ABSTRACT
While low power television (LPTV) stations operate on a secondary basis, they are the primary source of television programming for many audience segments in rural, suburban and urban areas. By contrast, LPTV respondents mentioned fourteen specific national services. LPTV local origination fills more hours than local programming on full-power stations. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) contends that the Commission never contemplated that LPTV stations would compete with full-power television stations or cable systems. The NAB suggests that LPTV stations' reliance on satellite-delivered programming reflects their limited interest in local narrowcast programming. Like full-power television stations, LPTV stations compete with cable systems for local advertisers. For that reason cable operators have the very same economic incentive to refuse carriage of LPTV stations. Many LPTV stations have been denied cable carriage and suffered economic injury as a result. Some have even gone out of business.
