Media Bureau to Lift Freezes on TV Modifications

The FCC Media Bureau will lift freezes on full-power TV rulemaking petitions that have mostly been in place since 2004, said a public notice Thursday. The freezes -- originally enacted for the DTV transition and extended because of the incentive auction -- will be lifted 15 days after the Federal Register publishes the rule change, the PN said. A freeze on filing new low-power TV and TV translator applications will remain in place, the PN said. “Licensed and permitted LPTV/translator stations are still being displaced as a result of modifications by full service stations as they technically adjust to their new repacked channel locations,” the PN said. The freezes that will be lifted apply to channel change and community of license petitions, petitions seeking new DTV allotments and service area modifications.