Construction Deadline Suspension Gives LPTV a Choice, Says Tannenwald

The FCC Media Bureau’s suspension of the Sept. 1 digital construction deadline for low-power TV and TV translator stations means licensees can choose whether to complete construction now or “wait in limbo and see how the chips fall after the repack,” said Fletcher Heald LPTV attorney Peter Tannenwald in a blog post Friday. Since the suspension doesn’t apply to Class A's, they “must get a move on it and enter the digital world by May 29 to get protection for their digital facilities” and must stop using analog by Sept. 1, Tannenwald said. Stations that go dark because of inability to complete digital construction by their deadline must “notify the FCC within 10 days of going dark, file a request for authority to remain dark after 30 days, and get back on the air no later than one year after they go dark,” he said.