Federal Register: FCC (Broadcasting)

This document summarizes the procedures, deadlines, and upfront payment and minimum opening bid amounts for the upcoming auction of certain AM and FM broadcast construction permits. The Auction 109 Procedures Public Notice summarized here is intended to familiarize potential applicants with details of the procedures, terms, and conditions governing participation in Auction 109.

On March 4, 2021, the Media Bureau, Video Division (Bureau) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in response to a petition for rulemaking filed by The Curators of the University of Missouri (University), the licensee of KOMU-TV, channel 8 (NBC/CW), Columbia, Missouri, requesting the substitution of channel 27 for channel 8 at Columbia in the DTV Table of Allotments. For the reasons set forth in the Report and Order referenced below, the Bureau substitutes channel 27 for channel 8 at Columbia.

The Commission has before it a petition for rulemaking Four Seasons Peoria, LLC (Petitioner), licensee of television station WAOE, channel 10, Peoria, Illinois, requesting an amendment of the DTV Table of Allotments to delete channel 10 at Peoria, Illinois, and substitute channel 10 at Oswego, Illinois. Petitioner further requests modification of WAOE's license to specify Oswego as its community of license pursuant to the Commission's rules.

The Federal Communications Commission published a document in the Federal Register of March 25, 2021, concerning a petition for rulemaking filed by WLUK Licensee, LLC (Licensee) requesting the substitution of channel 18 for channel 12 at Green Bay, Wisconsin in the DTV Table of Allotments. The document contained the incorrect call sign in the summary section.

The Commission has before it a petition for rulemaking filed by Gray Television Licensee, LLC, (Gray), licensee of KAIT, channel 8, Jonesboro, Arkansas, requesting the substitution of channel 27 for channel 8 at Jonesboro in the DTV Table of Allotments. In support of its channel substitution request, Gray states that the Commission has recognized that VHF channels have certain propagation characteristics which may cause reception issues for some viewers, and also that the reception of VHF signals require larger antennas, relative to UHF channels.'' According to Gray, many of its viewers experience significant difficulty receiving KAIT's signal, and while there is small terrain limited predicted loss area, the viewers will continue to be well served by at least five other stations and receive ABC network service from another station licensed to Memphis, Tennessee.

The Commission has before it a petition for rulemaking (Petition) filed by KVII Licensee, LLC, (Licensee), licensee of KVII- TV, Channel 7, Amarillo, Texas (KVII or Station), requesting the substitution of channel 20 for channel 7 at Amarillo in the DTV Table of Allotments. Licensee states that the proposed channel substitution for KVII from VHF channel 7 to UHF channel 20 would allow KVII to significantly improve its over-the-air service to the Station's viewers in the Amarillo, Texas, market. Licensee states that the proposed channel change from channel 7 to channel 20 would result in a substantial increase in signal receivability for KVII's core viewers and enable viewers to receive the Station's signal with a significantly smaller antenna. Licensee maintains that KVII, as a VHF channel station, has had a long history of dealing with severe reception problems exacerbated by the analog to digital conversion. The proposed migration of KVII from channel 7 to channel 20, Licensee contends, is in the public interest based on the enhanced signal levels that will be delivered to a large percentage of the Station's population without any predicted loss of coverage. Further, Licensee maintains that the change will result in an predicted increase of 9.44% in the Station's overall population and the staff has determined there is no loss of service. Licensee concludes by saying that the public interest would be best served by promptly granting its Petition with the specifications set forth therein so that Amarillo-area viewers may benefit from substantially improved over-the-air broadcast television service as soon as possible.

The Video Division has before it a petition for rulemaking filed November 27, 2020 (Petition) by KHQA Licensee, LLC (Licensee), the licensee of KHQA-TV (CBS), channel 7, Hannibal, Missouri. The Licensee requests the substitution of channel 22 for channel 7 at Hannibal, Missouri in the digital television (DTV) Table of Allotments.

The Commission has before it a petition for rulemaking (Petition) filed by KUTV Licensee, LLC, (Licensee), licensee of KMYU, channel 9, St. George, Utah (KMYU or Station), requesting the substitution of channel 21 for channel 9 at St. George in the DTV Table of Allotments. Licensee states that the proposed channel change from channel 9 to channel 21 would result a substantial increase in signal receivability for KMYU's core viewers and enable viewers to receive the Station's signal with a significantly smaller antenna. Licensee maintains that KMYU, as a VHF channel station, has had a long history of dealing with severe reception problems exacerbated by the analog to digital conversion. The proposed migration of KMYU from channel 9 to channel 21, Licensee contends, will result in the delivery of enhanced signal levels to a large percentage of the Station's population without any predicted loss of coverage. Further, Licensee maintains that the change will result in an predicted increase of more than 8,000 persons in the Station's overall population. Licensee concludes by saying that the public interest would be best served by promptly granting its Petition with the specifications set forth in therein so that St. George-area viewers may benefit from substantially improved over-the- air broadcast television service as soon as possible.

The Video Division has before it a petition for rulemaking filed November 27, 2020 (Petition) by WULK Licensee, LLC (Licensee), the licensee of WULK-TV (FOX), channel 12, Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Licensee requests the substitution of channel 18 for channel 12 at Green Bay, Wisconsin the digital television (DTV) Table of Allotments.

The Video Division has before it a petition for rulemaking filed November 27, 2020 (Petition) by WFXL Licensee, LLC (Licensee), the licensee of WFXL (FOX), channel 12, Albany, Georgia (Station). The Licensee requests the substitution of channel 29 for channel 12 at Albany, Georgia in the digital television (DTV) Table of Allotments.

Petition for Reconsideration (Petition) has been filed in the Commission's proceeding by Michael Lazarus, on behalf Sennheiser Electronic Corporation and Catherine Wang, on behalf of Shure Incorporated.

The Video Division has before it a petition for rulemaking filed November 27, 2020 (Petition) by Gray Television Licensee, LLC (Petitioner), the licensee of KCRG-TV (ABC), channel 9 (KCRG or Station), Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The Petitioner requests the substitution of channel 32 for channel 9 at Cedar Rapids, Iowa in the digital television (DTV) Table of Allotments.

The Commission has before it a petition for rulemaking filed by Gray Television Licensee, LLC (Gray or Licensee), the licensee of television station KSNB-TV, channel 4, Superior, Nebraska, requesting an amendment of the DTV Table of Allotments to delete VHF channel 4 at Superior, Nebraska and allot it to York, Nebraska, and substitute UHF channel 24 at York for channel 4.

The Video Division has before it a petition for rulemaking filed November 27, 2020 (Petition) by Dominion Broadcasting, Inc. (Petitioner), the licensee of WLMB (IND), channel 5, Toledo, Ohio (WLMB or Station). The Petitioner requests the substitution of channel 35 for channel 5 at Toledo, Ohio in the DTV Table of Allotments.

The Federal Communications Commission published a document in the Federal Register of March 5, 2021, concerning a petition for rulemaking filed by Gray Television Licensee, LLC (Gray) requesting the substitution of channel 23 for channel 11 at Savannah, Georgia in the DTV Table of Allotments. The document contained the incorrect address for counsel of petitioner.

On June 18, 2020, the Federal Communications Commission revised Commission rules. That document incorrectly listed a cross- reference. This document corrects the final regulations.

The Federal Communications Commission published a document in the Federal Register of March 8, 2021, concerning a petition for rulemaking filed by Gray Television Licensee, LLC (Gray) requesting the substitution of channel 27 for channel 12 at Augusta, Georgia in the DTV Table of Allotments. The document contained the incorrect address for counsel of petitioner.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) addresses four petitions for reconsideration of a final rule (Petitions) filed by: Charles M. Anderson; the LPFM Coalition; KGIG-LP, Salida, California/Fellowship of the Earth; and Skywaves Communications LLC. The Petitions seek reconsideration of the Commission's report and order in the FM translator interference proceeding (Report and Order). The Commission dismisses or denies the arguments set forth in the Petitions and amends a rule to correct a cross-reference.

The Commission has before it a petition for rulemaking filed by KTUL Licensee, LLC, (Licensee), licensee of KTUL, channel 10, Tulsa, Oklahoma, requesting the substitution of channel 14 for channel 10 at Tulsa in the DTV Table of Allotments. The Licensee states that the Commission has recognized that VHF channels have certain propagation characteristics which may cause reception issues for some viewers, and also that reception of VHF signals require larger antennas that are generally not well suited to the mobile applications expected under flexible use, relative to UHF channels. KTUL has received numerous complaints from viewers unable to receive the Station's over-the-air signal, despite being able to receive signals from other stations. Licensee further states that with respect to operations on channel 14 and nearby land mobile services, it has determined that it can install the appropriate mask filter and antenna needed to avoid interference to land mobile operations. In addition, operation on channel 14 will not result in any predicted loss of service and would result in a substantial increase in signal receivability for KTUL viewers.

The Video Division has before it a petition for rulemaking filed November 27, 2020 (Petition) by Gray Television Licensee, LLC (Petitioner), the licensee of KFVS-TV (CBS), channel 11 (KFVS or Station), Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The Petitioner requests the substitution of channel 32 for channel 11 at Cape Girardeau, Missouri in the DTV Table of Allotments. In support of its channel substitution request, the Petitioner states that the Commission has recognized that VHF channels have certain propagation characteristics which may cause reception issues for some viewers, and also that the ``reception of VHF signals require larger antennas . . . relative to UHF channels.'' According to the Petitioner, ``many of its viewers experience significant difficulty receiving KFVS-TV's signal'' and its channel substitution proposal will allow KFVS ``to deliver a more reliable over-the-air signal to viewers.'' The Petitioner further states that operation on channel 32 will not result in any predicted loss of service and would result in a substantial increase in signal receivability for KFVS viewers. We believe that the Petitioner's channel substitution proposal warrants consideration. Channel 32 can be substituted for channel 11 at Cape Girardeau, Missouri as proposed, in compliance with the principal community coverage requirements of the Commission's rules at coordinates 37-27-46.0 N and 89-30-14.0 W. In addition, we find that this channel change meets the technical requirements set forth in our regulations. We believe that the Petitioner's channel substitution proposal warrants consideration. Channel 32 can be substituted for channel 11 at Cape Girardeau, Missouri as proposed, in compliance with the principal community coverage requirements of the Commission's rules at coordinates 37-27- 46.0 N and 89-30-14.0 W. In addition, we find that this channel change meets the technical requirements set forth in our regulations.