Federal Communications Commission	DA 21-594


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,
Television Broadcast Stations
(Amarillo, Texas)
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MB Docket No. 21-52
RM-11877

REPORT AND ORDER

(Proceeding Terminated)

Adopted:  May 20, 2021	Released:  May 20, 2021

By the Chief, Video Division, Media Bureau:

1. The Video Division, Media Bureau (Bureau), has before it a Notice of Proposed RulemakingAmendment of Section 73.73.622(i), Post-Transition Table of DTV Allotments, Television Stations (Amarillo, Texas), Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, MB Docket No. 21-52, 36 FCC Rcd 1569 (Vid. Div. 2021) (NPRM). 
 issued in response to a Petition for Rulemaking filed by KVII Licensee, LLC (Licensee), the licensee of KVII (ABC), channel 7, Amarillo, Texas.  The Licensee has requested the substitution of UHF channel 20 for VHF channel 7 in the DTV Table of Allotments. As noted in the NPRM, on April 13, 2017, the Commission completed the incentive auction and broadcast television spectrum repacking authorized by the Spectrum Act, and the post-incentive auction transition period ended on July 13, 2020. The Bureau will amend the rules to reflect all new full power channel assignments in a revised Table of Allotments, but because the Table has not yet been amended, the Bureau has continued to refer to the Post-Transition Table of DTV Allotments, 47 CFR § 73.622(i) (2018), for the purpose of this proceeding.  See NPRM, 36 FCC Rcd at 1569, n.2.
  
2. The Licensee filed comments in support of the petition, as required by the Commission’s rules, 47 CFR §§ 1.415, 1.419; see also Buffalo, Iola, Normangee, and Madisonville, Texas, MB Docket No. 07-729, Report and Order, 24 FCC Rcd 8192, 8194, para. 9 (Aud. Div. 2009).  
 reaffirming its commitment to apply for channel 20.   No other comments were filed.  We believe the public interest would be served by substituting channel 20 for channel 7 at Amarillo, Texas.  The Licensee asserts that KVII, as a VHF channel station, has a long history of dealing with severe reception problems exacerbated by the analog to digital conversion.  In addition, the Licensee states that the substitution of channel 20 for channel 7 will result in enhanced signal levels to a large percentage of the population within KVII’s service area, without any predicted loss of coverage and with a predicted increase of persons in the KVII service area. NPRM, 36 FCC Rcd at 1569-70, para. 2.
  
3. As proposed, channel 20 can be substituted for channel 7 at Amarillo, Texas, in compliance with the principal community coverage requirements of section 73.625(a) of the Commission’s rules (rules), 47 CFR § 73.625(a).
 at coordinates 35-22-30.0 N and 101-52-58.0 W.  In addition, we find that this channel change meets the technical requirements set forth in sections 73.616 and 73.623 of the rules with the following specifications: 47 CFR §§ 73.616, 73.623.

City and State                   DTV Channel   DTV Power (kW)    Antenna  HAAT (m)   DTV Service Pop. 
Amarillo, Texas                  20                      1000                       519                             328,920  
4. We also conclude that good cause exists to make this channel change effective immediately upon publication in the Federal Register, pursuant to section 553(d)(3) of the Administrative Procedure Act. 5 U.S.C. § 553(d)(3).
  An expedited effective date is necessary in this case to ensure that KVII can operate with improved service to its viewers  as quickly as possible.
5. Accordingly, pursuant to the authority contained in sections 4(i), 5(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), (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, IT IS ORDERED, That effective immediately upon the date of publication in the Federal Register, the DTV Table of Allotments, section 73.622(i) of the Commission’s rules, 47 CFR § 73.622(i), IS AMENDED, with respect to the community listed below, to read as follows:
City and State	      Channel No.		
Amarillo, Texas                            *9, 10, 15, 19, 20
6. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, That within 30 days of the effective date of this Order, KVII Licensee, LLC shall submit to the Commission a minor change application for a construction permit (Form 2100, Schedule A) specifying channel 20 in lieu of channel 7.
7. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, That pursuant to section 801(a)(1)(A) of the Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. § 801(a)(1)(A), the Commission SHALL SEND a copy of the Order to Congress and to the Government Accountability Office.
8. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, That should no petitions for reconsideration or petitions for judicial review be timely filed, MB Docket No. 21-52 and RM-11877 SHALL BE TERMINATED and its docket closed.
9. For further information concerning the proceeding listed above, contact Joyce L. Bernstein, Video Division, Media Bureau, (202) 418-1647, Joyce.Bernstein@fcc.gov.
						FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION



						Barbara A. Kreisman
						Chief, Video Division
						Media Bureau
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