(REUTERS) FCC grants 9 DTV stations more time, warns others
FCC grants 9 DTV stations more time, warns others
WASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) - Nine big city television
stations on Thursday were given an extra six months to fully
broadcast digital signals and federal regulators warned smaller
stations that unreasonable delays will not be tolerated.
The Federal Communications Commission granted the nine
stations in six cities, from Hartford, Connecticut to Denver
and involving affiliates of the four major networks, six more
months to air their full broadcast signal in digital, almost
three years later than was required of other stations.
The agency also proposed a litany of sanctions it may
impose on the other 1,300 stations who cannot show that their
inability to broadcast in digital by the May 1, 2002 deadline
was due to unforeseen or other circumstances beyond control.
"While there are opportunities for waivers, the leash is
short as it must be," FCC Chairman Michael Powell said at the
agency's monthly open meeting.
"We're not going to be unreasonable about it, the
transition is complicated, there are bumps on the road, there
are things that are beyond peoples' control," he said.
The FCC proposed that stations initially be admonished in
the first six months and submit reports on progress but ratchet
up to financial penalties and eventually revocation of
authorization to broadcast in digital.
So far, about 580 stations have been granted a six-month
extension, until Nov. 1, to be broadcasting fully in digital
and the FCC is seeking more information from another 300 or so
seeking extensions.
Some of the nine stations are already broadcasting to part
of their area in digital but were given the extra six months to
get up to full power. The leading reason for the stations'
delays included still pending decisions on zoning at the local
level.
Three of those stations are owned by Sinclair Broadcast
Group Inc. <SBGI.O> and one each by General Electric Co.'s
<GE.N> NBC network, Viacom Inc.'s <VIA.N> CBS network,
McGraw-Hill Cos. Inc. <MHP.N>, Tribune Co. <TRB.N>, Outlet
Broadcasting and Meredith Corp. <MDP.N>
((Jeremy Pelofsky, Washington Newsroom, 202-789-8554, fax
202-898-8383, washington.equities.newsroom@reuters.com))
REUTERS
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