FCC Incentive Auction Recon Order 'Reverses' Policy of Preserving Public TV, Public TV Groups Say

FCC incentive auction policies could lead to “a number of communities across America” losing public TV service after the auction, said the Association of Public Television Stations (APTS), the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and PBS in a statement released Monday reacting to the commission’s rejection of their petition for reconsideration of the auction order. The public TV groups had asked the FCC to reserve a channel for noncommercial educational station use in markets where all the operating NCEs entered the auction. The decision to not do so reverses a 60-year-old policy of preserving “the invaluable services provided by local public television stations,” the groups said. “The Commission has decided for the first time ever to make the continued existence of noncommercial educational reserved spectrum subject entirely to market forces,” the statement said. “The Commission has disregarded the needs of the millions of Americans who rely on public television for essential services in education, public safety and civic leadership.” The FCC "recognizes the important public service role that public broadcasting plays," an FCC spokesman said via email. "All eligible stations have the option to take part in the incentive auction, but aren't required to do so," he said. The incentive auction includes a range of participation options such as channel sharing or moving to the VHF band, the spokesman said. Those options "would permit stations to benefit financially from the auction, while at the same time continuing to provide their valuable content to viewers," he said.