A pair of Class A television stations failed to include issues/program lists in their public files and compounded the problem by failure to download the public file onto the FCC’s database; and further compounded the problem by failing to respond to FCC inquiries.
As a result, they have both been ordered to show cause why they should not be busted down to mere LPTV status.
The stations are K07UF Abilene TX, licensed to Abilene Christian University; and K20JX-D Sacramento CA, licensed to Abundant Life Broadcasting Inc.
In addition to failure to have issues/program lists, both stations failed to provide testimony on compliance with other Class A requirements, including meeting minimum daily broadcast requirements.
After letters from the FCC in March and April of 2013, neither had taken any action to address the FCC’s concerns.
RBR-TVBR observation: There was a lot of this going on last year, when the most popular Class A violation was failure to produce necessary reports on children’s broadcasting. Class A status comes with the need to meet all applicable requirements to which full power stations adhere, in exchange for protection for the license and importantly in the current era, the opportunity to participate in incentive auctions if so desired.
LPTV stations are not protected and are not invited to the auctions. In fact, their status at the moment is unclear, leading to speculation that some of them may be repacked out of existence.
Beyond all that, we cannot understand why any broadcaster would ignore a letter from the FCC for any reason whatsoever.
