FCC: Almost 1,000 Stations Will Have To Move

Following the official end of its broadcast incentive auction, the FCC today announced that 987  stations — 30 of which are auction winners –will have to change channels to clear the spectrum sold to wireless carriers.

The first group of stations to move channels is scheduled for Nov. 30, 2018. Stations are required to provide 30 days’ notice, and the FCC is offering information for over-the-air viewers on how to “rescan” their receivers to find new channels at www.fcc.gov/incentiveauctions/consumers.

The auction raised $19.8 billion for the government. More than $10 billion will go to 175 winning broadcasters that elected to participate in the incentive auction and repurpose their airwaves for mobile use. Of the winners, 30 stations will receive money for agreeing to move to a lower channel and 133 others will relinquish their licenses and indicated their intent to remain on air through channel-sharing agreements with non-winning stations.

Among the results:

• Largest individual station payout: $304 million (Trinity Broadcasting Network’s WWTO Chicago)

• Largest noncommercial station payout: $194 million

• Winning stations receiving more than $100 million: 36

• Noncommercial stations receiving more than $100 million: 11

To view the entire list of broadcasters who won at auction nationwide, click here.

In the forward auction, wireless carriers bid $19.8 billion on mobile broadband spectrum. A total of 50 winning bidders won 70 MHz of licensed spectrum nationwide. A total of 14 MHz of spectrum is available for unlicensed use and wireless microphones. On a nationwide basis, 70 MHz is the most mobile broadband ever auctioned below 1 GHz by the FCC. Among the largest winners are T-Mobile, Dish, Comcast and US Cellular.

NAB President-CEO Gordon Smith said: “NAB congratulates the commission and its staff on bringing the TV auction to a successful conclusion. While today marks a major milestone, the work is far from over. Now the FCC and the broadcast industry face the unprecedented task of moving almost a thousand TV stations — far more than originally anticipated — to new channels in very tight time frames.

“NAB also remains concerned about the impact of the auction on hundreds of radio stations co-located on television towers. We look forward to working with the FCC and Congress to develop a balanced approach to repacking that is fair to all stakeholders, most importantly our tens of millions of TV viewers and radio listeners.”

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai issued a statement following the announcement: “Today marks a major accomplishment for the commission: the ‘auction’ portion of the world’s first incentive auction is officially over.  The reverse and forward auctions have concluded and the results have been announced.  But this process is far from over.  Now, we begin the post-auction transition period.  

“This day has been a long time coming.  We congratulate all bidders who were successful in the incentive auction, and we applaud all of those past and present Commission staffers who worked so diligently on every aspect of this complex undertaking.  We have only reached this point because of their tremendous skill and dedication to this groundbreaking endeavor.    

“Again: While we celebrate reaching the official close of the auction, there is still much work ahead of us.  It’s now imperative that we move forward with equal zeal to ensure a successful post-auction transition, including a smooth and efficient repacking process.”