Public Television Digital Transition Grant Program

 

As part of the nation's transition to digital television, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) required all television broadcasters to have converted their transmitters to broadcast digital signals by June 12, 2009. While stations must broadcast their main transmitter signal in digital, many rural public television stations have yet to complete a full digital transition of their stations across all equipment. Rural stations often have translators serving small or isolated areas and some of these have not completed the transition to digital. The digital transition has also created some service gaps where households that received an analog signal are now unable to receive a digital signal, and the public television station would like to install a fill-in translator to continue service to these areas. Some rural stations also have not fully converted their production and studio equipment to digital. Grant funds may be used to acquire and install facilities and software necessary for the transition as well as equipment to facilitate local origination and management of programming. Grant funds may also be used for associated engineering and environmental studies. The program is targeted at public television stations that serve rural areas.

Deleted 08/06/2014 (Archived.) RDUP-14-01-PTV Agency: Department of Agriculture
Office: Utilities Programs Grant 10 Public Television Station Digital Transition Grant Program Public Television Stations. Public television station means a noncommercial educational television broadcast station that is qualified for Community Service Grants by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting under section 396 (k) of the Communications Act of 1934. These are over-the air broadcast stations that meet the specific program definition for public television stations. Typically they are PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) member stations, although that is not a requirement. Public access cable TV stations and PEG channels (public, educational, government access channels) are NOT eligible for this grant program. Low power television (LPTV) stations or any other broadcast stations that are not on the Corporation for Public Broadcasting eligibility list are also NOT eligible. 07/07/2014 This program does not have cost sharing or matching requirements. Petra Schultze
Financial Analyst
Phone 202-690-4493 http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/utp_dtv.html petra.schultze@wdc.usda.gov $2,000,000.00 Awards up to $750,000.00