FCC chair Ajit Pai told the Senate Commerce Committee Wednesday (July 19) that while the initial $2.1 billion estimate from broadcasters for covering their moving costs could go up or down, the FCC does not believe the $1.75 billion Congress set aside for the post-incentive auction repack will be sufficient.
Testifying at his re-nomination hearing, Pai said that while the estimates could go down or up, he thought the actual cost would wind up being more and that, to hold broadcasters harmless in the move, Congress would need to provide more funds.
That came after Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) asked whether, given the initial estimate, there would be enough money or there would be a shortfall.
The estimates are what broadcasters have requested. The FCC will vet those requests and decide according to a congressional mandate to cover reasonable repack-related expenses — what and how much to cover. There could also be some tweaks that reduce the potential moving costs some stations have initially submitted as well as additional asks from the stations and MVPDs yet to weigh in.
Moran also asked whether the 39-month TV station repack timeline was sufficient. Pai said he did not yet know, but would keep the committee informed.
