The FCC has estimated the cost of
moving channels will cost television broadcasters an aggregate of $2.1
billion. That figure exceeds the $1.75 billion Congress set aside for
reimbursement. Broadcast owners and their engineers predicted the fund
would not be sufficient. Indeed, reacting
to the figures on Friday, NAB President/CEO Gordon Smith noted the more
than $365 million shortfall, and said “Congress’s passage of the
voluntary broadcast TV incentive auction legislation was premised on a
promise that no TV station would be punished for not participating in
the auction.” He added “NAB will work closely with Congress to address
this issue, and to additionally ensure that no TV viewer or radio
listener loses access to the entertainment and lifeline local broadcast
programming they rely on today.”
The FCC’s aggregate estimate is based
on cost estimates that television owners and multichannel video
programming distributors eligible for reimbursement turned into the
Commission by July 12. The number, $2,115,328,744.33 as of 7 a.m.
Friday, will likely grow since the FCC says it expects to receive
additional approximations from MVPDs and a small number of stations who
received extra time. Continue Reading
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