The Commission has released an Order on Reconsideration dismissing and denying the Petitions for Reconsideration submitted by Videohouse, Inc., Abacus Television, WMTM, LLC, and KMYA, LLC. The Petitions for Reconsideration were seeking reconsideration of the Commission’s decision not to protect their broadcast television stations in the repacking process or make them eligible for the reverse auction. The Commission found that the petitioners’ claims were both procedurally and substantively defective and denied them on the merits.
The Commission found that the petitioners’ claims failed on substantive grounds because:
- Petitioners failed to prove that they should be protected like the other groups who filed applications for Class A construction permits (FCC Form 302-CA) before February 22, 2012, even though they had not filed those applications; and
- Petitioners failed to argue that it was unreasonable for the Commission to limit discretionary repacking protection and auction eligibility to out-of-core Class A-eligible LPTV stations that filed a Form 302-CA application before February 22, 2012, since that was the date Congress established for determining what stations were entitled to repacking protection.
The Commission found that the petitioners’ claims were procedurally improper because, although the Commission raised the question of which broadcast television facilities to protect in the repacking process in the Incentive Auction NPRM, the petitioners did not present facts or arguments as to why their stations should be protected until after the Commission adopted the Report and Order.
In the Order on Reconsideration, the Commission also concludes that WDYB-CD, Daytona Beach, Florida, licensed to Latina Broadcasters of Daytona Beach, LLC is not entitled to discretionary repacking protection or eligible to participate in the reverse auction because Latina was not pursuing Class A status before the Commission as of February 22, 2012.
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