The FCC’s Media Bureau is letting broadcasters kick the tires on its process for getting reimbursed for expenses in the post incentive auction TV station repack.
TV stations assigned to new channels--and there will likely be over a thousand of those--and the MVPDs carrying them on their systems--will need to file an online form (399) to reclaim covered expenses from the $1.75 billion Congress set aside for that purpose.
Starting today (Oct. 4), broadcasters "will have access to a test environment where they will be able to interact and familiarize themselves with an updated version of the form..."
The FCC also wants feedback on the form, which it will accept through Nov. 4. Given that this is a beta version, users will experience occasional outages, but the FCC says that shouldn't happen once the form is deployed in the FCC's License and Management System (LMS) database.
While cable operators will also be filing for reimbursement in some cases--re-tuning headends, for example--but "the part of the on-line system to be used by MVPDs is not yet available for testing," said an FCC spokesperson.
Broadcast licensees can access the form here.
A user's guide is here:
Feedback is being accepted at this e-mail address:
