Proposed Rule2025-05014
Television Broadcasting Services Las Vegas, Nevada
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
March 25, 2025
Effective
April 24, 2025
Issuing agencies
Federal Communications Commission
Abstract
The Video Division, Media Bureau (Bureau), has before it a petition for rulemaking, as amended, filed by CHANNEL 33, INC. (Channel 33 or Petitioner), the licensee of KHSV, channel 2, Las Vegas, Nevada (Station or KHSV). Petitioner requests that the Bureau substitute channel 23 for channel 2 at Las Vegas, Nevada in the Table of TV Allotments (table).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 56 (Tuesday, March 25, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 56 (Tuesday, March 25, 2025)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 13578-13579]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-05014]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
47 CFR Part 73
[MB Docket No. 25-139; RM-12001; DA 25-228; FR ID 285689]
Television Broadcasting Services Las Vegas, Nevada
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, as amended, filed by CHANNEL 33, INC. (Channel
33 or Petitioner), the licensee of KHSV, channel 2, Las Vegas, Nevada
(Station or KHSV). Petitioner requests that the Bureau substitute
channel 23 for channel 2 at Las Vegas, Nevada in the Table of TV
Allotments (table).
DATES: Comments must be filed on or before April 24, 2025 and reply
comments on or before May 9, 2025.
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: Paul Cicelski, Esq., Lerman Senter PLLC, 2001 L
Street NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Emily Harrison, Media Bureau, at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d792babebbaef99fb6a5a5bea4b8b997b1b4b4f9b0b8a1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4a0f2723263364022b3838233925240a2c2929642d253c">[email protected]</span></a>, (202) 418-1665, or Mark Colombo, Media Bureau,
at Ma<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e29089cca18d8e8d8f808da2848181cc858d94"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d0a2bbfe93bfbcbfbdb2bf90b6b3b3feb7bfa6">[email protected]</span></a>, (202) 418-7611.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In its Petition, Channel 33 asserts that the
proposed channel substitution of UHF channel 23 for low-VHF channel 2
serves the public interest because it resolves longstanding indoor
digital VHF reception problems experienced by Station viewers. In this
regard, Channel 33 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 Channel 33, radiation by the
illumination devices in Las Vegas and its casinos are known to
interfere with low-VHF channels. In order to demonstrate that many
persons within the channel 2 noise limited service contour (NLSC)
currently are not receiving a viewable signal, Petitioner submits
examples of complaints from over 200 viewers in Las Vegas city
boundaries and immediate surrounding areas, where KHSV's signal
strength is the strongest, reporting that they cannot reliably receive
a viewable signal.
Channel 33 further asserts that while the proposed channel 23
predicted NLSC does not reach 41,840 persons who currently reside
within the channel 2 predicted NLSC, this population number is not
representative of the actual loss area. Petitioner explains that in
addition to the Station operating on a low VHF channel, there are
unique factors in Las Vegas which support a deviation from the
Commission's general policy to only accept de minimis loss of
population in connection with channel substitution requests. According
to an analysis provided by Petitioner, most of the predicted loss area
is on the fringe of the Station's protected NLSC, which extends more
than 80 miles from the Station's antenna site as calculated by Sec.
73.619(b)(4) of the Commission's rules (Rules). Petitioner explains
that Las Vegas is unique in that it sits in a ``topographical bowl''
surrounded by ``extremely tall walls of rock'' which block the
Station's signal from areas at the edge of the Station's NLSC, such as
Mesquite, Nevada, Bullhead City, Arizona, and Kingman, Arizona (Fringe
Localities). Included with its Petition are terrain maps of the Las
Vegas area which show the extreme terrain that blocks the Station's
signal from reaching the Fringe Localities because they do not have
line-of-site to the KHSV antenna and, thus, cannot reliably receive the
Station's signal. Petitioner also provides field measurements which it
states show that KHSV's signal is largely not present in the Fringe
Localities and in those limited locations that have a signal, it is
``barely useable'' or the signal is in largely undeveloped or
underdeveloped areas away from significant residential and industrial
electronic noise. Based on this analysis, Petitioner concludes that
changing the Station's channel ``will not create more than a de minimis
population loss (since there is a de minimis number of viewers to start
with) in these distant communities.''
We believe that the Petitioner's channel substitution proposal for
KHSV warrants consideration. Based on an analysis by Bureau staff,
channel 23 can be substituted for channel 2 as proposed in compliance
with the principal community coverage requirements of section 73.618 of
the Rules, at coordinates 36-00'-31.0'' N and 115-00'-20.0'' W. In
addition, we find that this channel change meets the technical
requirements set forth in section 73.622(a) of the Rules. Further,
because of the unique reception difficulties experienced on low-VHF
channels due to the significant levels of interference from numerous
illumination devices in Las Vegas, the topography of the Las Vegas
area, and the measured lack of reception today in the loss areas due to
terrain, we tentatively conclude that although total viewer loss is not
de minimis, based on the unique facts and circumstances, the benefits
of the proposal to the public outweigh the harms. We seek comment on
this tentative conclusion. According to the Petitioner, 86,424 persons
will fall outside of the Station's current channel 2 NLSC. However,
when using Longley-Rice, which takes into account terrain loss, the
loss population in the Fringe Localities is predicted to be less than
half that--41,480 persons. Approximately, 44,944 persons in the Fringe
Localities should continue to receive KHSV despite being outside the
Station's new channel 23 NLSC contour. An analysis included by the
Petitioner also confirms that most of the remaining loss area is served
by translators for other stations and low power television (LPTV)
stations. For example, nine such LPTV/translator stations exist in the
Kingman, Arizona area. In addition, an analysis by Bureau staff agrees
with the Petitioner that some viewers in the loss area will continue to
be covered by other full power stations. For example, KMOH-TV, Kingman,
AZ (Facility ID No. 24573) and KMCC(TV), Laughlin, NV (Facility ID No.
41237) cover portions of the Fringe Localities. While we do not depend
on these facts in tentatively concluding that the proposal warrants
consideration, we believe that these facts help to support our
tentative
[[Page 13579]]
conclusion that this proposal serves the public interest.
This is a synopsis of the Commission's Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking, MB Docket No. 25-139; RM-12001; DA 25-228, adopted March
14, 2025, and released March 14, 2025. The full text of this document
is available for download at <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/edocs">https://www.fcc.gov/edocs</a>. To request
materials in accessible formats (braille, large print, computer
diskettes, or audio recordings), please send an email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#8bcdc8c8bebbbfcbede8e8a5ece4fd"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d7919494e2e7e397b1b4b4f9b0b8a1">[email protected]</span></a>
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 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.
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 is available at <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/proposed-rulemakings">https://www.fcc.gov/proposed-rulemakings</a>.
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 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.
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2. In Sec. 73.622, in the table in paragraph (j), under Nevada, revise
the entry for ``Las Vegas'' to read as follows:
Sec. 73.622 Digital television table of allotments.
* * * * *
(j) * * *
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Community Channel No.
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Nevada
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Las Vegas............................. 7, * 11, 16, 22, 23, 26, 29
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[FR Doc. 2025-05014 Filed 3-24-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P
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