The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is scheduled to deliberate on a set of updated rules concerning low power television (LPTV) stations during its open meeting on December 18th. The goal is to provide greater regulatory clarity for a service vital in delivering free, over-the-air programming to millions of viewers across both rural and urban communities in the nation. This Report and Order, an integral part of the commission’s December agenda, directly tackles technical and operational prerequisites for LPTV, TV translator, and Class A television stations. These standards have seen limited evolution since the service's inception over 40 years prior.
The proposed rules will impact critical aspects of station operation, including how these stations calculate relocation distances, designate their communities of license, and manage their call signs. According to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr in a November 25th blog post previewing the December meeting agenda, “We’re taking another step towards advancing the future of local broadcasting by voting on an order that delivers LPTV broadcasters added regulatory clarity to put their licenses to work. LPTV stations deliver free, over-the-air television services to millions of viewers nationwide, often serving small towns, rural communities, and the unique, hyper-local interests of niche viewers.”
Carr further stated, “This action updates our rules to reflect the changes in the broadcast industry since the LPTV service was established more than forty years ago and help LPTV broadcasters serve their communities effectively.” The LPTV service was initially established in 1982 with the purpose of extending local television access to viewers in areas that were either unserved or underserved by full power stations.
Currently, there are approximately 1,759 licensed LPTV stations, along with 3,096 TV translators, and 397 Class A stations actively operating throughout the country. These stations cater to specific communities by offering locally produced programming alongside the retransmission of network and various other types of content. Many are located in rural areas, representing the only available over-the-air television service, while others cater to niche audiences within urban markets.
Among the planned changes, the commission intends to establish consistent maximum relocation distances for minor modification applications and implement a formal process for LPTV stations to officially specify their community of license. Stations will be required to designate a community with boundaries overlapping their protected service contour within six months of the rule’s effective date. Operators will be allowed to use county names or commonly recognized names of unincorporated areas for their community designations, addressing concerns from those serving rural locations.
The commission will waive application fees for community of license changes during the initial six-month compliance period. Furthermore, stations will be obligated to use call signs that correspond to their service designation, although existing call sign combinations will be grandfathered. These rule changes also allow LPTV and TV translator stations engaged in channel sharing to apply for their own independent channels through the major modification process, with call sign change fees waived for one year.
The order revises displacement rules, clarifying when stations are eligible for protection, including situations involving actual or predicted interference that exceeds established thresholds. In cases of predicted interference caused to full power stations, it must exceed 0.5 percent to qualify for displacement. Conversely, predicted interference received from full power stations must exceed 2 percent. The commission will eliminate the 30-day public notice period for displacement applications, which officials believe leads to unnecessary service interruptions while stations await relocation authorization.
Displacement applicants will be required to submit a concise exhibit explaining the basis for their displacement claim. The commission will also mandate that stations enter into signed written interference agreements, clearly stating whether any monetary or other considerations were exchanged, ensuring transparency in arrangements that allow stations to surpass standard interference thresholds.
Furthermore, the order updates the methodology for calculating relocation distances, transitioning from miles to kilometers to align with contemporary technical standards. The rules also formalize a one square kilometer maximum grid resolution for interference analysis, while allowing stations to utilize a finer 0.5 kilometer resolution if specified in their applications. The order offers clarifications on Emergency Alert System equipment requirements for LPTV stations and updates technical rules designed to prevent interference between stations.
For channel 14 operations, stations must specify either stringent or full-service mask filtering. The commission also mandates that all transmitters within a station’s distributed transmission system utilize the same emission mask to ensure precise interference calculations. The commission opted not to adopt certain proposals that broadcasters argued would place undue burdens on them, including minimum operating hour requirements for LPTV stations, limits on community of license changes, and restrictions on how frequently stations can change their service designation. The commission had initially proposed requiring LPTV stations to operate for at least 14 hours per calendar week but ultimately concluded that this requirement would limit operational flexibility for stations serving niche audiences and small markets.
The rule revisions stem from a notice of proposed rulemaking issued in June 2024 under docket MB 24-148. A related proceeding concerning political programming and online public file requirements for LPTV stations remains pending in a separate docket. The December meeting agenda also encompasses a third report and order addressing robocall prevention measures and a direct final rule eliminating approximately 35 obsolete regulations pertaining to analog cable receivers and discontinued cordless phone technologies.