In a notice today, the FCC reminded all analog LPTV and translator television stations that they must convert to digital operation by July 13, 2021, effectively setting a drop-dead date for all remaining LPTV’s on channel 6 operating as radio stations on 87.75 FM.

The FCC notice states, “By 11:59 p.m. local time on July 13, 2021, all LPTV/translator stations must terminate all analog television operations regardless of whether their digital facilities are operational. As the Commission stated in the LPTV DTV Third R&O, although the digital transition deadline is still a year away, stations “are encouraged to complete their transition to digital as soon as feasible.” The digital transition date is a hard deadline – no extensions or continuation of analog operations will be permitted.”

Stations that still don’t have digital transmission facilities constructed by July 13, 2021 must still cease analog transmission and go off the air until construction is completed.

There are still quite a few analog television stations operating as so-called “Franken-FMs”. The most notable is Weigel Broadcasting’s “87.7 MeTV-FM” WRME-LP Chicago with its 3.0 share in the June 2020 Nielsen Audio ratings. Regional Mexican “La Nueva 87.7” WDCN-LP Washington DC also shows up in the PPM ratings with a 0.6 share. Others of note include Regional Mexican “La Invasora 87.7” KXDP-LP Denver, Korean WNYZ-LP New York, Sports WPGF-LP Memphis simulcasting 560 WHBQ, and Classic Hits “87.7 The Bridge” WJMF-LP Jackson MS.

The full order can be read here.