FCC Getting Rid of UHF Fee Discount

The Federal Communications Commission has already decided to get rid of one UHF discount. That is according to its just-released order on new regulatory fees --the annual fees it charges licensees. The FCC has not decided how to treat Internet Protocol TV, but says starting in 2014 it will be IPTV and cable in the same regulatory fee category. That said, starting in 2014, it will charge UHFs and VHFs the same regulatory fees, rather than charging UHF's less, as it has been doing. The FCC has also proposed getting rid of the 50% discount UHF stations got in counting their viewers towards the FCC's 39% ownership cap. In both cases the change is meant to reflect the fact that in the digital age, UHF signals are better than VHF's, which used to be the gold standard in the analog era.

[Aug 12]