Low-power broadcasting is the concept of broadcasting at very low power and low cost, to a small community area. These stations tend to serve small towns, if not completely rural areas in the United States, largely because they cannot fit into large cities already crowded by full-power stations.
This means LPTV stations must not cause interference to the reception of existing or future full-service television stations, must accept interference from full-service stations, and must yield to new full-service stations, where interference occurs.
LPTV stations sometimes tailor program segments or entire schedules to specific viewer groups (on the basis of age, language or particular interest).
LPTV stations are subject to a minimum of program-related regulations.
In all, there are roughly 2,200 LPTV outlets, which were first authorized in 1982 as a way to create opportunities for minorities, women and niche programmers who otherwise might not have access to the airwaves.
LPTV signals reach roughly 15 to 20 miles from their transmission sites, while traditional full-power stations generally reach between 60 and 80 miles.
Since their creation, LPTV licensees have operated as a secondary service, meaning they were forbidden from causing interference to full-power broadcasters.
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