As we enter 2026, we could not be more excited about the future of LPTV! 285 applications were received by the FCC for a major modification move of a transmitter site of up to 75 miles. That is huge and we are thrilled that so many stations took advantage of this opportunity.

In March, the next big opportunity becomes a reality as we have the opportunity to both apply for brand new LPTV Construction Permits and move our transmitter facilities any distance.

On December 18, 2025, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved a Report and Order (Order) adopting changes to its rules for the Low Power Television Service (LPTV Service [1]). The Order implements a series of revisions to the application processes and operating procedures for LPTV Service stations that were originally proposed in a July 2024 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

The Order will take effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.

FROM THE FCC WEBSITE: Due to a partial lapse in federal government funding, the FCC has suspended most operations effective 12:00 a.m. EDT on October 1, 2025. How does this affect LPTV broadcasters? Read this blog post for detailed information!

Recently, the newsletter, NCS, published an analysis of the FCC’s notice on ATSC 3.0. Their article opens with:

The Federal Communications Commission’s October 7th notice on ATSC 3.0 is notable less for what it proposes than for what it refuses to decide.

The commission has produced a document that illuminates a basic problem: it no longer knows how to regulate the spectrum allocated for public use.

I could not disagree more.

Clarification #1: Moving Stations and New Stations. LPTVBA is thrilled that the FCC Media Bureau published a public notice lifting the freezes on major modifications!

Due date: 2025 FCC Regulatory Fees are due not later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on September 25.

How do I know what I owe? Go to http://www.fccfees.com/, known as the fee look-up site. Click “View Fee Information and Exempt Status for any Broadcast Property”. You can look up each station by call sign OR by Facility ID, but Facility ID is more accurate if your station call letters have changed at any point over the past year. Write down the information, or print/save this screen for each station.

Low-power television broadcasters and NAB don’t think the FCC should broadly apply online public file requirements to LPTV, said a host of reply comments filed in docket 24-147 by Monday’s deadline.

The owner of a low-power digital television station serving New Haven, Conn., has petitioned the D.C. Federal Appeals Court in a move that seeks to stay, and reverse, the FCC’s unanimous decision to sign the “Low Power Protection Act” into law.

5G Broadcast is approaching commercial deployment by some video service providers after a raft of trials were completed in 2023. The first tentative commercial services are arriving from the likes of Boston based WWOO in the USA.