[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 73 (Tuesday, April 18, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 18240-18252]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-07171]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Parts 73 and 74

[MB Docket Nos. 03-185, 15-137; GN Docket No. 12-268; FCC 17-29]


Channel Sharing Rules

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: In this Report and Order, the Federal Communications 
Commission (Commission) adopted rules to allow full power and Class A 
stations with auction-related channel sharing agreements (CSAs) to 
become sharees outside of the incentive auction context so that they 
can continue to operate if their auction-related CSAs expire or 
otherwise terminate. The Commission also adopted rules to allow all low 
power television and TV translator stations (secondary stations) to 
share a channel with another secondary station or with a full power or 
Class A station. This action will assist secondary stations that are 
displaced by the incentive auction and the repacking process to 
continue to operate in the post-auction television bands. The rules 
adopted in this R&O will enhance the benefits of channel sharing for 
broadcasters without imposing significant burdens on multichannel video 
programming distributors (MVPDs).

DATES: These rules are effective May 18, 2017 except for Sec. Sec.  
73.3800, 73.6028, and 74.799(h), which contain new or modified 
information collection requirements that require approval by the OMB 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act and will become effective after the 
Commission publishes a document in the Federal Register announcing such 
approval and the relevant effective date.

[[Page 18241]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shaun Maher, [email protected] of 
the Media Bureau, Video Division, (202) 418-2324. For additional 
information concerning the PRA information collection requirements 
contained in this document, contact Cathy Williams, Federal 
Communications Commission, at (202) 418-2918, or via email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Report 
and Order (R&O), MB Docket Nos. 03-185, 15-137; GN Docket No. 12-268; 
FCC 17-29, adopted on March 23, 2017 and released March 24, 2017. The 
full text is available for inspection and copying during regular 
business hours in the FCC Reference Center, 445 12th Street SW., Room 
CY-A257, Portals II, Washington, DC 20554. This document is available 
in alternative formats (computer diskette, large print, audio record, 
and Braille). Persons with disabilities who need documents in these 
formats may contact the FCC by email: [email protected] or phone: 202-418-
0530 or TTY: 202-418-0432.
    Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 Analysis: This document contains 
new or modified information collection requirements. The Commission, as 
part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, will invite 
the general public and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to 
comment on the information collection requirements contained in this 
document in a separate Federal Register Notice, as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13, see 44 U.S.C. 3507. 
In addition, pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 
2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4), we previously 
sought specific comment on how we might further reduce the information 
collection burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25 
employees.
    Congressional Review Act: The Commission will send a copy of this 
R&O to Congress and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) pursuant 
to the Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A).

Synopsis

    1. In this R&O, the Commission adopted rules to allow full power 
and Class A stations with auction-related channel sharing agreements 
(CSAs) to become sharees outside of the incentive auction context so 
that they can continue to operate if their auction-related CSAs expire 
or otherwise terminate. The Commission also adopted rules to allow all 
low power television and TV translator stations (secondary stations) to 
share a channel with another secondary station or with a full power or 
Class A station. This action will assist secondary stations that are 
displaced by the incentive auction and the repacking process to 
continue to operate in the post-auction television bands. The rules 
adopted in this R&O will enhance the benefits of channel sharing for 
broadcasters without imposing significant burdens on multichannel video 
programming distributors (MVPDs).

Extending Channel Sharing Outside the Incentive Auction

    2. In the R&O, the Commission expand its channel sharing rules to 
allow full power stations with auction-related CSAs to become sharees 
outside of the auction context. The Commission also permitted all 
secondary stations to be sharee stations outside the auction context. 
The Commission concluded that specific provisions of Title III of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended (Act) provide ample authority to 
adopt rules to expand channel sharing outside the auction context. 
Section 303(g) authorizes the Commission to ``generally encourage the 
larger and more effective use of radio in the public interest.'' 
Consistent with that provision, channel sharing promotes efficient use 
of spectrum by allowing two or more television stations to share a 
single 6 MHz channel. Section 307(b) directs the Commission to make 
``distribution of licenses, frequencies, hours of operation, and of 
power among the several States and communities as to provide a fair, 
efficient, and equitable distribution of radio service to each of the 
same.'' Pursuant to its mandate under section 307(b), the Commission 
disfavors loss of broadcast service. Consistent with this provision, 
adopting channel sharing rules will help prevent loss of service by 
ensuring that stations that enter into CSAs in connection with the 
auction may continue broadcasting if and when their auction-related 
CSAs terminate or otherwise expire. In addition, authorizing additional 
types of channel sharing for secondary stations, including with primary 
stations, will increase the opportunities for displaced secondary 
stations to continue broadcasting after the incentive auction and the 
repacking. Section 316 gives the Commission the authority to modify 
licenses, including by rulemaking, if it finds that will serve the 
public interest. Consistent with this provision, we find that adopting 
channel sharing rules will serve the public interest by promoting the 
efficient use of spectrum and facilitating the continued availability 
of broadcast television stations.
    3. Full Power Stations. The Commission permitted full power 
stations with auction-related CSAs to become sharees outside of the 
auction context. This action will ensure that full power stations with 
auction-related CSAs are able to enter into new CSAs outside the 
auction context once their auction-related CSAs expire or otherwise 
terminate and, therefore, are able to continue to channel share and 
provide service to the public. Permitting channel sharing outside the 
auction for full power stations with auction-related CSAs is a logical 
extension of the Commission's prior decision to adopt more flexible 
auction-related channel sharing rules and to permit term-limited CSAs.
    4. The Commission will not allow full power stations without 
auction-related CSAs to become sharees following the auction. There is 
little evidence of demand at this time for other full power stations to 
become sharees. The Commission believes it is unlikely that a full 
power station that chose not to bid to channel share in the auction, 
when it was eligible to be compensated for the spectrum it 
relinquished, would elect to channel share outside the auction context 
and to relinquish spectrum without compensation. The Commission also 
believes it is unlikely that a full power station that submitted an 
unsuccessful channel sharing bid in the auction would seek to 
relinquish its spectrum outside the auction context without 
compensation in order to channel share rather than choosing another 
option, such as selling its station.
    5. In addition, by declining to allow full power stations without 
auction-related CSAs to become sharees outside the auction context, the 
Commission addresses concerns that full power channel sharing outside 
the auction context could increase the number of full power stations 
MVPDs are required to carry. First, absent this limitation, channel 
sharing could allow unbuilt full power stations to become sharee 
stations, thereby providing these stations with a shortcut to obtaining 
carriage and artificially increasing the number of stations MVPDs are 
required to carry. Second, absent this limitation, if a full power 
station vacates its channel post-auction to share another station's 
channel, the vacated channel could be made available for licensing to a 
new full power station, thereby providing both the original station 
(now transmitting on a shared channel) and the new station with must-
carry rights. Thus, by limiting full power sharees outside of the 
auction context to only those with an auction-related CSA, the

[[Page 18242]]

Commission avoids an increase in the number of full power stations 
MVPDs are required to carry under the must-carry regime.
    6. Secondary Stations. The Commission permitted all secondary 
stations to be sharee stations outside the auction context. As the 
Commission has previously explained, channel sharing outside of the 
auction context has the potential to increase the opportunities for 
displaced secondary stations to survive the impending spectrum repack 
and continue providing programming to the public. Channel sharing also 
has the potential to reduce construction and operating costs for 
resource-constrained secondary stations, including small, minority-
owned, and niche stations. Primary-secondary sharing will allow 
secondary stations to expand their coverage areas by sharing with full 
power sharer stations and provide them with increased interference 
protection. This type of ``quasi'' interference protection may serve to 
promote channel sharing as an attractive option to secondary stations 
that are seeking a method to avoid displacement of their facilities by 
primary users.
    7. The Commission's decision to allow all secondary stations to 
become sharee stations encompasses unbuilt secondary stations. This 
approach will assist permittees of secondary stations who prefer to 
commence service via channel sharing by allowing them to enter into a 
CSA without first constructing a stand-alone station. Because sharee 
stations must use the same transmission facility as the sharer, an 
unbuilt sharee will be able to either divide initial construction costs 
with the sharer or avoid such costs entirely. In addition, by sharing 
ongoing costs like electricity and maintenance with the sharer station, 
the unbuilt secondary permittee can free up resources that can be 
devoted to improving programming services.
    8. The Commission concludes that its action will not unduly burden 
cable operators. As an initial matter, as discussed below, the 
Commission interpret the must-carry provisions of the Act to deny 
carriage rights to secondary sharee stations that are not exercising 
must carry rights on their existing channel on the date of release of 
the incentive auction Closing and Reassignment PN. Thus, although the 
Commission allowed all secondary stations to become sharee stations 
outside the auction context, it ensured that stations cannot use 
sharing as a shortcut to obtaining cable carriage rights. Moreover, 
unlike full power commercial stations, which are entitled to assert 
mandatory carriage rights on cable systems throughout their DMA, 
secondary stations qualify for must-carry on cable systems only under 
very limited circumstances set forth in section 614 of the Act. The 
strict requirements for carriage set forth in the Act will continue to 
apply to secondary stations.
    9. Sharer Stations. The Commission allowed all full power and 
secondary stations to be sharer stations outside of the auction 
context, including full power stations that are not a party to an 
auction-related CSA. In a channel sharing relationship outside the 
auction context, the sharee station relinquishes its licensed 
frequencies without compensation and compensates the sharer station for 
sharing its licensed frequency with the sharee. Although the Commission 
concluded that full power stations that are not a party to an auction-
related CSA will likely have no incentive to enter into such an 
arrangement, the same is not true for potential sharers, who stand to 
benefit financially through payments from sharee stations. In addition, 
the ability of such stations to become sharers also benefits other 
stations by increasing the number of potential sharers. Allowing all 
stations to be sharers outside the auction context will not increase 
carriage burdens for MVPDs. Because a sharer station necessarily will 
have already constructed and licensed its facilities, there is no 
concern that such stations might use sharing as a shortcut to obtaining 
MVPD carriage. In addition, because sharer stations do not relinquish 
spectrum usage rights, allowing all stations to be sharers does not 
present concerns with vacated channels being licensed to new stations 
that could increase the number of stations MVPDs are required to carry.

Carriage Rights Outside the Auction Context

    10. The Commission interpreted the Act as providing full power 
stations with auction-related CSAs that subsequently become sharees 
outside of the auction context, as well as their sharer station hosts, 
with the same carriage rights at their shared location that they would 
have if they were not channel sharing. It also interpretted the Act as 
providing secondary sharee stations, as well as their sharer station 
hosts, with the same carriage rights at their shared location that they 
would have if they were not channel sharing, provided the sharee 
station is exercising must carry rights on its existing channel on the 
date of release of the Closing and Reassignment PN. The Commission 
found that its interpretation will effectuate the statutory purposes 
underlying the must-carry regime without burdening more speech than 
necessary to further those interests.
    11. The Commission concluded that the language of the must-carry 
provisions is ambiguous with respect to the issue of carriage rights in 
the context of channel sharing. The language of these provisions does 
not expressly preclude channel sharing stations from retaining must-
carry rights at their shared location, nor does it compel a particular 
result. For example, in the case of a full power commercial station 
asserting mandatory cable carriage rights, both before and after the 
CSA, the station will be a ``full power television broadcast station . 
. . licensed and operating on a channel regularly assigned to its 
community by the Commission that, with respect to a particular cable 
system, is within the same television market as the cable system.'' 
Accordingly, the Commission chose a reasonable interpretation of the 
statutory text that best effectuates the statutory purpose underlying 
the must-carry regime.
    12. The Commission disagreed with the National Cable and 
Telecommunications Association's (NCTA) claim that the must-carry 
provisions cannot be read to extend carriage rights to channel sharing 
stations. The Commission did not agree that the definition of ``a local 
commercial television station'' is inextricably tied to its assignment 
to a 6 MHz channel and that, therefore, mandatory carriage obligations 
extend to only one programming stream per 6 MHz channel. NCTA cited to 
Section 534 of the Act, which defines a ``local commercial television 
station'' as any commercial full power station ``licensed and operating 
on a channel regularly assigned to its community by the Commission. . . 
.'' NCTA noted that our rules currently define a ``channel'' as 6 MHz 
wide. Sections 614, 615, and 338, however, accord carriage rights to 
licensees without regard to whether they occupy a full 6 MHz channel or 
share a channel with another licensee. The Commission concluded that 
nothing in the Act requires a station to occupy an entire 6 MHz channel 
in order to be eligible for must-carry rights; rather, the station must 
simply be a licensee eligible for carriage under the applicable 
provision of the Act. In this proceeding, the Commission revised its 
rules to permit digital stations to share a 6 MHz channel and will 
require that channel sharing stations be separately licensed and 
authorized to operate on that channel. Under the rules adopted in this 
R&O, therefore, both the sharer and sharee will be ``licensed and 
operating

[[Page 18243]]

on a channel'' that is ``regularly assigned to its community'' by the 
Commission.
    13. The Commission also disagreed with NCTA that the Act's 
``primary video'' restriction fails to preserve the carriage rights of 
stations that enter into channel sharing arrangements outside the 
context of the auction. NCTA asserted that the must-carry provisions of 
the Act require cable operators to carry only one primary video signal 
per television ``channel.'' In this regard, NCTA cited to Section 614 
of the Act, which requires cable operators to carry only the ``primary 
video'' of ``each of the local commercial television stations'' carried 
on the cable system. NCTA argued that a broadcaster that gives up its 
spectrum to transmit television programming using a portion of another 
broadcaster's 6 MHz channel has no greater carriage rights than those 
of the other broadcaster's multicast streams or the streams provided by 
a lessee of the broadcaster's multicast capacity. However, the 
Commission concluded that the language of the primary video provision 
of the Act did not support NCTA's view. Section 614(b)(3)(A) requires a 
cable operator to carry the primary video ``of each of the local 
commercial television stations carried on the cable system.'' The 
statute, therefore, imposed a requirement to carry one primary video 
stream per station, not one primary video stream per channel.
    14. The Commission also disagreed with NCTA's claim that Congress 
specifically addressed the carriage rights of auction-related channel 
sharing stations in the Spectrum Act because, absent this provision, 
the must-carry provisions of the Act would not afford such rights. 
Rather, in light of the ambiguity in the statutory language of the Act 
with respect to the carriage rights of channel sharing stations, the 
Commission concluded that Congress added this provision to provide 
certainty to potential reverse auction bidders. Moreover, the Spectrum 
Act did not simply clarify carriage rights under the Act, it also 
limited the carriage rights of sharee stations in connection with the 
incentive auction to those that possessed such rights on November 30, 
2010.
    15. Full Power Stations. The Commission interpreted the Act as 
providing full power stations with auction-related CSAs that become 
sharees outside of the auction context, as well as their sharer station 
hosts, with the same carriage rights at their shared location that they 
would have if they were not channel sharing. The Commission will 
continue to apply the November 30, 2010 date for possession of carriage 
rights to auction-related full power sharee stations entering into a 
second-generation CSA. The Spectrum Act limits the carriage rights of 
sharee stations in connection with the incentive auction to those that 
possessed such rights on November 30, 2010. If the Commission did not 
extend this date to second-generation CSAs, auction-related full power 
sharees that did not possess carriage rights as of November 30, 2010 
could enter into a short-term auction-related CSA, during which time 
they would not possess carriage rights, and subsequently enter into a 
second-generation CSA with carriage rights at the shared location. The 
Commission concluded that extending the November 30, 2010 date for 
possession of carriage rights to an auction-related full power sharee 
entering into a second-generation CSA avoids undermining the statutory 
objective of Section 1452(a)(4). Because Section 1452(a)(4) does not 
apply to auction-related sharer stations, however, the Commission 
declined to apply this date restriction to auction-related sharer 
stations that become prospective sharee stations outside of the auction 
context.
    16. The Commission found that its interpretation will effectuate 
the statutory purposes underlying the must-carry regime without 
burdening more speech than necessary to further those interests. This 
interpretation ensures that full power stations with auction-related 
CSAs can continue to share outside the auction context once their 
auction-related CSAs expire or otherwise terminate while retaining 
their carriage rights. Full power stations with auction-related CSAs 
already possess carriage rights and will continue to possess such 
rights during the terms of their auction-related CSAs pursuant to 
Section 1452(a)(4). Continuing carriage rights during the terms of 
second-generation CSAs maintains these rights. If MVPDs stopped 
carrying the signals of full power stations with auction-related CSAs 
during second-generation CSAs, these broadcasters would stand to lose a 
significant audience and associated advertising revenues, thus 
jeopardizing their continued health and viability. In addition, absent 
mandatory carriage during the terms of second-generation CSAs, winning 
channel sharing bidders that indicated on their reverse auction 
application a present intent to enter into an auction-related CSA after 
the conclusion of the incentive auction might elect not to channel 
share post-auction and to instead relinquish their license. Thus, 
continued carriage of full power stations with auction-related CSAs 
serves the important governmental interests of preserving the benefits 
of free, over-the-air broadcast television and their contribution to 
source diversity.
    17. The Commission found that its interpretation will not burden 
more speech than necessary. First, because full power stations that are 
parties to auction-related CSAs have already built and licensed their 
stations on a non-shared channel, our action does not provide unbuilt 
full power stations with a shortcut to obtaining carriage rights, which 
would increase the number of stations MVPDs are required to carry. 
Second, its decision declining to allow full power stations without 
auction-related CSAs to become sharees outside the auction context 
mitigates NCTA's concern regarding the potential increase in MVPD 
carriage obligations that could result from licensing new stations on 
channels vacated as a result of new post-auction sharing arrangements. 
Because the Commission permits only full power stations that are 
already parties to an auction-related CSA to become sharees outside of 
the auction context, there will be no full power channels vacated after 
the auction by full power stations electing to become channel sharees. 
Third, the Commission precluded full power stations with auction-
related CSAs that become sharees outside of the auction context from 
changing their community of license absent an amendment to the DTV 
Table. These actions will further mitigate the impact of channel 
sharing on MVPD carriage burdens.
    18. Secondary Stations. The Commission interpreted the Act as 
providing secondary sharee stations, as well as their sharer station 
hosts, with the same carriage rights at their shared location that they 
would have if they were not channel sharing, provided the sharee 
station is exercising must carry rights on its existing channel on the 
date of release of the Closing and Reassignment PN.
    19. The Commission found that its interpretation will effectuate 
the statutory purposes underlying the must-carry regime without 
burdening more speech than necessary to further those interests. 
Sharing could prove beneficial for secondary stations by mitigating the 
impact of the incentive auction and repacking process on displaced 
stations. If cable operators did not carry the signals of secondary 
sharee stations and their sharer hosts that otherwise qualify for 
carriage under Section 614(h)(2), these broadcasters would stand to 
lose a significant audience and associated advertising revenues, thus 
jeopardizing

[[Page 18244]]

their continued health and viability. Carriage of secondary sharees and 
their sharer hosts that otherwise qualify for carriage under Section 
614(h)(2) serves the important governmental interests of preserving the 
benefits of free, over-the-air broadcast television and their 
contribution to source diversity. The Commission interpreted the Act in 
a manner that will minimize the possibility of a net increase in 
carriage burdens.
    20. Although the Commission allowed all secondary stations to 
become sharee stations outside the auction context, it did not permit 
secondary stations to enter into channel sharing arrangements solely as 
a means to newly obtain must-carry rights. The Commission found that it 
would not serve the purpose of mitigating the impact of the auction and 
repacking process on displaced LPTV stations to permit stations to 
qualify for carriage, when they previously were unable to do so under 
the Act, simply because they have decided to channel share. In order 
for a secondary sharee station to be eligible for carriage rights at 
the shared location under the Commission's interpretation, it must 
qualify for, and be exercising, must carry rights on its existing 
channel on the date of release of the Closing and Reassignment PN. The 
Commission chose this date to consider whether a secondary station is 
exercising must-carry rights because the Media Bureau has previously 
notified secondary stations that they must be in operation by this date 
in order to be eligible for the special post-auction displacement 
window.
    21. The Commission concluded that affording secondary sharees with 
the same carriage rights at their shared location that they would have 
if they were not channel sharing, provided the sharee station is 
exercising must carry rights on its existing channel as of the date of 
release of the Closing and Reassignment PN, will not burden more speech 
than necessary. Even if a secondary station is exercising carriage 
rights on its existing channel as of this date, it must still 
independently satisfy the statutory requirements for carriage at the 
shared location in order to have carriage rights once it begins channel 
sharing. As noted above, secondary stations qualify for must-carry on 
cable systems only under very limited circumstances set forth in the 
Act. Even assuming that a channel vacated by a secondary sharee is made 
available for licensing to a new secondary station, the strict 
statutory requirements for carriage make the likelihood that the new 
secondary station would qualify for carriage very low. For the same 
reason, it is unlikely that a secondary sharee station would qualify 
for carriage at a shared location. The probability that the sharee 
would qualify for carriage is reduced even further by two additional 
factors. First, the Commission limited the distance of secondary sharee 
station moves resulting from channel sharing. Second, a secondary 
station sharing the channel of a full power station would not be 
eligible for mandatory carriage under Section 614(h)(2)(F) of the Act, 
which the Commission has previously interpreted to mean that ``if a 
full power station is located in the same county or political 
subdivision (of a State) as an otherwise `qualified' low power station, 
the low power station will not be eligible for must-carry status.'' 
Channel sharing stations necessarily share the same transmission 
facility and, thus, are necessarily ``located in the same county or 
political subdivision (of a State).'' Thus, consistent with the 
Commission's previous interpretation of this statutory provision, when 
a secondary station shares with a full power station, the secondary 
station will not qualify for mandatory carriage because it will be 
located in the same county or political subdivision as a full power 
station.
    22. Class A Stations. The Commission permitted all Class A stations 
to be sharee stations or sharer stations outside the auction context. 
For Class A stations that enter into CSAs for the first time outside 
the incentive auction context, the Commission interpreted the Act as 
providing such Class A sharee stations, as well as their sharer station 
hosts, with the same carriage rights at their shared location that they 
would have if they were not channel sharing provided the Class A sharee 
meets the same condition we impose above for secondary stations; that 
is, it is exercising must carry rights on the date of release of the 
Closing and Reassignment PN. As with secondary stations, this 
limitation ensures that these Class A stations do not qualify for 
carriage, when they previously were unable to do so under the Act, 
simply because they have decided to channel share. The Commission 
treated Class A stations participating in second-generation CSAs 
differently. For a Class A station that participated in an auction-
related CSA, and that enters into a second-generation CSA once their 
auction-related CSA ends, the Commission interpreted the Act as 
providing the Class A sharee, and their sharer station host, with the 
same carriage rights at their shared location that they would have if 
they were not channel sharing provided the Class A sharee exercised 
carriage rights under its original, ``first-generation,'' auction-
related CSA. The Commission treated Class A stations participating in 
second-generation CSAs differently to ensure that these Class A 
stations can continue to exercise their carriage rights in subsequent 
CSAs if they qualified for, and exercised, carriage rights in their 
first-generation CSA. This approach does not increase carriage burdens 
for MVPDs beyond those created by first-generation CSAs pursuant to the 
Spectrum Act.
    23. Channel sharing outside the auction context has the potential 
to increase the opportunities for displaced Class A stations to survive 
the impending spectrum repack and continue providing programming to the 
public. With respect to cable carriage, however, Class A stations are 
treated identically to secondary stations under the Communications Act 
and thus qualify for must-carry on cable systems only under very 
limited circumstances set forth in the Act. Even assuming that a 
channel vacated by a Class A station is made available for licensing to 
a new low power station, the likelihood that the new low power station 
would qualify for carriage is low given the very limited circumstances 
under which a low power station qualifies for carriage under the Act. 
In addition, as with secondary stations, it is unlikely that a Class A 
sharee station would qualify for carriage at a shared location because 
of the very limited circumstances under which a Class A station 
qualifies for carriage under the Act, the Commission's decision to 
limit the distance of Class A sharee station moves resulting from 
channel sharing, and the fact that a Class A station sharing with a 
full power station would not be eligible for mandatory carriage under 
Section 614(h)(2)(F) of the Act.

Licensing and Operating Rules Applicable to Channel Sharing Outside the 
Auction Context

    24. Licensing Rules for Primary-Primary and Primary-Secondary 
Channel Sharing--Voluntary and Flexible. Channel sharing between 
primary stations and between primary and secondary stations outside of 
the auction will be ``entirely voluntary.'' Stations can structure 
their CSAs in a manner that will allow a variety of different types of 
spectrum sharing to meet the individualized programming and economic 
needs of the parties involved. The Commission will, however, require 
each station involved in a CSA to operate in digital on the shared 
channel and to retain spectrum usage rights sufficient to ensure at 
least enough capacity to operate one standard

[[Page 18245]]

definition (SD) programming stream at all times. The Commission will 
not prescribe a fixed split of the capacity of the 6 MHz channel 
between the stations from a technological or licensing perspective. All 
channel sharing stations will be licensed for the entire capacity of 
the 6 MHz channel, and stations will be allowed to determine the manner 
in which that capacity will be divided among themselves subject only to 
the minimum capacity requirement.
    25. The Commission will apply its existing framework for channel 
sharing licensing and operation to sharing between primary stations and 
between primary and secondary stations. Under this framework, each 
sharing station will continue to be licensed separately, each will have 
its own call sign, and each licensee will be independently subject to 
all of the Commission's obligations, rules, and policies. The 
Commission retains the right to enforce any violation of these 
requirements against one or both parties to the CSA. As is always the 
case, the Commission would take into account all relevant facts and 
circumstances in any enforcement action, including the relevant 
contractual obligations of the parties involved.
    26. Similar to its approach for auction-related and secondary-
secondary CSAs, the Commission will permit term-limited CSAs outside 
the auction context for primary-primary and primary-secondary sharing. 
The Commission declined to establish a minimum term for non-auction-
related CSAs. While some commenters supported requiring a three-year 
minimum term for CSAs outside the auction context, the Commission was 
not persuaded at this point that this step is necessary to protect 
viewers and MVPDs from unnecessary disruption or costs.
    27. Licensing Procedures. The Commission adopted a two-step process 
for reviewing and licensing channel sharing arrangements that fit 
within the categories authorized in this R&O. For the first step, if no 
technical changes are necessary for sharing, a channel sharee station 
will file the appropriate schedule to FCC Form 2100 for a digital 
construction permit specifying the same technical facilities as the 
sharer station (Schedule A, C or E), include a copy of the channel 
sharing agreement (CSA) as an exhibit, and cross reference the other 
sharing station(s). In this case, the sharer station does not need to 
take action at this point. If the CSA requires technical changes to the 
sharer station's facilities, each sharing station will file the 
appropriate schedule to FCC Form 2100 to apply for a digital 
construction permit specifying identical technical facilities for the 
shared channel, along with the CSA.
    28. The Commission will treat modification applications filed to 
implement the additional channel sharing arrangements as minor change 
applications, subject to certain exceptions. Although a channel sharing 
arrangement results in a sharee station changing channels, which is a 
major change under our rules, the Commission concludes that treating 
channel changes as minor when done in connection with channel sharing 
is appropriate because the sharee will be assuming the authorized 
technical facilities of the sharer station, meaning that compliance 
with our interference and other technical rules would have been 
addressed in licensing the sharer station. In the case of a full power 
sharee station, the Commission will consider any loss in service 
resulting from the proposed sharing arrangement at the construction 
permit stage in determining whether to grant the permit. The Commission 
noted that, with channel sharing, service loss in one area (i.e., a 
portion of the area previously served by the sharee) might result in a 
gain in service to a different area (i.e., that served by the sharer). 
Moreover, absent the proposed sharing arrangement, a full power sharee 
station might not be able to continue to provide service, such as in 
the case of the expiration or termination of its current CSA. The Media 
Bureau will consider these and other factors in determining whether a 
sharing arrangement proposed by a full power sharee station is 
consistent with section 307(b) and serves the public interest.
    29. In addition, while a full power television station seeking to 
change its channel normally must first submit a petition to amend the 
DTV Table of Allotments (Table), the Commission will not apply this 
process to full power sharee stations. Rather, after the full power 
sharee station's construction permit is granted, the Bureau will amend 
the Table on its own motion to reflect the change in the channel 
allotted to the sharee station's community.
    30. The Commission will begin accepting non-auction-related channel 
sharing applications on a date after the completion of the incentive 
auction specified by the Media Bureau. With respect to a full power or 
Class A station sharing with a secondary station, if the sharee is a 
secondary station that is displaced as a result of the incentive 
auction or repacking process, it will not have to wait for the post-
incentive auction displacement window to file its displacement 
application to propose sharing the sharer station's facilities. Rather, 
beginning on the specified date, the secondary sharee station may file 
an application for a construction permit for the same technical 
facilities of the primary station and include a copy of the CSA as an 
exhibit. If the secondary station is the sharer and that station is 
displaced as a result of the incentive auction or repacking process, 
then, the secondary sharer would file during the post-incentive auction 
displacement window if it is eligible. If none of the parties to a non-
auction-related CSA is a station that was displaced as a result of the 
incentive auction or repacking process, then the sharee station(s) may 
file channel sharing application(s) beginning on the date after the 
completion of the incentive auction specified by the Media Bureau.
    31. As a second step, after the sharing stations have obtained the 
necessary construction permits, implemented their shared facility, and 
initiated shared operations, the sharee station(s) will notify the 
Commission that the station has terminated operation on its former 
channel. At the same time, all sharing stations will file the 
appropriate schedule to Form 2100 for a license in order to complete 
the licensing process (Schedule B, D or F). Parties to channel sharing 
arrangements outside of the auction context will have three years to 
implement their arrangements.
    32. Service and Technical Rules, Including Interference 
Protection--Primary-Primary Sharing. A Class A sharee that opts to 
share a full power sharer's channel outside of the auction will be 
permitted to operate with the technical facilities of the full power 
station authorized under Part 73 of the rules. Conversely, a full power 
sharee sharing a Class A sharer's channel will be required to operate 
at the Class A station's lower Part 74 power level. As with channel 
sharing between full power and Class A stations in the incentive 
auction context, the channel of a full power sharer sharing with a 
Class A sharee will remain in the DTV Table. In the case of a full 
power sharee that chooses to share the ``non-tabled'' channel of a 
Class A station, the Commission will amend the DTV Table to reflect the 
change in the channel allotted to the full power sharee station's 
community.
    33. A full power sharee station sharing a channel with a Class A 
sharer station will continue to be obligated to comply with the 
programming and other operational obligations of a Part 73 licensee. A 
Class A sharee station sharing a channel with a full power

[[Page 18246]]

sharer station will continue to be obligated to comply with the 
programming and other operational obligations of a Class A licensee, 
including airing a minimum of 18 hours a day and an average of at least 
three hours per week of locally produced programming each quarter, as 
required by Sec.  73.6001 of the rules.
    34. Primary-Secondary Sharing. A secondary LPTV or TV translator 
station that shares the channel of a full power television station will 
be permitted to operate with the technical facilities of the full power 
station, including at the higher power limit specified in Part 73 of 
the rules. The channel of a full power sharer station sharing with a 
secondary LPTV or TV translator sharee station will remain in the DTV 
Table. LPTV and TV translators that share the channel of a Class A 
station will continue to be limited to operation at the lower power 
specified for LPTV, TV translator, and Class A stations in Part 74 of 
our rules. An LPTV or TV translator station that shares a full power or 
Class A station's channel will obtain ``quasi'' primary interference 
protection for the duration of the channel sharing arrangement by 
virtue of the fact that the full power or Class A station is a primary 
licensee. Although the secondary station will continue to be licensed 
with secondary interference protection status, the host full power or 
Class A television station's primary status protects it from 
interference or displacement, and this protection will necessarily 
carry over to any station that is sharing its channel.
    35. A full power sharee that shares a secondary station's channel 
will have to operate with the lower power limits specified in Part 74 
of the rules for LPTV and TV translator stations. When a full power 
sharee shares the ``non-tabled'' channel of a LPTV or TV translator 
station, we will amend the DTV Table to reflect the change in the 
channel allotted to the sharee station's community. A full power or 
Class A sharee sharing a channel with a secondary station sharer will 
be subject to displacement because it will be sharing a channel with 
secondary interference protection rights.
    36. A full power sharee station sharing a channel with a secondary 
sharer station will continue to be obligated to comply with the 
programming and other operational obligations of a Part 73 licensee. 
Similarly, a Class A sharee station sharing a channel with a secondary 
sharer station will continue to be obligated to comply with the 
programming and other operational obligations applicable to Class A 
licensees. A secondary sharee station sharing a channel with a full 
power or Class A sharer station will continue to be subject to the 
programming and other operational obligations applicable to LPTV or 
translator stations and will not be subject to such obligations 
applicable to full power or Class A stations.
    37. The Commission declined to adopt Roy Mayhugh's suggestions to 
formally relicense LPTV stations as full power stations if the LPTV 
station shares its channel with a full power station, or to allow a 
full power station sharing on a secondary station's channel to retain 
its primary interference protection. This would result in the formal 
creation of a new class of primary stations. The Commission did not 
believe it is appropriate to use this proceeding to make such extensive 
changes to our licensing or technical rules. The Commission also 
declined to adopt ICN's proposal that primary stations be given 
priority access to the best remaining repacked channels in a market if 
they agree to share with a secondary station and grant access to at 
least one-third of their bandwidth. This proposal would have required 
adding constraints on the reverse auction and repacking processes that 
have long since been established and were utilized in the incentive 
auction. In addition, the Commission rejected Media General's 
suggestion that it exempt stations that enter into CSAs outside the 
auction context from the Commission's multiple ownership rules to 
provide an incentive for stations to enter into a non-auction-related 
CSA. Media General presented no legal or policy basis on which we 
should alter our multiple ownership restrictions and thereby reduce 
ownership and program diversity to promote CSAs outside the auction 
context.
    38. Reserved-Channel NCE Sharing Stations. A reserved-channel full 
power NCE licensee, whether it proposes to share a non-reserved channel 
or agrees to share its reserved channel with a commercial sharee 
station, will retain its NCE status and must continue to comply with 
the rules applicable to NCE licensees. In either case, the NCE full 
power station's portion of the shared channel will be reserved for NCE-
only use.
    39. Station Relocations to Implement Channel Sharing. The 
Commission will preclude full power stations seeking to channel share 
as sharee stations outside of the incentive auction from changing their 
community of license absent an amendment to the DTV Table. Absent such 
amendment, we will limit these stations to a CSA with a sharer from 
whose transmitter site the sharee will continue to meet the community 
of license signal requirement over its current community of license. 
This approach differs from the one the Commission took with respect to 
channel sharing in the auction context, where the Commission sought to 
facilitate broadcaster participation in the auction and to avoid any 
detrimental impact on the speed and certainty of the auction. Because 
those considerations do not apply outside the auction context, the 
Commission disagreed with EBOC that it should provide the same 
relocation flexibility to channel sharees outside the auction. 
Precluding full power sharee stations from changing their communities 
of license absent an amendment to the DTV Table advances the 
Commission's interest in the provision of service to local communities. 
While our goal is to accommodate channel sharing, the Commission also 
seeks to ensure that stations continue to provide service to their 
communities of license and to avoid situations in which stations 
abandon their communities in order to relocate to more populated 
markets. In addition, this approach will help to avoid viewer 
disruption and any potential impact on MVPDs that might result from 
community of license changes.
    40. The Commission will apply the existing 30-mile and contour 
overlap restrictions that apply to Class A moves to Class A sharee 
stations that propose to move as a result of a sharing arrangement. 
Specifically, if requested in conjunction with a digital displacement 
application, a station relocation resulting from a proposed CSA, in 
order to be considered a minor change, may not be greater than 30 miles 
from the reference coordinates of the relocating station's community of 
license. In all other cases, a station relocating as a result of a 
proposed CSA, in order to be considered a minor change: (i) Must 
maintain overlap between the protected contour of its existing and 
proposed facilities; and (ii) may not relocate more than 30 miles from 
the reference coordinates of the relocating station's antenna location. 
The Commission concluded that continued application of these 
restrictions was necessary to curtail abuse of the Commission's 
policies by stations seeking to relocate large distances in order to 
move to more populated markets under the cover of needing to implement 
a channel sharing arrangement. At the same time, it stated that it 
would consider waivers for secondary stations to allow channel sharing 
modifications that do not comply with these limits.

[[Page 18247]]

    41. The Commission will consider waivers of the Part 74 
modification restrictions based on the same criteria it adopted for 
channel sharing between secondary stations. A displaced LPTV or TV 
translator station (or auction ineligible Class A station displaced by 
the incentive auction or repacking) proposing to channel share with a 
station located more than 30 miles from the reference coordinates of 
the displaced station's community of license will have to show: (i) 
That there are no channels available that comply with section 
74.787(a)(4) of the rules; and (ii) that the proposed sharer station is 
the station closest to the reference coordinates of the displaced 
station's community of license that is available for channel sharing. 
The Commission will apply a stricter standard for requests for waiver 
of our relocation rules with respect to non-displaced Class A, LPTV, 
and TV translator stations because the proposed modification would be 
voluntary. In such cases, it will consider a waiver if the station 
seeking to relocate demonstrates: (i) That there is no other channel 
sharing partner that operates with a location that would comply with 
the contour overlap and 30-mile restrictions on the station seeking the 
waiver; and (ii) the population in the relocating station's loss area 
is de minimis, and/or well-served, and/or would continue to receive the 
programming aired by the relocating station from another station.
    42. For any CSA that involves licensing both a full power sharee 
and Class A, LPTV, or TV translator sharer, the Commission will combine 
the above outlined restriction on full power sharees changing their 
community of license with the limits on modifications to Class A, LPTV 
and TV translator station facilities outlined in the rules. Thus, a 
full power sharee station seeking to implement a CSA with a Class A, 
LPTV or TV translator station will not be permitted to change its 
community of license. A Class A, LPTV, or TV translator sharee station 
seeking to implement a CSA with a full power station will be subject to 
the 30-mile and contour overlap restrictions described above.

Channel Sharing Operating Rules

    43. Channel Sharing Agreements. The Commission will require that 
all CSAs entered into pursuant to the rules we adopt herein include 
provisions outlining each licensee's rights and responsibilities in the 
following areas: (i) Access to facilities, including whether each 
licensee will have unrestricted access to the shared transmission 
facilities; (ii) allocation of bandwidth within the shared channel; 
(iii) operation, maintenance, repair, and modification of facilities, 
including a list of all relevant equipment, a description of each 
party's financial obligations, and any relevant notice provisions; (iv) 
transfer/assignment of a shared license, including the ability of a new 
licensee to assume the existing CSA; and (v) termination of the license 
of a party to the CSA, including reversion of spectrum usage rights to 
the remaining parties to the CSA. Channel sharing partners may craft 
provisions as they choose, based on marketplace negotiations, subject 
to pertinent statutory requirements and the Commission's rules and 
regulations. A station seeking approval to channel share must submit a 
copy of its CSA along with its application for a digital construction 
permit. The Commission will review the CSA to ensure compliance with 
our rules and policies. It will limit its review to confirming that the 
CSA contains the required provisions and that any terms beyond those 
related to sharing of bitstream and related technical facilities 
comport with our general rules and policies regarding license 
agreements. The Commission reserves the right to require modification 
of a CSA that does not comply with its rules or policies.
    44. Termination, Assignment/Transfer, and Relinquishment of Channel 
Sharing Licenses. The Commission will allow rights under a CSA to be 
assigned or transferred, subject to the limits adopted in this R&O, the 
requirements of Section 310 of the Communications Act, the Commission's 
rules, and the requirement that the assignee or transferee comply with 
the applicable CSA. When a primary or secondary sharing station's 
license is terminated due to voluntary relinquishment, revocation, 
failure to renew, or any other circumstance, its spectrum usage rights 
(but not its license) may revert to the remaining sharing partner(s) if 
the partner(s) so agree and this provision is set forth in the CSA. In 
the event that only one station remains on the shared channel, that 
station may apply to change its license to non-shared status using FCC 
Form 2100--Schedule B (for a full power station), Schedule D (for an 
LPTV/translator station), or Schedule F (for a Class A station). If a 
full power station that is sharing with a Class A, LPTV, or TV 
translator station relinquishes its license, then the Class A, LPTV, or 
TV translator station would operate under the rules governing their 
particular service (Class A, LPTV, or TV translator). Similarly, if a 
Class A station that is sharing with a LPTV or TV translator station 
relinquishes its license, then the LPTV or TV translator station would 
operate under the rules governing their particular service. If the 
sharing partner is an NCE station operating on a reserved channel, its 
portion of the shared channel must continue to be reserved for NCE-only 
use. The Commission recognized the important public service mission of 
NCE stations, and it disfavors dereserving NCE-only channels. Thus, in 
the unlikely event that a reserved-channel NCE station that shares with 
a commercial station faces involuntary license termination, creating a 
risk of dereservation, the Commission will exercise its broad 
discretion to ensure that the public interest is served.

Reimbursement

    45. The Commission will not require reimbursement of costs imposed 
on MVPDs as a result of CSAs entered into outside the context of the 
incentive auction, including costs resulting from second-generation 
CSAs of auction-related sharees. The current rules do not require 
reimbursement of MVPD costs in connection with channel changes or other 
changes that modify carriage obligations outside the auction context. 
Further, the reimbursement provisions of the Spectrum Act apply only to 
CSAs made in connection with winning channel sharing bids in the 
incentive auction. Accordingly, costs associated with channel sharing 
outside the auction will be borne by broadcasters and MVPDs in the same 
manner as they are for other channel moves. While the Commission has 
explained previously that channel sharing may impose some costs on 
MVPDs, there is no record evidence to suggest that the cost to MVPDs of 
accommodating channel sharing outside the auction context will impose 
an undue burden. The Commission retained the right to reconsider our 
decision in this regard should we receive future evidence to the 
contrary.

Notice to MVPDs

    46. The Commission will require stations participating in CSAs 
outside the auction context to provide notice to those MVPDs that: (i) 
No longer will be required to carry the station because of the 
relocation of the station; (ii) currently carry and will continue to be 
obligated to carry a station that will change channels; or (iii) will 
become obligated to carry the station due to a channel sharing 
relocation. The notice must contain the following information: (i) Date 
and time of any channel

[[Page 18248]]

changes; (ii) the channel occupied by the station before and after 
implementation of the CSA; (iii) modification, if any, to antenna 
position, location, or power levels; (iv) stream identification 
information; and (v) engineering staff contact information. Stations 
may elect whether to provide notice via a letter notification or 
electronically, if pre-arranged with the relevant MVPD. The Commission 
will require that sharee stations provide notice at least 90 days prior 
to terminating operations on the sharee's channel and that both sharer 
and sharee stations provide notice at least 90 days prior to initiation 
of operations on the sharer channel. Should the anticipated date to 
either cease operations or commence channel sharing operation change, 
the station(s) must send a further notice to affected MVPDs informing 
them of the new anticipated date(s). Finally, during the 90-day notice 
period, the parties to the CSA are expected to continue to coordinate 
the implementation of the CSA with each MVPD that they seek to carry 
their transmissions.

ATSC 3.0

    47. The Commission stated that the conclusions it reached regarding 
channel sharing outside the context of the incentive auction, including 
our interpretation of the Communications Act's must-carry provisions 
with respect to channel sharing stations, apply to situations in which 
one station relinquishes a channel in order to channel share. They are 
not intended to prejudge issues regarding ``local simulcasting'' that 
are raised in the pending proceeding regarding the ATSC 3.0 broadcast 
transmission standard.

Final Regulatory Flexibility Act Analysis

    As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended 
(RFA), Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analyses (``IRFAs'') were 
incorporated in the First Order on Reconsideration and Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking and Third Report and Order and Fourth Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking (``NPRMs''). The Commission sought written public 
comment on the proposals in the NPRMs, including comment on the IRFAs. 
Because the Commission amended the rules in this R&O, it included this 
Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (``FRFA'') which conforms to the 
RFA.

Need for and Objectives of the Rules

    The Report and Order adopts rules permitting full power stations 
with auction-related channel sharing agreements (CSAs) to become 
``sharee'' stations outside the auction context. Our goal in this 
regard is to permit full power stations with auction-related CSAs to 
continue to share, and to find a new host station, once their auction-
related CSAs expire or otherwise terminate. We also adopt rules to 
allow all secondary stations, including those that have not yet 
constructed facilities and are not operating at the time they enter 
into a CSA, to share a channel with another secondary station or with a 
full power or Class A station. This action will reduce construction and 
operating costs for resource-constrained secondary stations and assist 
those secondary stations that are displaced by the incentive auction 
and the repacking process to continue to operate in the post-auction 
television bands. We also permit all Class A stations to become sharee 
stations outside the auction context. In addition, we permit all 
stations, both primary and secondary, to be ``sharers'' outside the 
auction context. The rules we adopt in this Report and Order will 
enhance the benefits of channel sharing for broadcasters without 
imposing significant burdens on multichannel video programming 
distributors (MVPDs).

Summary of Significant Issues Raised by Public Comments in Response to 
the IRFA

    No formal comments were filed on the IRFAs but some commenters 
raised issues concerning the impact of the various proposals in this 
proceeding on small entities. These comments were considered in the 
Report and Order and in the FRFA.

Response to Comments by the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small 
Business Administration

    No comments were filed on the IRFAs by the Small Business 
Administration.

Description and Estimate of the Number of Small Entities To Which the 
Rules Will Apply

    The RFA directs agencies to provide a description of, and where 
feasible, an estimate of the number of small entities that may be 
affected by the proposed rules, if adopted. The following small 
entities, as well as an estimate of the number of such small entities, 
are discussed in the FRFA: Full power television stations; (2) Class A 
TV and LPTV stations; (3) Wired Telecommunications Carriers; (4) Cable 
Companies and Systems (Rate Regulation); (5) Cable System Operators 
(Telecom Act Standard); and (6) Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) 
Service.

Description of Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping and Other Compliance 
Requirements

    The R&O adopted the adopted the following new reporting 
requirements. To implement channel sharing outside of the auction 
context, the Commission will follow a two-step process--stations will 
first file an application for construction permit and then an 
application for license. Stations terminating operations to share a 
channel will be required to submit a termination notice pursuant to the 
existing Commission rule. These existing forms and collections will be 
revised to accommodate these new channel-sharing related filings and to 
expand the burden estimates. In addition, channel sharing stations will 
be required to submit their channel sharing agreements (CSAs) with the 
Commission and be required to include certain provisions in their CSAs. 
In addition, if upon termination of the license of a party to a CSA 
only one party to the CSA remains, the remaining licensee may file an 
application to change its license to non-shared status. The existing 
collection concerning the execution and filing of CSAs will be revised. 
In addition, stations participating in CSAs outside the auction context 
are required to provide notice to those MVPDs that: (i) No longer will 
be required to carry the station because of the relocation of the 
station; (ii) currently carry and will continue to be obligated to 
carry a station that will change channels; or (iii) will become 
obligated to carry the station due to a channel sharing relocation. The 
existing collection concerning MVPD notification will be revised.
    These new reporting requirements will not differently affect small 
entities.

Steps Taken To Minimize Significant Impact on Small Entities, and 
Significant Alternatives Considered

    The RFA requires an agency to describe any significant alternatives 
that it has considered in reaching its proposed approach, which may 
include the following four alternatives (among others): (1) The 
establishment of differing compliance or reporting requirements or 
timetables that take into account the resources available to small 
entities; (2) the clarification, consolidation, or simplification of 
compliance or reporting requirements under the rule for small entities; 
(3) the use of performance, rather than design, standards; and (4) an 
exemption from coverage of the rule, or any part thereof, for small 
entities.

[[Page 18249]]

    The rules adopted in the R&O will allow full power stations with 
auction-related CSAs to continue to share, and to find a new host 
station, once their auction-related CSAs expire or otherwise terminate, 
thereby allowing them to continue to provide service to the public. In 
addition, channel sharing can help resource-constrained Class A and 
secondary stations, including existing small, minority-owned, and niche 
stations, to reduce operating costs and provide them with additional 
net income to strengthen operations and improve programming services. 
The rules adopted in the R&O could also assist stations that are 
displaced by the incentive auction reorganization of spectrum by 
allowing these stations to channel share and thereby reduce the cost of 
having to build a new facility to replace the one that was displaced. 
Stations can share in the cost of building a shared channel facility 
and will experience cost savings by operating a shared transmission 
facility. In addition, channel sharing is voluntary and only those 
stations that determine that channel sharing will be advantageous will 
enter into this arrangement. At the same time, the sharing rules will 
not impose significant burdens on multichannel video programming 
distributors (MVPDs). For example, by limiting full power sharees 
outside of the auction context to only those with an auction-related 
CSA, the Commission avoided an increase in the number of full power 
stations MVPDs are required to carry under the must-carry regime.
    The Commission's licensing and operating and MVPD notice rules for 
channel sharing outside of the auction context were designed to 
minimize impact on small entities. The rules provide a streamlined 
method for reviewing and licensing channel sharing for these stations 
as well as a streamlined method for resolving cases where a channel 
sharing station loses its license on the shared channel. These rules 
were designed to reduce the burden and cost on small entities.

Report to Congress

    The Commission will send a copy of the R&O, including the FRFA, in 
a report to be sent to Congress pursuant to the Congressional Review 
Act. In addition, the Commission will send a copy of the R&O, including 
the FRFA, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the SBA. A copy of the 
R&O and FRFA (or summaries thereof) will also be published in the 
Federal Register.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Parts 73 and 74

    Television.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.

Final Rules

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal 
Communications Commission amends 47 CFR parts 73 and 74 as follows:

PART 73--RADIO BROADCAST SERVICES

0
1. The authority citation for part 73 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  47 U.S.C. 154, 303, 334, 336 and 339.


0
2. Section 73.3572 is amended by revising paragraph (a)(3) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  73.3572  Processing of TV broadcast, Class A TV broadcast, low 
power TV, TV translators, and TV booster applications.

* * * * *
    (a) * * *
    (3) Other changes will be considered minor including changes made 
to implement a channel sharing arrangement provided they comply with 
the other provisions of this section and provided, until October 1, 
2000, proposed changes to the facilities of Class A TV, low power TV, 
TV translator and TV booster stations, other than a change in 
frequency, will be considered minor only if the change(s) will not 
increase the signal range of the Class A TV, low power TV or TV booster 
in any horizontal direction.
* * * * *

0
3. Section 73.3800 is added to read as follows:


Sec.  73.3800  Full power television channel sharing outside the 
incentive auction.

    (a) Eligibility. Subject to the provisions of this section, a full 
power television station with an auction-related Channel Sharing 
Agreement (CSA) may voluntarily seek Commission approval to relinquish 
its channel to share a single six megahertz channel with a full power, 
Class A, low power, or TV translator television station. An auction-
related CSA is a CSA filed with and approved by the Commission pursuant 
to Sec.  73.3700(b)(1)(vii).
    (b) Licensing of channel sharing stations. (1) Each station sharing 
a single channel pursuant to this section shall continue to be licensed 
and operated separately, have its own call sign, and be separately 
subject to all applicable Commission obligations, rules, and policies.
    (2) A full power television channel sharing station relinquishing 
its channel must file an application for a construction permit (FCC 
Form 2100), include a copy of the CSA as an exhibit, and cross 
reference the other sharing station(s). Any engineering changes 
necessitated by the CSA may be included in the station's application. 
Upon initiation of shared operations, the station relinquishing its 
channel must notify the Commission that it has terminated operation 
pursuant to Sec.  73.1750 and each sharing station must file an 
application for license (FCC Form 2100).
    (c) Channel sharing between full power television stations and 
Class A, Low power television, or TV translator stations. (1) A full 
power television sharee station (defined as a station relinquishing a 
channel in order to share) that is a party to a CSA with a Class A 
sharer station (defined as the station hosting a sharee pursuant to a 
CSA) must comply with the rules governing power levels and interference 
applicable to Class A stations, and must comply in all other respects 
with the rules and policies applicable to full power television 
stations set forth in this part.
    (2) A full power television sharee station that is a party to a CSA 
with a low power television or TV translator sharer station must comply 
with the rules of part 74 of this chapter governing power levels and 
interference applicable to low power television or TV translator 
stations, and must comply in all other respects with the rules and 
policies applicable to full power television stations set forth in this 
part.
    (d) Channel sharing between commercial and noncommercial 
educational television stations. (1) A CSA may be executed between 
commercial and NCE broadcast television station licensees.
    (2) The licensee of an NCE station operating on a reserved channel 
under Sec.  73.621 that becomes a party to a CSA, either as a channel 
sharee station or as a channel sharer station, will retain its NCE 
status and must continue to comply with Sec.  73.621.
    (3) If the licensee of an NCE station operating on a reserved 
channel under Sec.  73.621 becomes a party to a CSA, either as a 
channel sharee station or as a channel sharer station, the portion of 
the shared television channel on which the NCE station operates shall 
be reserved for NCE-only use.
    (4) The licensee of an NCE station operating on a reserved channel 
under Sec.  73.621 that becomes a party to a CSA

[[Page 18250]]

may assign or transfer its shared license only to an entity qualified 
under Sec.  73.621 as an NCE television licensee.
    (e) Deadline for implementing CSAs. CSAs submitted pursuant to this 
section must be implemented within three years of the grant of the 
channel sharing construction permit.
    (f) Channel sharing agreements (CSAs). (1) CSAs submitted under 
this section must contain provisions outlining each licensee's rights 
and responsibilities regarding:
    (i) Access to facilities, including whether each licensee will have 
unrestrained access to the shared transmission facilities;
    (ii) Allocation of bandwidth within the shared channel;
    (iii) Operation, maintenance, repair, and modification of 
facilities, including a list of all relevant equipment, a description 
of each party's financial obligations, and any relevant notice 
provisions; and
    (iv) Transfer/assignment of a shared license, including the ability 
of a new licensee to assume the existing CSA; and
    (v) Termination of the license of a party to the CSA, including 
reversion of spectrum usage rights to the remaining parties to the CSA.
    (2) CSAs must include provisions:
    (i) Affirming compliance with the channel sharing requirements in 
this section and all relevant Commission rules and policies; and
    (ii) Requiring that each channel sharing licensee shall retain 
spectrum usage rights adequate to ensure a sufficient amount of the 
shared channel capacity to allow it to provide at least one Standard 
Definition program stream at all times.
    (g) Termination and assignment/transfer of shared channel. (1) Upon 
termination of the license of a party to a CSA, the spectrum usage 
rights covered by that license may revert to the remaining parties to 
the CSA. Such reversion shall be governed by the terms of the CSA in 
accordance with paragraph (f)(1)(v) of this section. If upon 
termination of the license of a party to a CSA only one party to the 
CSA remains, the remaining licensee may file an application for license 
to change its status to non-shared.
    (2) If the rights under a CSA are transferred or assigned, the 
assignee or the transferee must comply with the terms of the CSA in 
accordance with paragraph (f)(1)(iv) of this section. If the transferee 
or assignee and the licensees of the remaining channel sharing station 
or stations agree to amend the terms of the existing CSA, the agreement 
may be amended, subject to Commission approval.
    (h) Notice to MVPDs. (1) Stations participating in channel sharing 
agreements must provide notice to MVPDs that:
    (i) No longer will be required to carry the station because of the 
relocation of the station;
    (ii) Currently carry and will continue to be obligated to carry a 
station that will change channels; or
    (iii) Will become obligated to carry the station due to a channel 
sharing relocation.
    (2) The notice required by this section must contain the following 
information:
    (i) Date and time of any channel changes;
    (ii) The channel occupied by the station before and after 
implementation of the CSA;
    (iii) Modification, if any, to antenna position, location, or power 
levels;
    (iv) Stream identification information; and
    (v) Engineering staff contact information.
    (3) Should any of the information in paragraph (h)(2) of this 
section change, an amended notification must be sent.
    (4) Sharee stations must provide notice as required by this section 
at least 90 days prior to terminating operations on the sharee's 
channel. Sharer stations and sharee stations must provide notice as 
required by this section at least 90 days prior to initiation of 
operations on the sharer channel. Should the anticipated date to either 
cease operations or commence channel sharing operations change, the 
stations must send a further notice to affected MVPDs informing them of 
the new anticipated date(s).
    (5) Notifications provided to cable systems pursuant to this 
section must be either mailed to the system's official address of 
record provided in the cable system's most recent filing in the FCC's 
Cable Operations and Licensing System (COALS) Form 322, or emailed to 
the system if the system has provided an email address. For all other 
MVPDs, the letter must be addressed to the official corporate address 
registered with their State of incorporation.

0
4. Section 73.6028 is added to subpart J to read as follows:


Sec.  73.6028  Class A television channel sharing outside the incentive 
auction.

    (a) Eligibility. Subject to the provisions of this section, Class A 
television stations may voluntarily seek Commission approval to share a 
single six megahertz channel with other Class A, full power, low power, 
or TV translator television stations.
    (b) Licensing of channel sharing stations. (1) Each station sharing 
a single channel pursuant to this section shall continue to be licensed 
and operated separately, have its own call sign, and be separately 
subject to all of the Commission's obligations, rules, and policies.
    (2) A station relinquishing its channel must file an application 
for a construction permit, include a copy of the Channel Sharing 
Agreement (CSA) as an exhibit, and cross reference the other sharing 
station(s). Any engineering changes necessitated by the CSA may be 
included in the station's application. Upon initiation of shared 
operations, the station relinquishing its channel must notify the 
Commission that it has terminated operation pursuant to Sec.  73.1750 
and each sharing station must file an application for license.
    (c) Channel sharing between Class A television stations and full 
power, low power television, and TV translator stations. (1) A Class A 
television sharee station (defined as a station relinquishing a channel 
in order to share) that is a party to a CSA with a full power 
television sharer station (defined as the station hosting a sharee 
pursuant to a CSA) must comply with the rules of this part governing 
power levels and interference, and must comply in all other respects 
with the rules and policies applicable to Class A television stations, 
as set forth in Sec. Sec.  73.6000 through 73.6027.
    (2) A Class A television sharee station that is a party to a CSA 
with a low power television or TV translator sharer station must comply 
with the rules of part 74 of this chapter governing power levels and 
interference that are applicable to low power television or TV 
translator stations, and must comply in all other respects with the 
rules and policies applicable to Class A television stations, as set 
forth in Sec. Sec.  73.6000 through 73.6027.
    (d) Deadline for implementing CSAs. CSAs submitted pursuant to this 
section must be implemented within three years of the grant of the 
initial channel sharing construction permit.
    (e) Channel sharing agreements (CSAs). (1) CSAs submitted under 
this section must contain provisions outlining each licensee's rights 
and responsibilities regarding:
    (i) Access to facilities, including whether each licensee will have 
unrestrained access to the shared transmission facilities;
    (ii) Allocation of bandwidth within the shared channel;
    (iii) Operation, maintenance, repair, and modification of 
facilities, including

[[Page 18251]]

a list of all relevant equipment, a description of each party's 
financial obligations, and any relevant notice provisions;
    (iv) Transfer/assignment of a shared license, including the ability 
of a new licensee to assume the existing CSA; and
    (v) Termination of the license of a party to the CSA, including 
reversion of spectrum usage rights to the remaining parties to the CSA.
    (2) CSAs must include provisions:
    (i) Affirming compliance with the channel sharing requirements in 
this section and all relevant Commission rules and policies; and
    (ii) Requiring that each channel sharing licensee shall retain 
spectrum usage rights adequate to ensure a sufficient amount of the 
shared channel capacity to allow it to provide at least one Standard 
Definition program stream at all times.
    (f) Termination and assignment/transfer of shared channel. (1) Upon 
termination of the license of a party to a CSA, the spectrum usage 
rights covered by that license may revert to the remaining parties to 
the CSA. Such reversion shall be governed by the terms of the CSA in 
accordance with paragraph (e)(1)(v) of this section. If upon 
termination of the license of a party to a CSA only one party to the 
CSA remains, the remaining licensee may file an application for license 
to change its status to non-shared.
    (2) If the rights under a CSA are transferred or assigned, the 
assignee or the transferee must comply with the terms of the CSA in 
accordance with paragraph (e)(1)(iv) of this section. If the transferee 
or assignee and the licensees of the remaining channel sharing station 
or stations agree to amend the terms of the existing CSA, the agreement 
may be amended, subject to Commission approval.
    (g) Notice to cable systems. (1) Stations participating in channel 
sharing agreements must provide notice to cable systems that:
    (i) No longer will be required to carry the station because of the 
relocation of the station;
    (ii) Currently carry and will continue to be obligated to carry a 
station that will change channels; or
    (iii) Will become obligated to carry the station due to a channel 
sharing relocation.
    (2) The notice required by this section must contain the following 
information:
    (i) Date and time of any channel changes;
    (ii) The channel occupied by the station before and after 
implementation of the CSA;
    (iii) Modification, if any, to antenna position, location, or power 
levels;
    (iv) Stream identification information; and
    (v) Engineering staff contact information.
    (3) Should any of the information in paragraph (g)(2) of this 
section change, an amended notification must be sent.
    (4) Sharee stations must provide notice as required by this section 
at least 90 days prior to terminating operations on the sharee's 
channel. Sharer stations and sharee stations must provide notice as 
required by this section at least 90 days prior to initiation of 
operations on the sharer channel. Should the anticipated date to either 
cease operations or commence channel sharing operations change, the 
stations must send a further notice to affected cable systems informing 
them of the new anticipated date(s).
    (5) Notifications provided to cable systems pursuant to this 
section must be either mailed to the system's official address of 
record provided in the cable system's most recent filing in the FCC's 
Cable Operations and Licensing System (COALS) Form 322, or emailed to 
the system if the system has provided an email address.

PART 74--EXPERIMENTAL RADIO, AUXILIARY, SPECIAL BROADCAST AND OTHER 
PROGRAM DISTRIBUTIONAL SERVICES

0
5. The authority citation for part 74 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  47 U.S.C. 154, 302a, 303, 307, 309, 336 and 554.

0
6. Section 74.800 is redesignated as Sec.  74.799, and amended by 
revising paragraph (a)(1) and adding paragraphs (g) and (h) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  74.799  Low power television and TV translator channel sharing.

    (a) * * *
    (1) Subject to the provisions of this section, low power television 
and TV translator stations may voluntarily seek Commission approval to 
share a single six megahertz channel with other low power television 
and TV translator stations, Class A television stations, and full power 
television stations.
* * * * *
    (g) Channel sharing between low power television or TV translator 
stations and Class A television stations or full power television 
stations. (1) A low power television or TV translator sharee station 
(defined as a station relinquishing a channel in order to share) that 
is a party to a CSA with a full power television sharer station 
(defined as the station hosting a sharee pursuant to a CSA) must comply 
with the rules of part 73 of this chapter governing power levels and 
interference, and must comply in all other respects with the rules and 
policies applicable to low power television or TV translator stations 
set forth in this part.
    (2) A low power television or TV translator sharee station that is 
a party to a CSA with a Class A television sharer station must comply 
with the rules governing power levels and interference that are 
applicable to Class A television stations, and must comply in all other 
respects with the rules and policies applicable to low power television 
or TV translator stations set forth in this part.
    (h) Notice to cable systems. (1) Stations participating in channel 
sharing agreements must provide notice to cable systems that:
    (i) No longer will be required to carry the station because of the 
relocation of the station;
    (ii) Currently carry and will continue to be obligated to carry a 
station that will change channels; or
    (iii) Will become obligated to carry the station due to a channel 
sharing relocation.
    (2) The notice required by this section must contain the following 
information:
    (i) Date and time of any channel changes;
    (ii) The channel occupied by the station before and after 
implementation of the CSA;
    (iii) Modification, if any, to antenna position, location, or power 
levels;
    (iv) Stream identification information; and
    (v) Engineering staff contact information.
    (3) Should any of the information in paragraph (h)(2) of this 
section change, an amended notification must be sent.
    (4) Sharee stations must provide notice as required by this section 
at least 90 days prior to terminating operations on the sharee's 
channel. Sharer stations and sharee stations must provide notice as 
required by this section at least 90 days prior to initiation of 
operations on the sharer channel. Should the anticipated date to either 
cease operations or commence channel sharing operations change, the 
stations must send a further notice to affected cable systems informing 
them of the new anticipated date(s).
    (5) Notifications provided to cable systems pursuant to this 
section must be either mailed to the system's official address of 
record provided in the cable system's most recent filing in the FCC's 
Cable Operations and Licensing System (COALS) Form 322, or emailed to 
the

[[Page 18252]]

system if the system has provided an email address.

[FR Doc. 2017-07171 Filed 4-17-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6712-01-P