Federal Communications Commission DA 19-149 Before the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of Amendment of Section 73.622(i) Post-Transition Table of DTV Allotments (Cookeville and Franklin, Tennessee) ) ) ) ) ) ) MB Docket No. 18-383 RM-11822 REPORT AND ORDER (Proceeding Terminated) Adopted: March 6, 2019 Released: March 6, 2019 By the Chief, Video Division, Media Bureau: I. INTRODUCTION 1. At the request of ION Media License Company, LLC (ION), licensee of digital television station WNPX-TV, channel 36, Cookeville, Tennessee (WNPX), the Commission has before it an unopposed Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to amend the Post-Transition Table of DTV Allotments to reallot channel 36 from Cookeville to Franklin, Tennessee. Amendment of Section 73.622(i), Table of Allotments, Post-Transition Table of DTV Allotments (Cookeville and Franklin, Tennessee), Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, DA 18-1267 (rel. Dec. 19, 2018). ION filed comments in support of the NPRM. Comments and Expression of Continued Interest of ION Media License Company, LLC (filed Feb. 15, 2019) (ION Comments). For the reasons below, we: (1) grant ION’s request to change WNPX’s community of license to Franklin, Tennessee; (2) amend the Post-Transition Table of DTV Allotments to reflect the change; (3) modify WNPX’s license to reflect that its community of license is Franklin, Tennessee; and (4) condition any authorizations implementing this community of license change on continued service to Cookeville, Tennessee. II. BACKGROUND 1. On December 6, 2018, ION filed a petition for rulemaking proposing to reallot channel 36 from Cookeville to Franklin Petition for Rulemaking of ION Media License Company, LLC (Petition). pursuant to Section 1.420(i) of the Commission’s rules. See Petition at 1. Section 1.420(i) of the rules provides that the Commission, during a rulemaking proceeding to amend the Table of Allotments, may modify a station’s license to specify a new community of license without affording other interested parties an opportunity to file competing expressions of interest. 47 CFR § 1.420(i); see also Modification of FM and TV Authorizations to Specify a New Community of License, Report and Order, 4 FCC Rcd 4870, 4873, para. 22 (1989) (Change in Community R&O), recon. granted in part, 5 FCC Rcd 7094 (1990) (Recon MO&O). The Commission will apply this procedure in the limited circumstances where: (1) the new allotment will be mutually exclusive with a station’s existing allotment; (2) the new allotment will result in a preferential arrangement of the allotments according to the Commission’s television allotment priorities; and (3) the new allotment will not deprive a community of its sole local transmission outlet. Change in Community RO&O, 4 FCC Rcd at 4874, para. 28. In the Petition, ION claimed that proposed reallotment is mutually exclusive with WNPX’s current allotment because it is based on the technical specifications currently authorized for the station. Petition at 2. Furthermore, ION stated that the proposed reallotment is consistent with the Commission’s second allotment priority because it will provide Franklin with its first local transmission service. Id. ION explained that Franklin not only qualifies as a community for allotment purposes, but is also a larger community than Cookeville and is deserving of its first local transmission service. ION noted that Franklin (population of 62,487, compared to Cookeville’s population of 30,435) is the county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, and has an active government that oversees the city’s fourteen departments, including the City of Franklin Fire and Police Departments. Id. ION documented that Franklin has 14 public schools, five local newspapers, eight hospital/medical centers, and over 127 churches. Id. at 3-4. Finally, ION claimed that the proposed reallotment will not deprive Franklin of its sole broadcast station as it will continue to be served by station WCTE(TV), licensed to Upper Cumberland Broadcast Council, on channel *22 at Cookeville. Id. at 4. 2. On December 19, 2018, the Video Division issued the NPRM, which concluded that ION provided sufficient information to warrant further consideration of its proposal to amend the DTV Table of Allotments by deleting channel 36 at Cookeville and substituting channel 36 at Franklin. Supra n.1, para. 4. Accordingly, the Video Division sought public comment on whether the Commission should grant the proposed reallotment. Id. 3. On February 15, 2019, ION filed comments expressing continued support for the proposed reallotment. Supra n.2. ION reiterated that the proposed reallotment would serve the public interest because it satisfies the Commission’s second allotment priority. ION Comments at 2. III. DISCUSSION 4. When evaluating such a proposal, the Commission compares the proposed reallotment against the existing allotment to determine whether the change would result in a preferential arrangement of allotments. Amendment of Section 3.606 of the Commission’s Rules and Regulations, Sixth Report and Order, 41 F.C.C. 148, 167-173 (1952). The Commission will consider any proposal to change the Post-Transition Table of DTV Allotments to be in the public interest if it satisfies one of the Commission’s five allotment priorities. Id. The five allotment priorities are: (1) to provide at least one television service to all parts of the United States; (2) to provide each community with at least one television broadcast station; (3) to provide a choice of at least two television services to all parts of the United States; (4) to provide each community with at least two television broadcast stations; and (5) to assign any remaining channels to communities based on population, geographic location, and the number of television services available to the community from stations located in other communities. Id. Here, we find that the proposal represents a preferential arrangement of allotments pursuant to the Commission’s second allotment priority by providing Franklin, the county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, with its first local television service. Moreover, because Cookeville will not be deprived of its sole local service, we believe that grant of the proposed reallotment is in the public interest. Recon MO&O, 5 FCC Rcd at 7096, paras. 16-17. IV. ORDERING CLAUSES 5. ACCORDINGLY, IT IS ORDERED that the Petition for Rulemaking filed by ION Media Company, LLC, licensee of WNPX-TV, Cookeville, Tennessee, IS GRANTED. 6. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, pursuant to the authority in Sections 154(i), 155(c)(1), 303(g) and (r), and 307(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. §§ 154(i), 155(c)(1), 303(g) and (r), and 307(b). and Sections 0.61, 0.204(b), and 0.283 of the Commission’s rules, 47 CFR §§ 0.61, 0.204(b), and 0.283. the DTV Table of Allotments, Section 73.622(i) of the Commission’s rules, IS AMENDED, with respect to Cookeville and Franklin, Tennessee, to read as follows: Channel No. City and State Present Amended Cookeville, Tennessee *22, 36 *22 Franklin, Tennessee - 36 7. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the authorization for station WNPX-TV IS MODIFIED to reflect that the station’s community of license is Franklin, Tennessee. 8. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that any authorization implementing this community of license change IS CONDITIONED upon continued service to Cookeville, Tennessee. 9. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Commission will send a copy of this order to Congress and the Government Accountability Office pursuant to the Congressional Review Act. 5 U.S.C. §§ 801 et seq. 10. IT IS FURTHER OREDERED that this proceeding IS TERMINATED. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Barbara A. Kreisman Chief, Video Division Media Bureau 3