The FCC Media Bureau has extended the deadline for TV broadcasters in certain designated market areas affected by Hurricane Rita to make retransmission consent or must carry elections on cable and satellite systems.
The original Oct. 1 deadline has been pushed back to Nov. 15 for stations in the Alexandria, Lake Charles and Lafayette, LA, and Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX, DMAs.
The commission also is waiving rules that impact a broadcast station’s default carriage status in the absence of an affirmative carriage election by Oct. 1 for broadcasters in the same DMAs that make an election by Nov. 15.
The Jan. 1, 2006 deadline for cable and satellite operators to begin carrying TV stations in these DMAs as a result of this election has not been extended, although the commission may reconsider that position in the future.
The action does not affect stations already exercising their carriage election or cable and satellite operators entering into carriage agreements.
For more information, visit www.fcc.gov.
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