[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 80 (Wednesday, April 24, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 31125-31126]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08743]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 73

[MB Docket No. 24-112; RM-11981; DA 24-358; FR ID 215164]


Television Broadcasting Services Jacksonville, Florida

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Video Division, Media Bureau (Bureau), has before it a 
petition for rulemaking filed January 19, 2024 and amended on January 
30, 2024, by Multimedia Holdings Corporation (Petitioner). The 
Petitioner requests the substitution of channel 33 for channel 13 at 
Jacksonville, Florida (Jacksonville), in the Table of TV Allotments.

DATES: Comments must be filed on or before May 24, 2024 and reply 
comments on or before June 10, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Federal Communications Commission, Office of the Secretary, 
45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 20554. In addition to filing comments 
with the FCC, interested parties should serve counsel for the 
Petitioner as follows: Michael Beder, Esq., Associate General Counsel, 
TEGNA Inc., 8350 Broad Street, Suite 2000, Tysons, Virginia 22102.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In support of its channel substitution 
request, the Petitioner states that its proposed channel substitution 
would serve the public interest by resolving persistent reception 
complaints it has received from viewers, and substantially improve the 
Jacksonville community's access to the Station's local news, emergency, 
NBC network, and other programming. 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.
    Additionally, the Petitioner notes that the Commission has observed 
``large variability in the performance (especially intrinsic gain) of 
indoor antennas available to consumers, with most antennas receiving 
fairly well at UHF and the substantial majority not so well to very 
poor at high-VHF.'' Petitioner further states that the Commission has 
recognized that although VHF reception issues are not universal, 
environmental noise blockages affecting VHF signal strength and 
reception exist and vary widely from service area to service area.
    An engineering statement provided by the Petitioner confirms that 
the proposed channel *33 contour would provide full principal community 
coverage to Jacksonville and would not cause impermissible interference 
to any station. Although an analysis provided by the Petitioner using 
the Commission's TVStudy software tool indicates that the Station's 
move to channel 33 will result in 274,303 persons no longer being 
located within the station's noise limited service contour (NLSC), 
there are three other NBC affiliated TV stations whose NLSC overlaps 
with WTLV's proposed NLSC. These stations serve all but 16,737 persons 
in the predicted loss area. Furthermore, according to the Petitioner, 
when the Commission's TVStudy software is run for the Station's 
licensed and proposed facilities with the Study Area Mode set to 
unrestricted to predict coverage outside the proposed NLSC, all viewers 
in the predicted loss area would continue to receive over-the-air NBC 
network programming. Thus, according to the Petitioner, although the 
proposed channel 33 facility would result in a reduction in the 
predicted population served, once service provided by other NBC 
stations and terrain-limited coverage predictions are taken into 
account, the proposed channel 33 facility will result in no loss of NBC 
service.
    We believe that the Petitioner's channel substitution proposal for 
WTLV warrants consideration. Channel 33 can be substituted for channel 
13 at Jacksonville as proposed, in compliance with the principal 
community coverage requirements of Sec.  73.618(a) of the Commission's 
Rules, at coordinates 30-16'-25'' N and 81-33'-12'' W. In addition, we 
find that this channel change meets the technical requirements set 
forth in Sec.  73.622(a) of the rules. Although the proposal is 
predicted to result in a loss of service to 274,303 persons, all of 
those persons would continue to receive over-the-air NBC network 
service either from other existing stations or while being located 
outside of WTLV's NLSC.
    This is a synopsis of the Commission's Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking (NPRM,) MB Docket No. 24-112; RM-11981; DA 24-358, adopted 
April 16, 2024, and released April 16, 2024. The full text of this 
document is available for download at https://www.fcc.gov/edocs. To 
request materials in accessible formats (braille, large print, computer 
diskettes, or audio recordings), please send an email to [email protected] 
or call the Consumer & Government 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.
    Members of the public should note that all ex parte contacts are 
prohibited from the time a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) is 
issued to the time the matter is no longer subject to Commission 
consideration or court review, see 47 CFR 1.1208. There are, however, 
exceptions to this prohibition, which can be found in Sec.  1.1204(a) 
of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 1.1204(a).
    See Sec. Sec.  1.415 and 1.420 of the Commission's rules for 
information regarding the proper filing procedures for comments, 47 CFR 
1.415 and 1.420.

[[Page 31126]]

    Providing Accountability Through Transparency Act: The Providing 
Accountability Through Transparency Act, Public Law 118-9, requires 
each agency, in providing notice of a rulemaking, to post online a 
brief plain-language summary of the proposed rule. The required summary 
of this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking/Further Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking is available at https://www.fcc.gov/proposed-rulemakings.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 73

    Television.

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

Proposed Rule

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal 
Communications Commission proposes to amend 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 the table in paragraph (j), under Florida, by 
amending the entry for Jacksonville to read as follows:


Sec.  73.622  Digital television table of allotments.

* * * * *
    (j) * * *

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               Community                           Channel No.
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                                * * * * *
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                                 Florida
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                                * * * * *
Jacksonville...........................  *9, 14, 18, 19, 20, *21, 33
 
                                * * * * *
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[FR Doc. 2024-08743 Filed 4-23-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P