The following are updates to previously-reported items and other recent regulatory filings and actions concerning Upper Midwest broadcast stations. This report is created by the author and is not an official report of the FCC.
Proposed LPTV/translator rule changes
The FCC has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking about numerous possible changes to rules for low-power TV and TV translator stations. Among many other things, potential changes include:
- Require that LPTV stations submit documents to online public inspection files if they are affiliates of a top-four network.
- Require that LPTV/translator stations be licensed to a community within their contour, rather than the current practice of simply letting applicants enter any community they choose regardless of the actual coverage area. If the rule is adopted, stations would have six months to change to a community of license that complies with the rules, if needed.
- Following many situations of LPTV stations being “hopped” across multiple locations to achieve a longer-distance move, the NPRM also proposes that Class A and LPTV/translator stations serve their community of license for at least one year before changing it.
- Set a minimum operating schedule of 14 hours per week for LPTV stations, ending the currently-allowed practice of turning on the transmitter for a few minutes once every 30 days to keep the license active. Test patterns or slides would not count towards the minimum operating schedule.
- Require that all LPTV stations use a standard four-letter callsign with an -LD suffix, ending the current practice that allows LPTV stations to choose between a four-letter callsign or the same type of alphanumeric callsigns also used by translators (such as K37AA-D).
Comments on the proposals are due within 30 days of the NPRM being published in the Federal Register.
Iowa
The FCC granted tolling to Vanguard Association of Sunbelt Colleges Corporation’s construction permit for a new station on 88.9 in Dubuque. The move means the countdown clock on the permit deadline is on hold while administrative review of a petition for reconsideration is underway. See the March 18 FCC Monitor for more details.
Nebraska
Nebraska Public Media’s K205FP/88.9 (Falls City) reports that it went off the air May 9 following the network’s sign-on of KQNE-FM/89.9 (Falls City). K205FP filed a request for special temporary authority to remain silent, which states that the network is considering the possible transfer of the translator license.
Wisconsin
The FCC dismissed an application from Cheq Up for a new low-power FM station on 97.7 in Ashland. The FCC says it could not find any state record to back up the group’s claim that it is a nonprofit unincorporated entity. It also noted that the proposal does not meet localism requirements because its two board members live in Ashland but the proposed transmitter site is 40 miles out of town, while the rules require board members to live with 20 miles. The group had attempted to amend its application to specify a transmitter site in Ashland but the amendment was denied, presumably because the FCC has previously stated that such changes were not allowed for the LPFM filing window. (Note: An unrelated group, Cheq Bay Community Radio, has a construction permit for LPFM station WVCB-LP/97.7 in Ashland itself.)
Good Karma’s WBEV-FM/95.3 (Beaver Dam) reports that it returned to full power of 6kW on May 13. The station had been at reduced power since February due to a transmitter failure.
Disclosure: Jon Ellis is an employee of Gray Media Group. The statements and views expressed in this posting are his own and do not reflect those of Gray Media Group.