minor change 6:00 p.m. ETapplications (including displacement applications) for Class A, LPTV, and TV translator stations.
• October 22, 2025. Expanded opportunity for Class A, LPTV, and TV 12:01 a.m. ETtranslator stations to file major change applications, with relocations limited to no more than 121.0 kilometers (km). Freeze on all minor change applications (including displacement applications) for Class A, LPTV, and TV translator stations is also lifted.
• December 3, 2025. Temporary application filing freeze for all major change 6:00 p.m. ETapplications for Class A, LPTV, and TV translator stations.
• January 14, 2026. Temporary application filing freeze for all minor change 6:00 p.m. ETapplications (including displacement applications) for Class A, LPTV, and TV translator stations.
• January 21, 2026. Resumption, without limit or restriction, of filing of 12:01 a.m. ETClass A, LPTV and TV translator major change applications and acceptance of applications for new LPTV and TV translators stations. Freeze on minor change applications (including displacement applications) for Class A, LPTV, and TV translator stations is also lifted.

The FCC also described four phases of the process.

Phase 1: Temporary Major and Minor Modification Filing Freezes

While most major modifications are currently frozen, in August 2024 the Bureau lifted its freeze on major modifications, with certain restrictions, in order to permit Class A, LPTV, and TV translator stations to file for channel changes. Effective at 11:59 p.m. ET, on September 3, 2025, the Bureau reinstituted a freeze on all applications for major changes for Class A, LPTV, and TV translator stations. In addition, at 6:00 p.m. ET, October 15, 2025, the Bureau will institute a freeze on all minor change applications for Class A, LPTV, and TV translator stations and displacement applications for LPTV and TV translator stations.

The FCC said that these freezes are necessary in order to provide a stable database for stations to prepare for the filing of major modification applications.

Phase 2: Expanded Major Modification Filing Opportunity

The FCC said that In order to allow existing Class A, LPTV, and TV translator stations to modify their facilities to better serve their viewers and adapt to market changes since application freezes were implemented on such changes, the agency will provide existing stations an opportunity to file major modification applications prior to new station applications.

Beginning at 12:01 a.m. ET, October 22, 2025, the the FCC said it will lift the major modification application filing freeze and accept, on a first-come, first-served basis, applications for all major changes to Class A, LPTV, and TV translator stations including those that propose relocations of no more than 121.0 km from the station’s antenna reference coordinates. At 12:01 a.m. ET, October 22, 2025, the Bureau will also lift the temporary freeze on all minor modification and displacement applications.

The FCC said it was imposing a distance limit on major changes in order to ensure that existing stations are able to implement facility modifications that maximize service to their existing viewers and markets before its permits new station applications or moves by existing stations that practically amount to a new station.

Phase 3: Temporary Reinstitution of Major and Minor Application Filing Freezes

The FCC said that at 6:00 p.m. ET, December 3, 2025, all applications for major changes for Class A, LPTV, and TV translator stations will once again be frozen. At 6:00 p.m. ET, January 14, 2026, the Bureau will also institute a temporary freeze on all minor change applications for Class A, LPTV, and TV translator stations and displacement applications for LPTV and TV translator stations.

The FCC said these freezes are being reinstituted in order to provide a stable database for stations to prepare for the complete lifting of the freeze on major modification applications and for applicants to prepare for the opportunity to seek new stations.

Phase 4: Resumption of Minor and Major Modification Filings and Commencement of Filing For New LPTV and TV Translator Stations

Beginning at 12:01 a.m. ET, January 21, 2026, the FCC reported that it will lift the freezes and begin accepting, on a first-come, first-served basis, all major change and minor change applications (including displacement applications). At the same time, the agency will lift the freeze and begin accepting, on a first-come, first-served basis, applications for new LPTV and TV translator stations. The acceptance of applications for new Class A stations is limited by statute and therefore applications for new Class A stations will not be accepted during this filing opportunity, the agency explained.

The FCC said that these filings opportunities will remain available indefinitely unless the Commission determines that a new freeze is warranted. Applications filed during this opportunity may not propose facilities that would cause impermissible interference to other authorized full power, Class A, and LPTV/translator stations, including valid construction permits for same, and any earlier-filed application for new or modify facility including earlier-filed applications for minor change, the FCC stressed.

The FCC noted that the nationwide window for new LPTV and TV translator stations was initially set for January 25, 2010, but later postponed to July 26, 2010, and then postponed indefinitely. Because of this, the agency said that it believed it is appropriate to permit both unrestricted major modification applications and new station applications at the same time, just as would have been allowed should the new station opportunity have proceeded in 2010.

Details on the filing and processing procedures are available in the full Public Notice here.

VERNON HILLS, Ill.—Anywave Communication Technologies Inc., has announced that it supplied the broadcast equipment for a new and unique ATSC 3.0 deployment in  the Harrisburg, Penn. area.  

In another example of full service stations partnering with LPTV/translator  stations to launch 3.0 services, channel 16 in Harrisburg is broadcasting the  streams of WHTM (ABC), WITF (PBS), and WLYH (religious programming), using a  new Anywave Marble series ATSC 3.0 transmitter.

In addition, the ATSC 3.0 signal is received and rebroadcast on  channel 31 through an Anywave ATSC 3.0 translator in the Red Lion/York Penn. area. 

Anywave said the translator is fully regenerative, and provides excellent performance and  coverage to areas that may not have access to the channel 16 signal. The use of the translator to rebroadcast the ATSC 3.0 signal may be a first, the company reported. 

“Anywave has developed coverage solutions to address most any ATSC 3.0  requirement”, said David Neff, General Manager of Anywave. “Besides 3.0  translators, we have a complete line of SFN capable transmitters, and an  exceptional line of gap fillers (on-channel repeaters) that have also been  successfully deployed in ATSC 3.0 systems. All are available for most any power  levels, and all frequencies, including UHF, and VHF bands I and III, and all are  Anywave’s own design. We believe that Anywave has the most complete line of  TV transmitters in the industry, and we continue to develop and further improve  our offerings.”  

For more information, contact David Neff (david.neff@anywavecom.com)

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Low-power television stations and TV translators looking to be reimbursed for expenses associated with the FCC’s repack of television spectrum rejoice. The numbers, as of today, show you will be reimbursed for 100% of your eligible expenses.

That’s the preliminary assessment of Tony zumMallen, president of QComm, a Lee’s Summit, Mo. -based engineering, project management and installation vendor that is specializing in the repack.

“The maximum allocated by Congress for LPTV and TV translator stations has always been $150 million,” says zumMallen. “As of Feb. 19, the dollars potentially used for repack expenses is $138 million. If you divide that into $150 million, you’re at 100%.”

To arrive at this and other repack-related numbers, zumMallen’s company has regularly combed through the FCC’s License and Management System since Nov. 14, 2019, the deadline for LPTV and TV translators to submit documentation to prove expense reimbursement eligibility and request specific dollar amounts.

“We have been grabbing the data and the numbers people have submitted and tallying them up,” he says.

As of Feb. 19, QComm’s total shows that of the 925 reimbursement applications submitted by LPTV stations, the FCC has determined that 785 are eligible for reimbursement and 113 are not. The eligibility of 27 others has yet to be determined.

“That’s fantastic news, when everyone thought before the process started that expense reimbursement would probably be in the range of 50% to 70%,” he says.

Of course, zumMallen’s assessment comes with a few caveats. For instance, the process has not yet been completed, and requests must be reasonable. “They can’t be for a Ferrari. It has to be a transmitter,” he says with a laugh.

But he adds there is nothing funny about the seriousness of this process and the expense reimbursements for LPTV stations and TV translators, many of which are shoestring operations.

“So, mom and pops won’t have to come up with $100,000 or more,” he says. “Potentially, they will have to come up with nothing. Merry Christmas!”

Monitoring the reimbursement filings in the LMS has revealed a few other interesting facts. For example, the smallest amount requested is $872, while the largest is $2.2 million. QComm also has found that 600 stations account for about $75 million in reimbursement requests, he says.

The QComm president recommends that stations notified by the FCC of their ineligibility should continue to pursue reimbursement if given the opportunity to modify their showing.

“The FCC has been very good to work with on this,” he says. “If there is a question about what you submitted, you will receive an email from the FCC saying: ‘Based on the information you provided, we find you to be ineligible’ and here are the reasons why.”

Frequently the agency will give stations 10 days to provide the information requested, which could flip a filer from ineligible to eligible. “They basically spell it out for you. If you provide this information, they will find you eligible.”

The agency should be commended for the way it has worked with LPTV stations and TV translators on the reimbursement of repack expenses, he says.

“Our experience is they are not looking to find any and every way that you are ineligible. It’s the exact opposite,” says zumMallen. “We have worked with a lot of these television stations that are low power and translators, and we have not had a negative comment.”

Working with the station’s lawyer or consulting engineer could prove worthwhile if it means producing the documentation needed to qualify for reimbursement, he says.

“I wouldn’t just take the FCC’s email and say, ‘Oh, well, we’re not eligible,’” says zumMallen.

QComm can be reached via its website.

WASHINGTON—The National Translator Association joined its colleagues from the LPTV Coalition in praising the recent decision to open a 60-day filing window for TV translator and LPTV stations to apply for reimbursement for TV spectrum repack-related expenses.

“We are delighted to see the FCC begin the process of reimbursement for low power translators, LPTV and FM stations,” said John Terrill, president of the NTA.

TV Translators will now have until Oct. 15 to file for reimbursement, for which Congress had set aside $150 million. Terrill urges translators to file as early as possible.

Terrill notes that the NTA’s “Fast-Track” plan had some influence in the reimbursement process, saying that it allows “stations that have had to move and have purchased equipment and built their stations to skip the bid process and simply use paid invoices in requesting reimbursement.”

Additional information on the filing process is available on the NTA website.

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

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.

WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission today adopted a Report & Order implementing Congress’s directive to expand reimbursements to cover the expenses of certain LPTV and TV translator stations as well as FM broadcasters affected by the agency’s TV spectrum repack.

The vote adopting a Report and Order fulfills the March 23, 2019, deadline set up by Congress in its 2018 Reimbursement Expansion Act (REA) that allocated additional funds to reimburse the eligible expenses of LPTV and TV translator stations, FM broadcasters as well as full power and Class A stations, MVPDs and set aside funds to educate consumers.

LPTV and TV translator stations must meet two eligibility requirements to receive repack-related expense reimbursement payments, including having filed an application with the FCC’ Special Displacement Window and obtaining a construction permit as well as being licensed and transmitting for at least nine of the 12 months prior to April 13, 2017.

The R&O also covers repack reimbursement expenses of full and low-power FM stations and FM translators, licensed and transmitting on April 13, 2017, that have facilities impacted by the TV spectrum repack.

Qualified expenses of FM stations include the cost of permanently relocating, temporarily or permanently modifying facilities or purchasing or modifying auxiliary facilities to maintain service while work on repacked TV stations proceeds.

The R&O also sets up a mechanism to reimburse these newly reimbursement-eligible broadcasters.

Responding to the vote, NAB EVP Communications expressed appreciation for the FCC staff’s expeditious work to implement REA. “Under a tight timeline, the staff worked incredibly hard to reach a balanced outcome that is as fair as possible given the challenges presented by the repack. We are committed to working with the Commission to ensure that tens of millions of viewers and listeners do not lose radio and TV service as the repack continues,” he said.

For all the latest news and insight on the repack, visit our repack silo.

WASHINGTON--The Federal Communications Commission today proposed rules to reimburse some low-power TV stations, TV translators and FM stations for costs resulting from the 2017 spectrum incentive auction, following up on a recent Congressional directive known as "The 2018 Reimbursement Expansion Act."

The act “expanded the list of eligible entities to include LPTV, TV translator and FM stations, provided additional funds to be used for this purpose, increased the funds available to reimburse full power and Class A stations and MVPDs and provided funds to be used for consumer education purposes,” the FCC said today. The statute also created a deadline of March 23, 2019, for the commission to adopt a Report and Order.

According to the NPRM (MB Docket No. 18-214; GN Docket No. 12-268), reimbursement will be available for LPTV stations and TV translators, “if (1) they filed an application during the commission’s Special Displacement Window and obtained a construction permit, and (2) were licensed and transmitting for at least nine of the 12 months prior to April 13, 2017.”

[Read: FCC Will Open April Window For Auction-Displaced LPTVs]

Additionally, the order says the Media Bureau should engage a third-party contractor to assist in the administration of the fund and also directs the bureau to determine cost eligibility and the reimbursement process. However, “the Media Bureau will consult with the Office of General Counsel and the Office of the Managing Director,” the order says.

The order also shares plans to use the $50 million provided by the REA for consumer education. According to the order, the commissioners “anticipate, among other initiatives, hosting a dedicated consumer service call center to provide consumers technical support and assistance on such matters as rescanning and other means to resolve potential reception issues. We also intend to perform targeted outreach to specific communities about rescanning, and we may use advertising spots to disseminate rescanning information. Consumer education funding could also be used in developing additional online resources...”

The NPRM also notes that the additional REA funds must be used no later than July 3, 2023.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said, “I’d like to thank Congress for passing legislation which provides additional reimbursement funds for full power and Class A stations, reimbursement funds for newly-eligible LPTV, TV translator, and FM stations, and funds for the commission to use for consumer education purposes.” Pai also thanked the commission staff who worked on the notice.

In his own statement, Commissioner Michael O’Rielly emphasized that he agrees with the reimbursement plans in general but thinks further input is needed before action. Specifically, he said, “While Congress carefully outlined how it intended FY18 monies to be spent, it provided less clarity for FY19. Should these funds be allocated similar to FY18 funds? Should television stations have priority? The answers to these questions will affect how interested parties are reimbursed for relocating during the repacking process...”

Additionally, O’Rielly questioned the validity of the “graduated reimbursement system” based on the idea that time equals money and asked for feedback and alternative proposed system(s) to allocate money.

O’Rielly also cautioned that the educational efforts should not duplicate “efforts undertaken by broadcasters or other stakeholders, or take on initiatives outside of [the commission’s] expertise, such as producing advertising spots.”

Finally, O’Rielly wrote, “I support edits in this item that will mitigate the use of delegated authority, as well as remove the tentative conclusion that third parties who made funding arrangements with LPTVs prior to the passage of REA are ineligible for funding.”

Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel did not release a statement, but the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order (FCC 18-113) indicated her approval and that of Commissioner Brendan Carr, whose statement was still pending as of writing.

[Read: FCC Allocates Additional $742 Million For Repack Expenses]

The NPRM “tentatively concludes that both full power FM stations and FM translators that were licensed and transmitting on April 13, 2017, using the facilities affected by a repacked television station, are eligible for reimbursement.” This includes “FM stations that incur costs to permanently relocate, temporarily or permanently modify their facilities, or purchase or modify auxiliary facilities to provide service during work on a repacked television station’s facilities.” Also, the NPRM recommends that the reimbursement process be “substantially similar to” that already used to reimburse full power and Class A licensees and MVPDs.

NAB Executive Vice President of Communications Dennis Wharton released a statement saying, “Earlier this year, Congress wisely authorized additional funding to ensure that tens of millions of Americans will not lose access to news, entertainment and lifeline information during the broadcast industry ‘spectrum repack.’ NAB is encouraged by the FCC proposal adopted today that closely mirrors the intent of Congress. NAB will be actively engaged during the rulemaking process to preserve live and local broadcasting on hometown radio and television stations, low power TV stations and TV translators."

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