[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 199 (Tuesday, October 17, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 71490]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-22857]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 73

[MB Docket No. 23-244; RM-11955; DA 23-937; FR ID 178083]


Television Broadcasting Services Knoxville, Tennessee

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal Communications Commission's 
Media Bureau, Video Division (Bureau) issued a issued a notice of 
proposed rulemaking in response to a Petition for Rulemaking filed by 
Tennessee TV, LLC (Petitioner), the licensee of television station 
WKNX-TV (WKNX-TV or Station), channel 7, Knoxville, Tennessee 
(Knoxville). The Petitioner has requested the substitution of UHF 
channel 21 for VHF channel 7 in the Table of TV Allotments. For the 
reasons set forth in the Report and Order referenced below, the Bureau 
amends FCC regulations to substitute channel 21 for channel 7 at 
Knoxville.

DATES: Effective October 17, 2023.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed rule was published at 88 FR 
48784 on July 28, 2023. The Petitioner filed comments in support of the 
petition reaffirming its commitment to apply for channel 21. No other 
comments were filed.
    The Bureau believes the public interest would be served by 
substituting channel 21 for channel 7 at Knoxville, Tennessee. The 
Commission has recognized that VHF channels 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 and large variability in the performance of 
indoor antennas available to viewers, with most antennas performing 
very poorly on high VHF channels. In its Supplement, the Petitioner 
provided a technical analysis showing that while 50,322 persons located 
along the eastern, southern, and western fringes of the Station's 
authorized channel 7 NLSC would not be within the proposed channel 21 
noise-limited service contour, the entire loss area was within the NLSC 
of at least five other full power or Class A television stations, 
including four other full power television stations licensed to 
Knoxville or a community in the Knoxville Designated Market Area. 
Although the Petitioner's proposal would result in a number of persons 
no longer being within WKNX-TV's NLSC when the station moves to channel 
21, all of those persons will continue to be well served by at least 
five other full power or Class A stations, and we find that the overall 
benefits of the proposed channel change by resolving reception issues 
outweigh any possible harm to the public interest. This is a synopsis 
of the Commission's Report and Order, MB Docket No. 23-244; RM-11955; 
DA 23-937, adopted October 6, 2023, and released October 6, 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 this 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.

Final Rule

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

PART 73--RADIO BROADCAST SERVICE

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, in paragraph (j), amend the Table of TV Allotments, 
under Tennessee, by revising the entry for Knoxville to read as 
follows:


Sec.  73.622  Table of TV allotments.

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    (j) * * *

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                 Community                           Channel No.
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                                * * * * *
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                                Tennessee
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                                * * * * *
Knoxville.................................  10, 15, 21, 26, * 29, 34
 
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[FR Doc. 2023-22857 Filed 10-16-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P