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On April 4, 2000, the Commission released a Report and Order establishing a Class A television
service to implement the Community Broadcasters Protection Act of 1999 (CBPA). Pursuant to
the CBPA and the Commission's rules, a low power television licensee may convert the secondary
status of its station to the new Class A status, provided it can satisfy certain statutorily-established
criteria. Licensees intending to seek Class A designation were to file a certification of eligibility
with the Commission no later than January 28, 2000. According to the Report and Order, LPTV
licensees that filed timely certifications of eligibility, other than those licensed to operate on a
channel above channel 51, would be allowed to file Class A applications up to 6 months after the
effective date of the rules adopted in the Order. The Commission found the 6 month deadline for
filing a Class A application to be a reasonable time frame that would afford all LPTV stations,
including those who must file displacement applications, adequate time to prepare and file their
Class A applications consistent with the adopted rules. Because the rules took effect on June 9,
2000, the 6-month application period ends on December 11, 2000.
The Commission has received several petitions for reconsideration of the Report and Order. In
order to give eligible LPTV licensees adequate time to prepare and file their Class A applications
consistent with any clarifications or rule changes that may be adopted on reconsideration, we have
decided to extend the filing deadline until the issues raised by the petitioners have been resolved.
By this Public Notice, the deadline for the filing of Class A applications by eligible LPTV stations
is extended to 90 days after release of the Order on Reconsideration.
For further information, contact Hossein Hashemzadeh or James Brown at (202) 418-1600, in the
Mass Media Bureau.
By: Chief, Mass Media Bureau
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