FCC Approves Low-Power Protection Act NPRM 4-0

The FCC unanimously approved an NPRM seeking comment on proposals for the agency to implement the Low Power Protection Act, which would create a window during which select low-power TV stations could convert to Class A (see 2303240052). The proposals largely align with the LPPA, which restricted the window to stations that carry three hours per week of local programming in markets of 95,000 households or fewer. The NPRM tentatively concludes that translators won’t be eligible for the window, and neither will be the small number of LPTV stations that haven’t shifted to digital. The NPRM also seeks comment on possible alternatives to the Nielsen definition of a TV market, the designated market area, such as the metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) and rural service areas (RSAs) proposed by the LPTV Broadcasters’ Association. “These classifications, which are based on population, appear to have nothing to do with market assignment information or determining television broadcast station markets, unlike Nielsen DMAs,” the NPRM says. “We seek comment on LPTVBA’s position and on any alternative means of delineating DMAs using a system of dividing television broadcast station licensees into local markets.”