Rep Pallone Proposes $1B Boost to Auction Repack Fund

House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ)—who has long pushed Congress to hold viewers harmless in the post-incentive auction repack—has introduced a bill to make sure the moving expenses of TV stations (and affected FM stations and pay-TV providers) are covered, given the initial broadcaster estimates of $2.1 billion in expenses and Congress' set-aside of only $1.75 billion.

The Viewer Protection Act would establish a $1 billion "emergency fund" if needed and fund a $90 million viewer outreach effort, given that most of a thousand stations are moving channels—some likely twice—in a 10-phase transition. Any money left over could be used to help low-power stations (including translators), who are not protected in the repack. The bill would also give the FCC's Media Bureau the flexibility to modify the transition periods for the phased transition so stations would not go dark to viewers for reasons outside their control.