Federal Register: FCC (Broadcasting)

The Media Bureau, Video Division (Bureau) has before it a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued in response to a petition for rulemaking filed by Sander Operating Co. III LLC (Sander), licensee of KGW, channel 8, Portland, Oregon, requesting the substitution of channel 26 for channel 8 at Portland in the DTV Table of Allotments. The Bureau had instituted a freeze on the acceptance of rulemaking petitions by full power television stations requesting channel substitutions in May 2011 and waived the freeze to consider Sander's proposal to substitute channel 26 at Portland. TEGNA, Inc., filed comments in support of the petition reaffirming its commitment to applying for channel 26. The Bureau believes the public interest would be served by the substitution and will permit the station to better serve its viewers, who have experienced reception problems with VHF channel 8.

Petition for Reconsideration (Petition) has been filed in the Commission's proceeding by Rachel Stilwell and Samantha Gutierrez, on behalf of REC Networks, musicFIRST Coalition and Future of Music Coalition.

The Federal Communications Commission provides an option for AM stations to broadcast using an all-digital signal.

In this document the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) addresses the Petition for Reconsideration (Petition) filed by Discount Legal, regarding the Commission's Report and Order in the Noncommercial Educational (NCE) comparative standards proceeding (2019 NCE R&O). The Commission dismisses the Petition as procedurally defective, and alternatively and independently, denies the Petition.

In this document, the Commission seeks comment on rules proposing to require specific disclosure requirements for broadcast programming that is paid for, or provided by a foreign government or its representative.

The Commission recently adopted changes to its rules and procedures for considering competing applications for new noncommercial educational (NCE) FM radio stations in Reexamination of the Comparative Standards and Procedures for Licensing Noncommercial Educational Broadcast Stations and Low Power FM Stations, MB Docket No. 19-3, Report and Order. In this document, the Commission announces that it is directing the Media Bureau (Bureau) to open a filing window for NCE FM new station applications for the FM reserved band (channels 201-220). The Bureau will issue a future Public Notice to announce the specific dates of the 2021 window. The Commission also seeks comment on a proposal establishing a ten-application limit in the upcoming 2021 filing window.

The Commission has before it a petition for rulemaking filed by Multimedia Holdings Corporation (Multimedia), licensee of KNPX, channel 12, Mesa, Arizona, requesting the substitution of channel 18 for channel 12 at Mesa in the DTV Table of Allotments. The Commission instituted a freeze on the acceptance of rulemaking petitions by full power television stations requesting channel substitutions in May 2011, and Multimedia asks that the Commission waive the freeze to permit KPNX to change from a VHF to a UHF channel to better serve its over-the-air viewers. Multimedia states that the Commission has recognized that VHF channels have certain propagation characteristics which may cause reception issues for some viewers. While Multimedia acknowledges that VHF reception issues are not universal, it states that since the 2009 digital transition, when it began operating exclusively on digital channel 12, KPNX has received a steady stream of complaints from viewers unable to receive the station's over-the-air signal, despite being able to receive signals from other local stations. Multimedia believes that waiver of the channel substitution freeze would serve the public interest.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved, for a period of three years, the information collection requirements associated with the Second Report and Order of the Commission's Rules Regarding Public Notice of the Filing of Applications; the Report and Order in Low Power FM Radio Service Technical Rules; the Report and Order in Reexamination of the Comparative Standards and Procedures for Licensing of Noncommercial Educational Broadcast Stations and Low Power FM Stations. This document is consistent with the Report and Orders, which stated that the Commission would publish a document in the Federal Register announcing OMB approval and the effective date of the information collection requirements.

The Commission has before it a petition for rulemaking filed by Sander Operating Co. III LLC (Sander), licensee of KGW, requesting the substitution of channel 26 for channel 8 at Portland in the DTV Table of Allotments. The Commission instituted a freeze on the acceptance of rulemaking petitions by full power television stations requesting channel substitutions in May 2011, and Sander asks that the Commission waive the freeze to permit KGW to change from a VHF to a UHF channel to better serve its over-the-air viewers. Sander states that the Commission has recognized that VHF channels have certain propagation characteristics which may cause reception issues for some viewers. While Sander acknowledges that VHF reception issues are not universal, it states that since the 2009 digital transition, when it began operating exclusively on digital channel 8, KGW has received a steady stream of complaints from viewers unable to receive the station's over-the-air signal, despite being able to receive signals from other local stations. Sander believes that waiver of the channel substitution freeze would serve the public interest.

The Commission has before it a petition for rulemaking filed by Multimedia Holdings Corporation (Multimedia), licensee of KARE, channel 11, Minneapolis, Minnesota, requesting the substitution of channel 31 for channel 11 at Minneapolis in the DTV Table of Allotments. The Commission instituted a freeze on the acceptance of rulemaking petitions by full power television stations requesting channel substitutions in May 2011, and Multimedia asks that the Commission waive the freeze to permit KARE to change from a VHF to a UHF channel to better serve its over-the-air viewers. Multimedia states that the Commission has recognized that VHF channels have certain propagation characteristics which may cause reception issues for some viewers. While Multimedia acknowledges that VHF reception issues are not universal, it states that since the 2009 digital transition, when it began operating exclusively on digital channel 11, KARE has received a steady stream of complaints from viewers unable to receive the station's over-the-air signal, despite being able to receive signals from other local stations. Multimedia believes that waiver of the channel substitution freeze would serve the public interest.

In this document, the Commission eliminates the radio duplication rule, which restricts the duplication of programming on commonly owned stations operating in the same geographic area, for both AM and FM stations to reflect technological and marketplace changes since the current version of the rule was adopted in 1992. This approach will strike an appropriate balance between fostering our public interest goals of promoting competition and diversity and affording broadcast radio licensees greater flexibility to address issues of local concern in a timely fashion, facilitate digital broadcasting by AM stations, and ultimately allow stations to improve service to their communities.

In this document, the Office of Managing Director of the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) adopts an Order that amends the Commission's rules to reflect the upcoming new address of the Commission's headquarters, 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 20554. It also makes changes to clarify that certain documents are now available for inspection through the Commission's website, removes references to a Commission copy contractor, and performs minor formatting corrections.

This document denies an Application for Review filed by PMCM TV, LLC (PMCM) of the Media Bureau's grant of a rulemaking petition filed by Connecticut Public Broadcasting, Inc. (CPBI), licensee of noncommercial educational television station WEDW, Bridgeport, Connecticut, to change WEDW's community of license from Bridgeport to Stamford, Connecticut. The document finds that the Bureau's reallotment was proper.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved, for a period of three years, the information collection requirements associated with the Uniform License Renewal, Discontinuance of Operation, and Geographic Partitioning and Spectrum Disaggregation Rules and Policies for Certain Wireless Radio Services Second Report and Order and the Report and Order on the Commission's Rules to Facilitate the Use of Vehicular Repeater Units. This document is consistent with the Second Report and Order, Report and Order, all of which stated that the Commission would publish a document in the Federal Register announcing OMB approval and the effective date of the information collection requirements.

In this Report and Order, the Commission repeals two rules regarding access to FM and TV broadcast antenna sites. These rules prohibit the grant or renewal of an FM or TV broadcast license to any person who owns, leases, or controls a particular site which is peculiarly suitable for such broadcasting in a particular area, if: The site is not available for use by other such licensees, no other comparable site is available in the area, and the exclusive use of the site would unduly limit the number of such stations that can be licensed or unduly restrict competition among those stations. After review of the record, the Commission concludes that these rules no longer serve any practical purpose in light of the significant broadcast infrastructure development since the rules were first adopted 75 years ago. Therefore, the Commission determines that it is in the public interest to eliminate them.

In this document, the Commission eliminates the Engineering Division of the Media Bureau and folds it into the Bureau's Industry Analysis Division. We take this step to account for changes in the Engineering Division's duties and in the organizational structure of the Commission. Incorporating the work and staff of the Engineering Division into the Industry Analysis Division is meant to ensure that the Bureau's technical expertise is integrated more fully into the Bureau's adjudicatory matters and policy proceedings. The intended effect of this action is to streamline the Media Bureau's operations by simplifying its organizational structure, reduce management redundancies by improving the supervisor-to-employee ratio, and encourage more interaction and collaboration within the Bureau.

Petitions for Reconsideration have been filed in the Commission's proceeding by Foundation for a Beautiful Life; and by Todd Urick and Paul Bame (previously commenting under ``LPFM/NCE Community- Radio Engineer Advocates'' or ``LPFM Advocates''), along with Peter Gray (KFZR-LP), Makeda Dread Cheatom (KVIB-LP), Brad Johnson (KGIG-LP), David Stepanyuk (KIEV-LP), and Andy Hansen-Smith (KCFZ-LP).

This document amends the FM Table of Allotments, of the Commission's rules, by reinstating certain vacant FM allotments. These FM allotments are considered vacant because of the cancellation of the associated authorizations and licenses, or the dismissal of long-form auction applications. Theses vacant FM allotments have previously undergone notice and comment rule making. Reinstatement of the vacant allotments is merely a ministerial action to effectuate licensing procedures. Therefore, we find for good cause that further notice and comment are unnecessary.

In this document, the Commission resolves the pending issues in this proceeding that authorized broadcasters to use ATSC 3.0, the ``Next Generation'' broadcast television (Next Gen TV) transmission standard. First, the FCC addresses the three issues raised in the Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that was issued in conjunction with the Next Gen TV Report and Order. Specifically, we provide additional guidance to broadcasters deploying Next Gen TV that wish to receive a waiver of our local simulcasting rules, decline to permit at this time the use of vacant broadcast channels for purposes of Next Gen TV deployment, and clarify the ``significantly viewed'' status of Next Gen TV stations. Second, we dismiss and, on alternative and independent grounds, deny the two petitions for reconsideration of the Next Gen TV Report and Order.

In this document, the Commission removes regulatory uncertainty that could hinder the development of the new, innovative uses of broadcast spectrum that the ATSC 3.0 standard enables. Specifically, we clarify that long-standing television station ownership restrictions do not apply to the lease of spectrum to provide Broadcast internet services. By taking this step today, we help ensure that market forces, and not television station ownership rules that were written for different services, are brought to bear on and determine the success of the nascent Broadcast internet segment. This step will also help ensure that broadcasters and other innovators have the flexibility to generate the scale--both locally and nationally-- that may be necessary to support certain Broadcast internet services without being subject to regulations unrelated to the provision of such services. A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking relating to the broadcast ancillary and supplementary service rules is published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register.