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Graham Brock, Inc. |
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Broadcast Technical Consultants |
| Vol. XV, No. 7 |
R. Stuart Graham, Jr. |
| July 2008 |
Jefferson G. Brock |
1964 Grandfathered FM Station
Changes City of License |
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City of license change applications are not new;
however, a recent change by a North Carolina pre-1964
grandfathered station has a new slant. FM stations
existing prior to 1964 had no minimum distance
separation requirements. When the spacing tables were
enacted, those stations not meeting the new spacing
requirements were considered grandfathered, but the
stations could still be relocated if they met certain
requirements. Under the original city of license change
rules, it was necessary to submit a Petition for Rule
Making followed by an application. Grandfathered
stations could propose a change of city of license,
provided they did not change sites, since under the
contour protection rules that could potentially make
existing shortages worse, or even create new ones. After
successfully changing a community of license, some
stations filed a follow-up minor change application to
relocate. The licensee of the North Carolina facility
proposed a city of license change as well as site
relocation. It used its licensed location as its
“defacto allocation site”, or assignment site. Thus,
there were no change of allocation site shortages. The
station then proposed an actual implementation site that
moved the station closer to another pre-1964
grandfathered third adjacent station, which aggravated
the shortage. This shortage was then addressed under the
Commission’s contour protection rules. Thus, they took
what would have been a two step process and reduced it
to one step. |
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Retailers Issued Citations |
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Many national television and VCR retailers were
issued citations this month for failing to post the
required Consumer Alert label for TV’s and VCR’s
that do not have integrated digital TV tuners, but
have only analog TV tuners. The FCC noted that these
companies may be assessed fines not to exceed
$11,000 for such violations. |
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As we reported last month, on June 20, 2008 the
FCC lifted the freeze on DTV maximization
applications and petitions to amend the DTV
Table of Allotments. This was done to give
existing licensees the opportunity to make
changes to their respective DTV allotments prior
to February 2009. The Commission has already
released several Petitions for Rule Making,
seeking comments in proposed channel changes.
The stations requesting the changes generally
note that they cannot maximize on their present
DTV channel because of limitations imposed by
other DTV stations. Many stations have also
applied to increase power and relocate to new
sites with their existing DTV channels. The FCC
has indicated that it will review maximization
requests to determine whether the requests
create exclusivity with other proposals. Permits
for those maximization requests that are in
conflict will still be issued. However, the
permittees are expected to determine a way to
settle the conflict within 30 days; otherwise
the permits will be cancelled. |
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Comment Period Extended |
| IThe Commission’s rule making proceeding is
looking at diversification issues, local radio
markets, programming, local needs issues, main
studio locations, etc., and has extended the comment
period. The FCC has announced that comments must now
be filed by July 30, 2008, with reply comments due
August 29, 2008. There are several consolidated
proceedings falling within this matter: MB Dockets
07-294, 06-121, 04-228, 02-227, 01-235, 01-317 and
00-244. Thousands of comments have been submitted
under one or more of these docketed proceedings to
date, many of which are one or two paragraphs in
length. |
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Selection Process Begins |
| In the last several weeks, the FCC
released two Public Notices regarding its review of
some of the mutually exclusive non-commercial
applications filed in November 2007. Of the 263 MX
groups listed in the Commission’s original notice of
mutually exclusive applications, some 57 initial
selections have been made. The awarding of permits
to the winning applicant in each group has so far
been made solely on first and/or first and second
new non-commercial service. Tie breaker provisions
have not yet come into play. Some of the MX groups
have also negotiated settlements, but more than 100
MX groups remain. |
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AM NRSC Annual
Measurements |
| During August, Graham
Brock will be conducting NRSC
measurements and certifications
throughout the southeastern states
(currently scheduled are Georgia, South
Carolina, Florida). If you wish to be
included in our measurement campaign,
please contact us. Our fee for the
measurements and compliance report is
$250 per station. |
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