IATF Allocates $1 Billion of Reimbursement; Costs to be Lower; Many Legislators Seek No Repack Delay

The FCC Incentive Auction Task Force will allow mostly broadcasters and some MVPDs to draw initially on $1 billion of the $1.75 billion repacking reimbursement fund, the IATF announced. That’s less than was requested by NAB, Ion and public TV groups. But the estimated cost of the repacking dropped from $2.12 billion to $1.86 billion, IATF said, a number likely to keep changing as repacking progresses. A smaller shortfall would make it more likely that Congress will authorize more funds to make up the gap, broadcast industry officials said.

Also Monday, and as we earlier reported, a bipartisan group of legislators asked FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to not delay the repacking deadline beyond July 3, 2020. Broadcasters have sought more leeway for the FCC to grant exemptions in extreme circumstances. House Republican Conference Chairman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and 54 other House members jointly wrote Pai Monday.

With release of the initial repacking reimbursement allocation, broadcasters can submit invoices for repacking choices, and that’s expected to trigger a rush of orders for broadcast equipment and commissions for tower crews, industry officials said. NAB, meanwhile, pledged "to work in bipartisan fashion with policymakers to complete the repack transition as quickly as possible."