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Graham Brock, Inc. |
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Broadcast Technical Consultants |
| Vol. XIII, No. 5 |
R. Stuart Graham, Jr. |
| May 2006 |
Jefferson G. Brock |
| Digital Companion Window Delayed |
The FCC announced a filing window for companion
digital LPTV stations for existing licensees and
permittees. The companion digital channel is only open
to present licensees and permittees. The window,
originally to open May 1, 2006 and close May 12, 2006,
has now been pushed back. It will now open June 19th and
close June 30th. The FCC froze the filing of minor
change applications for LPTV, TV translator and Class A
LPTV stations on April 3, 2006, in anticipation of the
filing window and has not lifted the freeze. Therefore,
no minor change applications can be submitted until
after June 30th.
In order to file a companion digital request during the
June window, existing facilities (licenses or permits)
must review the spectrum for an available digital
channel. The search for digital channels is to be
conducted using the Longley-Rice OET Bulletin 69
parameters, which are similar to those used for full
power DTV reviews, as opposed to the former contour
overlap method. While it is not required that the
digital site and the analog site be the same, there must
be overlap between the protected contour of the analog
station and its digital counterpart. The companion
digital facility must also re-transmit the same
programming as the analog station. If more than one
station files for the same digital channel in or near
the same market, the FCC will award the companion
channel to one of the applicants by the auction process.
Existing stations that either cannot locate a companion
channel that meets the rules, or would prefer not to
request a companion channel, may convert their analog
facility to digital on the station’s existing channel,
using the appropriate digital parameters. Digital LPTV
stations operating in the VHF band cannot have an
effective radiated power exceeding 300 watts; in the UHF
band the effective radiated power for digital stations
is capped at 15.0 kilowatts. An interference analysis,
using Longley-Rice, must show that there will be no
interference to other analog or digital stations from
the proposed digital station. A flash cut application to
convert from analog
to digital is considered a minor change and may be
submitted after June 30th. Unlike full service stations,
the FCC has not yet mandated that LPTV stations convert
to digital transmission, although that remains a very
real possibility in the future. |
| Grandfathered Ownership Issues |
The FCC recently dismissed a station’s application
to implement a change in community of license based
on the number of stations the licensee held in the
relative BIA/Arbitron market. Based on the BIA/Arbitron
definition, the licensee does have more stations
than allowed in the market, but this combination was
grandfathered when the new ownership rules went into
effect. When the licensee of the station submitted
an application to change its community of license,
based on the BIA/Arbitron definition, the licensee
noted that the concentration was not changing; thus,
the station cluster remained grandfathered. Not so,
said the FCC. The FCC indicated that a footnote in
the new ownership rules states that any change of
community of license, as ordered in a rule making
case, must demonstrate compliance with the rules,
thus losing any grandfathered status. The licensee,
backed by other broadcasters, has filed a Petition
for Reconsideration seeking a re-visitation of this
matter. Under this footnote, implementation of
community of license changes have become more
complex. |
| Section 106 and FCC Form 620 |
| We have received numerous questions
regarding what a §106 analysis and Form 620 are.
Both are generally part of the FCC’s enhanced
process to have parties ensure they have
reviewed proposed new tower sites and what
impact these locations might have on historic
areas, Indian religious sites, flood plains and
wetlands, as well as high intensity strobe
lights in residential neighborhoods and RF
exposure limits. Rules regarding how a site
impacts any of these issues are contained within
§1.1306 and §1.1307 of the rules. |
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