The Federal Communications Commission has blasted a set of low-power TV stations’ objections to the upcoming spectrum auction, telling the D.C. Circuit on Friday that the risk for their spectrum to be confiscated without compensation is no different than the everyday risk they face of having to go off the air.
The agency acknowledged that some low-power TV stations could lose the ability to broadcast in the post-auction frequency repackaging process, but said that’s part of the deal the stations received for their licenses. Lower-power TV stations, like Mako Communications LLC and Beach TV Properties Inc., always have a lower priority than full-power stations under the Spectrum Act, and the spectrum auction is no different, the agency said.
