The Incentive Auction Task Force and the Media Bureau on Monday (10/16) affirmed the initial allocation of $1 billion in the TV Broadcaster Relocation Fund.
The funds are the first designed to reimburse eligible full power and Class A broadcasters and multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) for expenses related to the construction of station facilities on reassigned channels.
The Task Force and the Media Bureau believe the initial $1 billion “will be sufficient to meet anticipated near-term expenditures.”
They said, “Based on the total verified aggregate demand on the Fund, as of Oct. 10, the
initial allocation will give commercial stations and MVPDs access to approximately 52% of their currently estimated and verified costs, and NCEs access to approximately 62% of their currently estimated and verified costs.”
The Bureau, in consultation with the Fund Administrator, considered the reimbursement demand by discrete cost categories, including the estimated expenditures anticipated to be
incurred as up-front costs, down payments on equipment, and other associated starting costs, as well as other “pre-implementation” and “early implementation” costs billed in the ordinary course of trade.
Distribution dates of these initial dollars were not disclosed.
