Connecting What’s Next TV Channel Repack...Nov 07, 2017 · WWTO-TV Chicago, IL Trinity Christian...

Proprietary and confidential. | 1

Connecting What’s Next


TV Channel Repack Radio Club of America 2017 Technical Symposium

Joe Seccia, PE

NT8H



Originally VHF only, Ch’s 1 – 19 (44 – 294 MHz)

• Band not contiguous – FM allocations and others

• Ch. 1 problematic and moved around, eventually eliminated circa 1940 due to interference with 45 MHz IF’s being used in receivers.

UHF Band allocated in 1952: 470 – 890 MHz, designated as Ch’s 14-83

Ch’s 70-83 eliminated for AMPS in 1983 (The first repack?)

Ch’s 52-69 eliminated by Telecommunications Act of 1996 that authorized today’s Digital Television. (The second repack)

• Spectrum not reclaimed until mid 2009.

National Broadband Plan of 2010 is the law that set the repack as we know it today in motion.

Brief History of US TV Band



Spectrum was sought to satisfy the projected demand on mobile broadband.

UHF TV spectrum highly sought after due to:

• Excellent propagation characteristics well suited for mobile broadband services.

• Potential large contiguous blocks of spectrum.

• UHF TV spectrum accounts for approx. 30% of spectrum allocation between 225 MHz and 1 GHz.

Recognizing that some economic groups are reliant on OTA TV and that it has long served as an important part of our communications infrastructure serving the public interest, a voluntary and market-based mechanism was needed to reclaim TV spectrum for new public interest.

Mobile Broadband



Mobile Broadband has more potential value for the spectrum than broadcast, creating a “value gap” of 10 x.

Spectrum Valuation based on $ per MHz, per person reached.

• “$ / MHz – pop”

FCC auctioned 52 MHz of the reclaimed 700 MHz band after the DTV transition for Wireless.

• > $19B raised, average valuation of $1.28 / MHz – pop

• TV Broadcast valuation calculated at $ 0.11 - $ 0.15 / MHz - pop

Market Value for Spectrum



Where are we getting our programming?

Average Prime-Time

Ratings

All Broadcast vs. All

Cable

OTA vs. Multi-Channel Video

Program Distributor Share of TV

households.




Broadcast Incentive Auction Authorized by Congress in 2012



Two Auctions

Reverse Auction

• With local television broadcasters selling spectrum

• FCC had a pre-determined amount of spectrum it sought in each market

• FCC will pay broadcasters to relinquish spectrum rights in one of a number of different ways

Forward Auction

• With wireless companies that wanted to acquire spectrum

to expand their services

• Companies bid on newly available 600 MHz (UHF television

spectrum obtained from the Reverse Auction)

• Amounts generated by the forward auction determines, in

part, amounts offered to broadcasters in the reverse auction



Broadcasters Eligible for Reverse Auction

All full-power and Class A commercial and non-commercial television stations in selected markets are eligible

Which Markets?

FCC wanted to auction as close

to 120 MHz of spectrum as

possible so many of the largest

markets will need considerable

numbers of television stations to

participate, recognizing it may not

be able to secure that much

spectrum in some markets

Additionally, smaller markets

that are adjacent to these

larger markets, and particular

stations in those markets

with extensive coverage in

the larger market will be

sought to participate in order to

“free up” that spectrum



Auction & Adjacent Markets



Auction Final

$10B

$20B



Reverse Auction’s Top 30 (of 175) Call Sign Market Owner Option Compensation

WWTO-TV Chicago, IL Trinity Christian Center of Santa Ana, Inc. Go off-air 304,250,040$

WNBC New York, NY NBC Telemundo License LLC Go off-air 214,023,017$

WRNN-TV New York, NY WRNN License Company, LLC Go off-air 211,680,472$

WXTV-DT New York, NY WXTV License Partnership, G.P. Go off-air 198,965,211$

WNJN New York, NY New Jersey Public Broadcasting Authority Go off-air 193,892,273$

WZME New York, NY NRJ TV NY License Co., LLC Go off-air 191,813,165$

WTBY-TV New York, NY Trinity Broadcasting of New York, Inc. Go off-air 162,402,181$

WLVI Boston, MA WHDH-TV Go off-air 162,108,481$

WGBH-TV Boston, MA WGBH Educational Foundation Move to Low-VHF 161,723,929$

WPWR-TV Chicago, IL Fox Television Stations, LLC Go off-air 160,748,259$

KVCR-DT Los Angeles, CA San Bernardino Community College District Move to Low-VHF 157,113,171$

KBEH Los Angeles, CA Hero Licenseco LLC Go off-air 146,627,980$

KRCA Los Angeles, CA KRCA License LLC Go off-air 142,337,137$

WSNS-TV Chicago, IL NBC Telemundo License LLC Go off-air 141,658,837$

WFMZ-TV Philadelphia, PA Maranatha Broadcasting Company, Inc. Go off-air 140,482,163$

WNJT Philadelphia, PA New Jersey Public Broadcasting Authority Go off-air 138,059,363$

KOCE-TV Los Angeles, CA KOCE-TV FOUNDATION Go off-air 138,003,711$

KJLA Los Angeles, CA KJLA, LLC Go off-air 135,542,845$

WYDN Boston, MA Educational Public TV Corporation Go off-air 134,987,151$

WYBE Philadelphia, PA Independence Public Media of Philadelphia, Inc. Go off-air 131,578,104$

KLCS Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles Unified School District Go off-air 130,510,880$

WXFT-DT Chicago, IL UniMas Chicago LLC Go off-air 126,107,725$

WLWC Providence, RI-New Bedford, MA OTA Broadcasting (PVD), LLC Go off-air 125,932,367$

WWSI Philadelphia, PA NBC Telemundo License LLC Go off-air 125,903,049$

WUVN Hartford-New Haven, CT Entravision Holdings, LLC Go off-air 125,568,545$

WNVC Washington, DC Commonwealth Public Broadcasting Corporation Go off-air 124,801,961$

KWHY-TV Los Angeles, CA KWHY-22 Broadcasting, LLC Move to Low-VHF 123,474,177$

WUTB Baltimore, MD Deerfield Media (Baltimore) Licensee, LLC Go off-air 122,912,964$

WDCW Washington, DC WDCW, LLC Go off-air 121,992,349$

WLVT-TV Philadelphia, PA LEHIGH VALLEY PUBLIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP.Go off-air 121,752,169$




Repacking



Spectrum

Recovered

MHz

Highest

Remaining TV

Channel

Full Power

Stations

Class A

Stations

Total

Stations

Directly

Impacted*

84 36 593 144 737

Directly impacted stations are those currently assigned to spectrum that is to be cleared for wireless services

*Some participated in the auction, thus reducing the number of directly impacted stations

How Many Stations Directly Impacted?



TV Repack Report Card

Action as a Result of the Spectrum Auction Number

Stations Eliminated (Not Including Channel Sharing)* 145

Stations Moving From UHF to VHF* 30

Stations Relocated Within the UHF Band (US Only) 917

Distributed Transmission Stations Relocated 19

Stations Relocated Within the VHF Bands (US Only) 70

Canadian Stations Forced to Relocate 62

Total Repacked (not including VHF moves) 1068

17 LB

13 HB



Stations Not Changing Channels Impacted

IF stations…. • Share a Tower • Have stacked tower top antennas • Operate on a shared antenna and

transmission line …with a station that is forced to change channel FM stations on a shared tower with TV

Additional issues • Who will pay the cost for accommodating these stations?

• Potential increased interference from neighboring stations (0.5% of population per other station)



New UHF Band Plan

• Wireless spectrum channelized into 5 MHz pairs • TV service remains 6 MHz channels • Duplex gap between wireless uplink and downlink • Guard band spectrum between services



20 Full-power Ch. 14 assignments before repack • 8 get repacked off Ch. 14 • 12 remain on Ch. 14

30 Full-power stations repacked to Ch. 14 • 42 Full-power Ch. 14 assignments

Ch. 14 scenario

No

Guard

Band!



Unique to each Land Mobile RF situation

Ch. 14 Mask Filters



Ch. 14 Mask Filters



We’re on the clock!

Repack Timeline



Construction Phases

94 Stations

114 Stations

95 Stations

110 Stations

116 Stations

114 Stations

113 Stations

114 Stations

76 Stations

53 Stations



Repack Regions



Timeline

April 13 July 12

File electronically in LMS

FCC staff expected to process qualifying CP apps within 10 business days if:

• Station not seeking expanded coverage beyond what was specified in the PN.

• Seeking authorization for no more than 5% smaller than what was specified in the PN.



First Priority Window

Limited to:

• Unable to construct – extraordinary technical or legal circumstances

1. 25 stations were found by FCC to be unable to construct and given a July 12 waiver.

• Repacked stations predicted to experience a loss in excess of 1%

• Non-repacked stations predicted to experience a loss in excess of 1%

• Class A stations that were displaced and ineligible for repacking protection.

Aug 9 Sep 15



Two stations on same tower under same ownership / operation.

1 VHF, 1 UHF

Stacked antennas.

Site has restrictions on additional antennas, so interim antenna is not possible.

Assigned to two different phases.

Solution: Apply to change to same phase so tower / antenna work is done simultaneously.

First Priority Window Example



Stations may use this window to request, among other things, an expanded facility, a different channel or channel swap with in-market station. (Amendment if CP still pending, modification if CP granted.)

Caution!! Alternate channels considered major change; subject to public notice and opportunity for petitions to deny and subject to filing fee.

Mutual Exclusivity that results from requests must be resolved in 90 days.

Expenditures for upgrading facility that may be granted is non-reimbursable.

Second Window – change requests

Oct 3 Nov 2



Unforeseen Circumstances During Construction Period

If station is unable to construct new facility by the phase completion deadline… or

If station is unable to cease operations on pre-auction channel by the phase completion deadline…

… Propose a creative solution to assist the transition process.



Unable to construct on time

Station may seek a single extension of up to 180 days; extension application must be filed at least 90 days before deadline.

• Station may seek additional time beyond 180 days ONLY pursuant to “tolling”

– Tolling: Acts of God, delays due to administrative or judicial review, …

Extending the CP deadline does not extend the phase completion date. Unless station is granted an STA otherwise, the date the station must cease operation on it’s pre-auction channel is on the phase completion date.




Reimbursement



Initial Allocation • Commercial stations: up to 80% of estimated costs

• Noncommercial stations: up to 90% of estimated costs

• Actual percentage will depend on total cost of repack vs. the $1.75B repack fund

Progress Reports • Stations must report progress on implementing their channel transition plan

• First reports were due Oct. 10.

True-Up • Broadcasters must submit documentation of actual expenses and estimated remaining

expenses

• FCC will distribute additional funds or reclaim remaining funds, as appropriate

Reimbursement Procedure



Reimbursement Caveats

Stations indirectly impacted not eligible for reimbursement

• FM’s on tower

• Canadian neighbors (62 stations!)

$1.75 B broken down

• $1B authorized to borrow from treasury, $750m from auction proceeds

• Funds subject to sequester, 6 – 9%

• Key words are “up to” (80% commercial, 90% non-comm)



Reimbursement Example

Reimbursement requests totaled $2.1 B

Actual may be less due to form 399 reviews and subsequent amendments, but not expected to go down significantly.

$1.75 B allocated, $1 B available now.

Assume 6% fund sequester

Station estimate submitted is $1,000,000

Station’s initial reimbursement would be:

•(1−6%(1))

2.1× $1,000,000 × 0.8 = $358,095

Second reimbursement when forward auction proceeds fund the remaining $750m (of the $1.75 B)

Will Congress take some action and cover all the costs?



Introduced by NJ Rep. Frank Pallone in July

• Create a $1B additional fund to reimburse stations for repack costs.

• Fund a $90M viewer education effort

• Fund would be authorized to reimburse FM stations for reasonable costs incurred due to repack.

• Any left-over money available to LPTV’s

• Allow media bureau to grant permission to stay on air for situations out of a station’s control.

• No mention of indirectly impacted TV stations.

Bipartisan support in congress.

Viewer Protection Act



Introduced by Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan.

Bi-partisan support of Schatz (D-HI), Inhofe (R-Okla), Young (R-Ind), Blumenthal (D-Conn) and Udall (D-NM)

“… very concerned that rural America will be disproportionately harmed..”

“.. Adequate resources and an appropriate timeline..”

• Also includes additional funding to cover the 1.75 B – 2.1 B gap.

• Protects TV stations from going off air or reduced service due to circumstances beyond their control.

• Specific mention for radio stations affected by TV repack.

Viewer and Listener Protection Act



Impact on Broadcast Technical Resources Large demand on consulting engineers time

Structural analysis

Transmitter installers

Tower crews – new towers and antenna installation

Recent hurricane disasters may have crews busy that may impact early phase.

May impact planned radio projects.

In September, we suffered 3 repack related tower fatalities of a qualified high tower crew.

• Deadlines reassessed?



Resource crunch?

94 Stations

114 Stations

95 Stations

110 Stations

116 Stations

114 Stations

113 Stations

114 Stations

76 Stations

53 Stations




Thank You Joe Seccia, PE

NT8H

Connecting What’s Next TV Channel Repack...Nov 07, 2017 · WWTO-TV Chicago, IL Trinity Christian...

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