LPTV Digital Build Out Extension?

The FCC recently issued a long-delayed decision on several petitions for reconsideration of its LPTV digital transition rules.  None of the petitions gained any traction, but in at least one instance, the FCC dropped a hint about its previously adopted September 1, 2015 deadline for all LPTV stations to complete the transition to digital and cease analog operations. 

In denying a petition for reconsideration of the transition deadline, the FCC acknowledged that since it adopted the September 1, 2015 deadline, Congress had authorized the FCC to conduct an incentive auction to reclaim broadcast television spectrum.  In light of that development, the FCC “conditioned” its refusal to change the deadline as “without prejudice to the Commission’s ability to consider making adjustments to the timing of the LPTV transition” in the incentive auction rulemaking as it develops the schedule for holding the incentive auction and repacking.

More definitive information on whether the deadline will be extended should be forthcoming in the FCC’s Incentive Auction Report & Order, expected later this fall.