[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 58 (Monday, March 27, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 18072]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-06237]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 73

[MB Docket No. 22-151; RM-11927; DA 23-229; FR ID 133158]


Television Broadcasting Services Hampton, Virginia

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: On April 13, 2022, the Media Bureau, Video Division (Bureau) 
issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in response to a petition 
for rulemaking filed by WVEC Television, LLC (Petitioner), the licensee 
of WVEC (Station or WVEC), channel 11, Hampton, Virginia, requesting 
the substitution of channel 35 for channel 11at Hampton in the Table of 
TV Allotments. For the reasons set forth in the Report and Order 
referenced below, the Bureau amends Federal Communications Commission 
(FCC) regulations to substitute channel 35 for channel 11 at Hampton.

DATES: Effective March 27, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joyce Bernstein, Media Bureau, at 
(202) 418-1647 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed rule was published at 87 FR 
23154 on April 19, 2022. The Petitioner filed comments in support of 
the petition reaffirming its commitment to apply for channel 35. No 
other comments were filed.
    The Bureau believes the public interest would be served by 
substituting channel 35 for channel 11 at Hampton, Virginia. The 
Petitioner states that the Commission has recognized that VHF channels 
have certain characteristics that pose challenges for their use in 
providing digital television service, including propagation 
characteristics that allow undesired signals and noise to be receivable 
at relatively far distances. According to the Petitioner, it has 
received many complaints from viewers unable to receive a reliable 
signal on channel 11, despite being able to receive the NBC, CBS, and 
FOX network affiliates in the Norfolk, Virginia, market, all of which 
operate on UHF channels. The proposed channel change would not cause 
any loss of service to viewers of WVEC's existing coverage area. The 
proposed channel 35 facility causes 1.38 percent interference to WFMY-
TV, Greensboro, North Carolina, in excess of the amount allowed in the 
Commission's rules. That station is also owned by the Petitioner and it 
provides an Interference Acceptance Consent letter from the station 
agreeing to accept the interference from the proposed channel 35 
facility as Exhibit C to the Rulemaking Petition. In addition, the 
proposed facility was predicted to cause prohibited interference to 
WYSJ-CD, Yorktown, Virginia. An application for minor modification to 
co-locate WYSJ-CD with WVEC's proposed channel 35 facility (LMS File 
No. 0000188559), eliminating the adjacent-channel interference, was 
granted simultaneously with the issuance of the Order. See NPRM at 
para. 3, n.7.
    This is a synopsis of the Commission's Report and Order, MB Docket 
No. 22-151; RM-11927; DA 23-229, adopted March 16, 2023, and released 
March 16, 2023. The full text of this document is available for 
download at https://www.fcc.gov/edocs. To request materials in 
accessible formats for people with disabilities (braille, large print, 
electronic files, audio format), send an email to [email protected] or 
call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 
(voice), 202-418-0432 (tty).
    This document does not contain information collection requirements 
subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13. In 
addition, therefore, it does not contain any proposed information 
collection burden ``for small business concerns with fewer than 25 
employees,'' pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 
2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4). Provisions of the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, 5 U.S.C. 601-612, do not apply to 
this proceeding.
    The Commission will send a copy of the Report and Order in a report 
to be sent to Congress and the Government Accountability Office 
pursuant to the Congressional Review Act, see 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A).

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 73

    Television.

Federal Communications Commission.
Thomas Horan,
Chief of Staff, Media Bureau.

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal 
Communications Commission amends 47 CFR part 73 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, 155, 301, 303, 307, 309, 310, 334, 
336, 339.


0
2. In Sec.  73.622(j), amend the Table of TV Allotments, under 
Virginia, by revising the entry for Hampton to read as follows:


Sec.  73.622  Digital television table of allotments.

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    (j) * * *

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                       Community                           Channel No.
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                                VIRGINIA
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                                * * * * *
Hampton................................................              35
 
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[FR Doc. 2023-06237 Filed 3-24-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P