Don’t Make DTV Move From Channels 5 and 6, TV Broadcasters Say
The FCC shouldn’t begin a process that could kick DTV stations off channels 5 and 6 by forming a committee to examine the best use for 76-88 MHz (CD July 29 p6), several broadcast lobbying groups said. With the digital transition, reallocating TV channels for use by new FM stations makes no sense, the Association for Maximum Service Television and NAB said about what’s called the radio-rescue petition (RM- 11565). The Educational Media Foundation and National Public Radio were among those that supported a reallocation process proposed by the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council.
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Opponents and supporters of the change both cited previous commission actions. A 2008 order said moving TV broadcasters on channels 5 and 6 would “'yield tremendous opportunities'” for new FM broadcast entrants,” NPR said. Another 2008 FCC order “affirmed the importance of protecting these stations,” MSTV said. “The successful transition to digital television required years of coordination by the Commission and broadcasters in order to find acceptable allotments for over 1,800 television stations nationwide, while facing the loss of 108 MHz of spectrum (channels 52- 69).”
Both sides said only several dozen full-power TV stations use channels 5 and 6. But they differed on the effect of a reallocation on nearby channels. “Expanded radio operations on these channels could harm viewers trying to receive the signals of digital television stations operating on channels 7-13,” MSTV said. Including low-power and TV translator stations, more than 250 broadcasters use the two channels, the NAB said, and the MMTC “ignores” that. “NAB continues to believe that the Commission was correct in its earlier conclusion that ’the additional opportunities for increasing FM noncommercial coverage do not outweigh the costs of eliminating channel 6 from TV service.'” Reallocation would make it harder to protect the 175 new DTV allotments required by the 1999 Community Broadcasters Protection Act, the group said.
Usage of channels 5 and 6, “particularly after the DTV switch, is paltry in comparison to the robust interest” in noncommercial FM stations, NPR said. “The lower VHF channels are ill-suited for over-the-air broadcast use,” it added, citing our report (CD Aug 19 p3). “Technical papers authored on the subject indicate there are several issues that impair lower VHF reception more than UHF or the higher VHF channels.”
The Educational Media Foundation said it agrees with the MMTC that it’s time for the commission to figure out the best use for the two channels after the digital switch. The foundation operates noncommercial FM stations. “The time to tackle this issue is now, and th[e] appointment of a high level committee to address how the transition will occur is something the FCC should address post haste.” Because of the “distressed state of the radio industry,” the commission should act on all the MMTC proposals, that group said. “The current financial crisis has all but destroyed the broadcasting industry’s equity value, while competition from new technologies and the Internet challenge radio broadcasters’ economic stability.”