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 Federal  Communications  Commission  Washington,  D.  C.  20554 
 September  24,  2002  1800E3-  JLB 
 Lenfest  Broadcasting,  LLC  c/  o  John  M.  Burgett,  Esq. 
 Wiley  Rein  &  Fielding,  LLP  1776  K  Street,  N.  W. 
 Washington,  D.  C.  20006 
 Re:  WWAC-  TV,  Atlantic  City,  New  Jersey  Facility  ID  No.  9739 


 Dear  Licensee: 
 On  July  11,  2002,  Lenfest  Broadcasting,  LLC,  the  licensee  of  analog  television  station  WWAC-TV,  NTSC  Channel  53,  and  permittee  of  digital  television  station  WWAC-  DT,  DTV  Channel  44,  Atlantic 
 City,  New  Jersey,  filed  a  letter  requesting  Commission  authority  to:  (i)  cease  analog  broadcasting  on  NTSC  Channel  53  and  surrender  its  license  for  the  channel  prior  to  the  end  of  the  DTV  transition  period; 
 and  (ii)  thereafter  operate  WWAC-  DT  as  a  single  channel,  digital-  only  television  station  on  DTV  Channel  44.  Lenfest’s  proposal  appeared  on  public  notice  on  September  12,  2002. 


 In  its  Report  and  Order  in  GN  Docket  No.  01-  74,  the  Commission  adopted  the  reallocation  of  the  598-  746  MHz  Spectrum  Band  (television  channels  52-  59)  from  use  by  television  broadcasters  to  new  use 
 on  a  flexible  basis.  1  The  Commission  also  stated  that  it  would  consider  requests  by  incumbent  broadcasters  on  channels  52-  59  to  voluntarily  vacate  their  NTSC  channels  prior  to  the  end  of  the  DTV 
 transition  on  a  case-  by-  case  basis,  considering  all  relevant  public  interest  factors.  2 
 In  support  of  its  request  to  voluntarily  vacate  NTSC  Channel  53,  Lenfest  asserts  that  the  early  return  of  the  channel  will  result  in  substantial  public  benefits,  such  as  speeding  the  provision  of  new  or 
 expanded  wireless  services  in  the  area.  In  addition,  the  operation  of  WWAC-  DT  as  a  digital-  only  station  would  substantially  extend  the  station’s  coverage  and  increases  its  mandatory  cable  carriage  rights  on 
 cable  systems  in  the  Philadelphia  DMA,  from  approximately  575,000  cable  households  to  over  1,800,  000  cable  households.  3  Lenfest  acknowledges  that  the  early  return  of  its  NTSC  channel  will  result  in  loss  of 
 an  over-  the-  air  analog  service,  but  contends  that  the  impact  on  the  public  will  be  imperceptible,  since  WWAC-  TV  is  not  a  network  affiliate,  and  there  are  only  2,677  television  households  (or  2.9%  of  the  total 


 1  Reallocation  and  Service  Rules  for  the  698-  746  MHz  Spectrum  Band  (Television  Channels  52-  59),  17  FCC  Rcd 
 1022  (2002).  2  Id.  at  1096.  The  Commission  identified  a  number  of  relevant  factors,  including  whether  grant  of  the  request  would 


 make  new  or  expanded  wireless  services  available  to  consumers  or  deploy  wireless  service  to  underserved  areas,  or  whether  grant  would  result  in  the  loss  of  any  of  the  four  stations  in  the  DMA  with  the  largest  audience  share,  the  loss 
 of  sole  service  licensed  to  the  local  community,  or  the  loss  of  a  community’s  sole  noncommercial  educational  television  service.  The  Commission  will  also  consider  whether  a  grant  would  have  a  negative  effect  on  the  pace  of 
 DTV  transition  in  that  market.  Id.  at  n.  549.  3  Lenfest  states  that  although  the  vast  majority  of  these  households  do  not  have  DTV  receivers  or  converters,  they 
 will  be  able  to  view  WWAC-  DT’s  programming  because  Lenfest  intends  to  demand  that  cable  operators  carry  WWAC-  DT’s  signal  in  analog  form,  at  least  during  the  early  stages  of  the  DTV  transition.  Lenfest  also  pledges  to 
 supply  cable  systems  with  the  conversion  equipment  necessary  to  translate  the  station’s  signal  from  digital  to  analog. 
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 number  of  television  households)  within  its  Grade  B  contour  which  receive  analog  television  service  over-  the-  air  (i.  e.,  not  via  cable  or  direct  broadcast  satellite  services).  Moreover,  according  to  Television 
 and  Cable  Factbook  2001,  none  of  these  non-  cable  television  households  report  viewing  WWAC-  TV  on  NTSC  Channel  53. 


 Based  upon  the  foregoing,  we  believe  the  public  interest  would  be  served  by  permitting  Lenfest  to  surrender  its  license  for  NTSC  Channel  53  and  commence  digital  operations  on  DTV  Channel  44. 
 Accordingly,  Lenfest’s  request  IS  GRANTED.  Moreover,  prior  to  discontinuing  analog  service  and  surrendering  its  NTSC  license,  we  expect  Lenfest  to  supply  all  cable  systems  carrying  its  digital  signal 
 with  the  conversion  equipment  necessary  to  translate  WWAC-  DT’s  signal  to  an  analog  signal. 
 Sincerely, 


 Barbara  A.  Kreisman  Chief,  Video  Division 
 Media  Bureau 
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