Don’t change that dial

WHAT IS THE FCC SPECTRUM AUCTION?

The broadcast incentive auction, authorized by Congress in 2012, lets television broadcasters relinquish their rights to spectrum. Wireless carriers bid on the freed-up spectrum, and broadcasters get most of the proceeds.

WILL THIS CHANGE HOW VIEWERS WATCH TV?

No. Thanks to the 2009 transition to digital broadcasting, the process is complex on the back end, but largely invisible to viewers. In the Bay Area, no stations are going off the air. Instead, they are changing frequencies. Because digital broadcasting requires less space than analog broadcasting, stations can now share channels. These channel-sharing agreements, which will get sorted out over the next few years, require a complex process of “re-packing” stations across the remaining spectrum, but the flexibility of digital broadcasting means that they can keep their channel numbers.

WHO MADE WHAT?

Fifty wireless companies bid $19.8 billion nationwide. Of that, $7.3 billion went to reduce the federal deficit. After other costs and setasides, broadcasters got $10 billion. The 10 Bay Area stations got more than $825 million. The biggest local winner: KTNC, which got $114.2 million. That station is currently airing paid programming after recently parting ways with a Spanish-language network.

WHAT WILL THE MONEY BE USED FOR?

It varies by station. Some broadcasters are handing the money over to investors, while others are using it to fund the process of moving channels or upgrading equipment. Public broadcasters KQED and KRCB are adding to their endowments.