'1.. 1[ DowLohnes Scott S. Patrick o 202.776.2885 E [email protected] June 19,2008 VIA COURIER FILED/ACCEPTED Ms. Marlene H. Dortch Secretary JUN 1 9 2008 Federal Communications Commission Federal GOllilllulI!~c1l1UlIS Commission 445 12th Street, S.W. Office of the Secretary Washington, DC 20554 Attention: Video Division Media Bureau Re: WHNT-DT, Huntsville, Alabama Facility J.D. No. 48693 Petition to Amend the DTV Table ofAllotments Dear Ms. Dortch: On behalfofLocal TV Alabama License, LLC, licensee ofcommercial television station WHNT-DT, Huntsville, Alabama, we hereby transmit an original and four copies ofa Petition for Rule Making requesting the substitution ofChannel 46 for Channel 19 at Huntsville, Alabama in the DTV Table ofAllotments. Ifany additional information is needed in connection with this matter, please contact me. Enclosure cc: Ms. Joyce Bernstein (via e-mail) Mr. Ron Graser (via e-mail) Dow Lohnes PLLC WASHINGTON, DC I ATLANTA, GA 1200 New Hampshire Avenue, NW. Suite 800 Attorneys at law Washington, DC 20036·6802 www.dowlohnes.com T 202.776.2000 F 202.776.2222 1 FILED/ACCEPTED JU~ 1et~~~ : FederaloCommmunlcations Commlss' Before the co of the Secretary fan, FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of ) ) Amendment ofSection 73.622(i) ) MB Docket No. ---- Post-Transition Table ofAllotments, ) RM- _ Digital Television Broadcast s.tations ) (Huntsville, Alabama) ) ) To: Office ofthe Secretary Attn: Chief, Video Division Media Bureau PETITION FOR RULE MAKING TO AMEND THE DTV TABLE OF ALLOTMENTS By its attorney and pursuant to Sections 1.401, 73.616, and 73.622(a) ofthe Commission's Ru1es, 1 Local TV Alabama License, LLC ("Licensee"), licensee ofWHNT-DT, Huntsville, Alabama (the "Station"), hereby respectfully petitions the Commission to institute a rulemaking to amend Section 73.622(i), the Post-Transition DTV Table ofAllotments, by substituting Channel 46 as theStation's post-transition DTV channel in lieu ofChannel 19. This instant petition is submitted following the Commission's announcement that it would resume acceptance ofchannel change petitions.2 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.401, 73.616, 73.622(a) as amended by Third Periodic Review ofthe Commission's Ru1es and PoliCies Affecting the Conversion to Digital Television, 23 FCC Rcd 2994, ~ 128 (reI. Dec. 31, 2007). 2 See Commission Lifts the Freeze on the Filing ofMaximization Applications and Petitions for Digital Channel Substitutions Effective hnmediately, Public Notice, DA 08-1213 at 2 (reI. May 30, 2008). 2366814-1 1-'- .. Specifically, the Post-Transition DTV Table ofAllotments would be amended as follows: Present Proposed Huntsville, AL 19,*24,32,41,49 *24,32,41,46,49 Licensee is seeking the channel substitution because operation on Channel 46 would allow the Station to serve more ofits current DTV service population than operation on Channel 19. As the attached Technical Exhibit demonstrates, the proposed facility would allow 91 % replication ofthe Station's current DTV service population instead ofthe 71 % replication permitted by the Station's current allotment.3 The Technical Exhibit also demonstrates that the proposed facility complies with the Commission's rules for post-transition DTV operation. The Station's proposed service area encompasses its community oflicense, and the proposed parameters comply with the Commission's interference standards.4 The proposed facility would serve approximately 134% ofthe viewers currently receiving analog service and 128% ofthe currently allotted post­ transition DTV service population.5 For the convenience ofthe Commission, we hereby provide the present and proposed "Appendix B" parameters: Present: Facility State and City NTSC DTV 10 Ch Ch ERP HAAT Antenna Latitude Longitude kW (m) 10 (OOMMSS) (OOOMMSS) 48693 AL I HUNTSVILLE 19 19 40.7 514 344419 863156 3 See Attachment A, Technical Exhibit at 1. 4 See id. at 2; 47 C.F.R. §§ 73.616(b),(e), 73.623(d), 73.625(a). 5 See Attachment A, Technical Exhibit at I. 2366814-1 -2- 1. .I Proposed: 6 48693 ~ HUNTSVILLE _....:..:19:....JQi] 5751 531 I TBA 1_3..:....;4,-,-44..:....;1....::..9..l-1__8:;..::6....::..31;:..::;S-,,-61 For the foregoing reasons, Licensee respectfully requests that the Commission amend the Post-Transition DTV Table ofAllotments as proposed. Adoption would serve the public interest by maximizing the number ofcurrent viewers who can continue receiving the Station's DTV service. Respectfully submitted, LOCAL TV ALABAMA LICENSE, LLC By: Its Attorney Dow Lohnes PLLC 1200 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W. Suite 800 Washington, D.C. 20036-6802 (202) 776-2000 Dated: June 19,2008 6 To be assigned by the Commission. 2366814-1 -3- "t, ATTACHMENT A Technical Exhibit 2366814-1 du Treil, Lundin & Rackley, Inc. ____________________~ ConsuItingEngineers TECHNICAL EXIllBIT PETITION FOR RULE MAKING TO MODIFY THE DTV TABLE OF ALLOTMENTS STATION WHNT-DT illJNTSVILLE, ALABAMA This Technical Exhibit was prepared on behalfoftelevision station WHNT-DT assigned to Huntsville, Alabama (analog channel 19, pre-transition digital channel 59, and current post-transition digital channel 19) in support ofa Petitionfor Rule Making to modify the DTV allotment ofWHNT-DT to substitute channel 46 for the current channel 19 DTV allotment. The Commission adopted channel 19 for WHNT-TV's post-transition digital operation. Specifically, WHNT-DTwas assigned channel 19 for its post-transition Appendix B operation with a nondirectional antenna maximum effective radiated power (ERP) of40.7 kilowatts (kW) and an antenna height above average terrain (HAAT) of514 meters. However, the Appendix B facilities adopted by the FCC will not permit replication of WHNT's current digital operation. Below is a tabulation ofthe predicted service population and area based on the current WHNT-TV operations and Appendix B allotment and the herein proposed WHNT-DT Appendix B facilities: Facilitv Service PODulation Service Area Licensed WHNT Analog (Ch.19 1290 kW/531 m, ND Antenna) 949,469 22,109 km2 Licensed WHNT Digital (Ch. 59 1000 kW/514 m, ND Antenna) 1,402,376 35,643 km2 Current WHNT Appendix B (Ch. 19 40.7 kW/514 m, ND Antenna) 992,000 23,609 km2 Proposed WHNT Appendix B (Ch. 46 208 kW/577 m, DA Antenna) 1,274,000 33,006 km2 As indicated above, the herein proposed Appendix B facilities will allow 91 % replication ofthe current digital service population and 134% ofthe current analog service population. As a comparison, WHNT's current Appendix B allotment allows 71 % replication of the current digital service population and 105% ofthe current analog service population du Treil, Lundin & Rackley, Inc. _____________________________________'ConsultingEngineers Page 2 Therefore, WHNT-TV respectfully requests that the Commission modify Appendix B to specify operation on Channel 46 from its licensed analog site using an "omni­ oid" type ofdirectional antenna. The following details WHNT's proposed modification ofits Appendix B facilities. NTSC DTV Facility Percent State & City ERP HAAT Latitude Longitude Area Population ID Chan Chan IX (kW) (m) (DDMMSS) (DDDMMSS) (sq kin) (thousand) Received 48693 ALI Huntsville 19 46 575 531 344419 863156 32,006 1274 1.26 Directional Antenna: Antenna ID, 16352 with a rotation of 280· The proposed WHNT-DT effective radiated power and antenna height above average terrain exceeds that permitted by Section 73.622(f)(8) ofthe Commission Rules. However, the proposed WHNT-DT service area of32,006 square kilometers is less than that of another station in the market, WAAY-DT on Channel 32 assigned to Huntsville, Alabama which serves 36,626 square kilometers. Therefore, pursuant to 73.622(f)(5), as the proposed WHNT­ DT service area remains equal to or less than that ofthe largest station in the market, the proposed effective radiated power and antenna height above terrain is allowed to exceed the limits defmed in Section 73.622(f)(8). The proposed WHNT-DT Appendix B facilities will comply with the 0.5 percent interference standard adopted by the FCC for post-transition DTV operations as shown in Figure 1. 1 Charles A. Cooper du Treil, Lundin & Rackley, Inc. 201 Fletcher Ave. Sarasota, Florida 34237 June 12, 2008 1 See paragraph 155 ofthe Report and Order in the Third DTV Periodic Review (MB Docket No. 07-91). The OET­ 69 cell size used is 1 square kilometer with a terrain increment of0.5 km Figure 1 TECHNICAL EXHIBIT PETITION FOR RULE MAKING TO MODIFY THE DTV TABLE OF ALLOTMENTS STATIONWHNT-DT HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA OET-69 Analysis TW Census data selected 2000 Post Transition Data Base Selected /export/home/cdbs/pt_tvdb.sff TV INTERFERENCE and SPACING ANALYSIS PROGRAM Date: 06-05-2008 Time: 20:01:13 Record Selected for Analysis WENT USERRECORD-01 HUNTSVILLE AL US Channel 46 ERP 575. kW HAAT 531. m RCAMSL 00766 m Latitude 034-44-19 Longitude 0086-31-56 Status APP Zone 2 Border Dir Antenna Make CDB Model 00000000016352 Beam tilt N Ref Azimuth 280. Last update Cutoff date Docket Comments Applicant Cell size for Service Analysis 1.0 km/side Distance Increments for Longley-Rice Analysis 0.50 km Facility does not meet maximum height/power limits Channel 46 ERP = 575.00 HAAT = 531. Azimuth ERP HAAT 41.0 dBu F(50,90) (Deg) (kW) (m) (km) 0.0 308.941, 537.1 106.2 45.0 237.364 520.0 102.5 90.0 285.789' 522.7 104.4 135.0 257.732 516.1 102.9 180.0 251. 990 505.4 101.9 225.0 417.885 572.0 111.0 270.0 569.264 556.4 112.9 315.0 503.217 516.7 109.2 Evaluation toward Class A Stations Contour overlap to Class A station W38BQ 38 HUNTSVILLE AL BSTA 20060929ABO Contour overlap to Class A station W38BQ 38 HUNTSVILLE AL BLTTL 19971105IJ Class A Evaluation Complete 1 Figure 1 SPACING VIOLATION FOUND BETWEEN STATION WHNT 46 HUNTSVILLE AL USERRECORD01 and station SHORT TO: WPXH 44 GADSDEN AL BLCT 19980527KE 033-53-27 0086-28-13 Reg.