Graham Brock, Inc.
Broadcast Technical Consultants
Vol. X, No. 6
June 2003
On June 2, 2003, the FCC voted to enact changes to the multiple ownership rules for radio and television. The new rules, not yet released by the Commission, potentially restrict additional radio ownership in some markets, but allow for TV duopoly and triopoly in some markets. The rules also allow the cross-ownership of newspaper and broadcast outlets that previously required a waiver of the rules. The Public Notices have included the following changes:
TV Stations:
F In TV Markets with five or more stations, a single company may own two stations, only one of which may be in the top four in the market based on ratings.
F In TV Markets with 18 or more stations, a single company can own three stations, but only one can be in the top four.
F Both commercial and non-commercial stations are counted towards the total.
F A single TV company may control stations that serve 45% of US TV homes. The FCC retained a UHF discount for owners until the transition to DTV is completed.
Radio Stations:
F The number of stations that can be commonly held in any market remains unchanged.
F In Arbitron metro markets, the number of stations licensed to the metro market counties, or are considered “home” stations to that metro market, are counted toward the total number of stations in that market (including non-commercial stations). This defines the number of stations, removing the contour overlap counting methods. In non-Arbitron markets, a revised contour overlap rule is temporarily in place, pending the completion of a rule making. The revision is that no station whose transmitter site is farther than 92.0 kilometers from the common area of overlap may be considered as serving the market under analysis.
F Existing non-compliant combinations may continue with no divestiture, but can only be sold, in tact, to a “small business.”
The final rules are expected to be released in the next several weeks and will hopefully address issues and questions that have arisen since the release of the Public Notice.
Several years ago, the FCC removed certain provisions of its rules following the completion of a rule making proceeding. Once a channel allotment is made, there is no longer an automatic stay of the allotment if a party (or parties) file a request for reconsideration. However, a new party could not submit a new rule making request that could only be implemented if the previous rule making was upheld. This has changed. The FCC will now allow the submission of a new Petition for Rule Making prior to a previous request becoming final (an Initial Order must have been issued). This will allow an earlier filing of a petition and will no longer result in a dismissal of the new proposal as contingent. Any action taken by the FCC on the new proposal will be conditioned on the final outcome of the earlier proceeding.
We have mentioned many times about the need to make sure tower registration data is correct. Recently, we have seen many tower registrations issued that had coordinate errors, based on the use of an older FAA Determination of No Hazard. Prior to 1992, the FAA issued its determinations in NAD 1927 datum (the datum used by the FCC for station authorizations). However, the FCC requires tower registrations to be in NAD 1983 datum. For example, if you use a Determination of No Hazard that was issued in 1985, the coordinates are denoted in NAD1927 datum. When the FCC issues the tower registration, they list the coordinates as NAD1983 datum. The confusion is created when a new filing is made based on the coordinates denoted on the tower registration. Since the applicant would assume the coordinates are NAD83, they would convert them to NAD1927 datum for use in the application ..... well, do you see where the problem lies? You have just taken NAD1927 coordinates, assumed they were NAD83 coordinates and “re-converted” them to NAD1927 and now you are no where close to the actual coordinates. The bottom line is that, if the tower registration is in error, the coordinates for the station filing to use the tower will also be in error. It’s 10 o’clock, do you know what datum you’re using?
Are you not quite sure what is supposed to be in your Public Inspection File? Well, Graham Brock has put together a checklist to assist you in complying with the FCC’s rules. Visit our website at www.grahambrock.com and click on “Services” for more information or contact Cliff Woodman at 912-638-8028.