NPR Says FCC Can't Grandfather 'Franken FMs'

The FCC has “no discretion to grandfather Franken FMs,” said NPR in an ex parte letter posted in docket 03-185 Wednesday, referring to channel 6 analog low-power TV stations that broadcast content that can be received by FM radios. The agency “lacks authority to rewrite the statutory scheme to permit continued operation of LPTV analog operations after the LPTV digital transition,” said the public radio programmer. The deadline for all LPTV stations to transition to digital is July 13, 2021. Some channel 6 LPTV stations sought permission to continue an analog signal after the transition because their digital TV signal won’t be receivable by FM radios and their content is primarily audio (see 2001230021). “Allowing analog Franken FMs to continue after the DTV deadline is contrary to the Communications Act, Commission regulations, and fundamental federal communications policy,” NPR said.