House NY Dems: Protect Our Free TV

A six-pack of Democratic congressfolk from New York have cautioned the deficit reduction supercommittee about the unintended consequences of reclaiming broadcast spectrum for auction to wireless companies.

The committee is widely expected to be considering legislation authorizing spectrum auctions among the many proposals offered up to raise money or cut spending. The auctions are expected to raise several billion dollars -- it is not clear exactly how much -- for deficit reduction. In their letter, the legislators pointed out that a byproduct of those auctions and the station repacking that would result is that there would be a reduction in the number of channels, and thus TV stations, available to the more than 1.25 million viewers in the state who rely on over-the-air TV. "Unfortunately," they say, "the FCC's goal of reclaiming 120 MHZ of spectrum (the equivalent of 20 TV channels) may leave insufficient spectrum for the majority of stations currently serving cities including Buffalo, Syracuse, Watertown and Plattsburgh, and fewer stations in New York City and the state capital.

(11/18)