In Aftermath of Spectrum Auction, Even Stations That Sat Out Could Benefit

By PMC CEO Marc Hand, writing in Current:

Despite eye-popping windfalls for some stations, the FCC broadcast spectrum auction was a disappointment for public media.

Here’s why: Prior to the start of the auction, the prevailing wisdom was that the forward auction would generate anywhere between $30 billion and $60 billion in gross proceeds. Some experts were even more bullish — predicting numbers of $80 billion and greater, which would indicate a windfall for public media as well. In our own analysis, using simulations from Charles River Associates, we predicted as much as $37 billion for all winning broadcast station bidders and $6.8 billion for public TV alone. READ MORE ON Current…