Gray TV Pledges Pandemic Programs if FCC Grants Rare Exception to Restore, Sell Grand Forks License

The owner of a Grand Forks TV station that Gray TV wants to buy is asking the FCC to grant a rarely-used exception that allows a license to remain valid even if the station was off the air for longer than a year, with Gray saying the move would allow it to provide more programming in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Gray is seeking to buy KCPM/27 (Grand Forks) from G.I.G. of North Dakota. As reported here in March, the FCC concluded that G.I.G. had “failed to provide sufficient evidence showing that [KCPM] has been on the air” and denied the station’s license renewal and license transfer applications. Among other things, the FCC noted that G.I.G. said it couldn’t provide utility bills to prove that it had been on the air because it was powering its transmitter with a gas generator and had no invoices for the gas.

Federal law states that a license is automatically forfeited if a station is off the air for more than a year. However, G.I.G. argues in a petition for reconsideration that the FCC should consider a portion of the statute that allows the FCC to make exceptions “to promote equity and fairness.” It also says the existence of creditors who would lose money if G.I.G. loses its license is similar to a precedent set in a previous licensing proceeding.

Grand Forks is in the Fargo market, where Gray TV operates NBC affiliate KVLY-TV, CBS affiliate KXJB-LD, and subchannels including CW and Me-TV. As a full-power station, KCPM qualifies for must-carry status on cable and satellite providers.

In 44 pages of comments submitted in support of G.I.G.’s petition, Gray details its plans for KCPM if its license is restored and the sale is approved. A sale to Gray would also require a failing station waiver because there are fewer than eight full-power TV owners in the Fargo market.

Gray says it intends to use KCPM “as a key outlet for news, live press conferences, local public affairs programs, and other vital local public interest programming during the COVID-19 health crisis.”

Gray pledges that if the FCC restores KCPM’s license and approves the sale, it will close the deal within five days and then apply for a construction permit to move KCPM to KVLY’s tower within five days of closing.

Then, Gray says it will implement KCPM’s construction permit within ten days of its grant using equipment that is mostly already on hand. It will repurpose KVLY’s backup transmitter for KCPM and transmit from KVLY’s antenna using an existing combiner.

Gray’s comments also say KCPM would simulcast newscasts from KXJB’s CW channel at 7 a.m., Noon, and 9 p.m., allowing them to reach more over-the-air and satellite viewers in the market. KCPM would also carry Gray’s “Full Court Press Now” at 9:30 p.m. followed by an additional half hour of the existing “Point of View” local talk show at 10.

Additionally, Gray says it hopes to broadcast school lessons from North Dakota teachers on KCPM, similar to efforts at several other Gray stations.

Major Market Broadcasting, which owns KRDK/4 (Valley City-Fargo) and raised questions about KCPM’s status when the application to transfer its license to Gray was first filed, is opposing G.I.G.’s petition for reconsideration.

MMB says, “the circumstances under which the Commission has extended the statutory silent period are rare and in no way present here.” It says the FCC has previously limited its discretion to cases in which the failure to transmit was completely beyond a licensee’s control, such as natural disasters.

MMB also says, “the Commission should not allow the emotional issue of the moment to rewrite years of precedent” and says Gray could air the pandemic programming on its existing stations if it truly felt it would better serve the public interest.

In a separate filing, MMB also confirmed that it made an offer to buy KCPM in 2017 but says due diligence raised questions about the validity of its license. Gray says it was not aware of the potential license issues until MMB filed the petition to deny the sale.

The FCC has not yet responded to the petition for reconsideration.

MyNetworkTV’s website continues to list KCPM as an affiliate.