Rep Pallone Hopeful Viewer Protection Act Will Pass

House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ) said he was confident Congress would pass a bill backstopping them in the post-incentive auction repack. Speaking to a National Association of Broadcasters State Leadership audience, Ranking Member Pallone talked about his bill, the Viewer Protection Act. Broadcasters have been pressing the Federal Communications Commission to soften its hard 39-month deadline for transitioning to new channels after the auction and are concerned the $1.75 billion transition fund may not cover all the necessary expenses.

Ranking Member Pallone said he was sure the FCC didn't want viewers to lose their TV signals as a result of the repack and said his bill would make sure they had the tools needed to make sure that didn't happen. The Rep has billed his bill, introduced in Jan, as being mostly focused on those consumers, but broadcasters would clearly benefit as well. The Rep said that given that in his state, still recovering from Hurricane Sandy, "we never know when another emergency will strike," the viewers should not lose their TV signals for even a day.