Elimination of Main Studio Rule, 25590-25594 [2017-11425]
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themselves with the Commission’s ex
parte rules.
VI. Ordering Clauses
155. Accordingly, it is ordered that,
pursuant to sections 3, 10, 201(b), 230,
254(e), 303(r), and 332 of the
Communications Act of 1934, as
amended, and section 706 of the
Telecommunications Act of 1996, as
amended, 47 U.S.C. 153, 160, 201(b),
254(e), 303(r), 332, 1302, this Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking is adopted.
156. It is further ordered that pursuant
to applicable procedures set forth in
sections 1.415 and 1.419 of the
Commission’s rules, 47 CFR 1.415,
1.419, interested parties may file
comments on this Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking on or before July 17, 2017
and reply comments on or before
August 16, 2017.
157. It is further ordered that the
Commission’s Consumer &
Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reference
Information Center, shall send a copy of
this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking,
including the Initial Regulatory
Flexibility Analysis, to the Chief
Counsel for Advocacy of the Small
Business Administration.
(b) The functional equivalent of such
a mobile service described in paragraph
(a) of this section.
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(a) That is interconnected with the
public switched network, or
interconnected with the public switched
network through an interconnected
service provider, that gives subscribers
the capability to communicate to or
receive communication from all other
users on the public switched network;
or
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Public Switched Network. Any
common carrier switched network,
whether by wire or radio, including
local exchange carriers, interexchange
carriers, and mobile service providers,
that use the North American Numbering
Plan in connection with the provision of
switched services.
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[FR Doc. 2017–11455 Filed 6–1–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712–01–P
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION
47 CFR Part 73
List of Subjects
[MB Docket No. 17–106; FCC 17–59]
47 CFR Part 8
Elimination of Main Studio Rule
Protecting and promoting the open
internet.
AGENCY:
Federal Communications
Commission.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
47 CFR Part 20
Federal Communications Commission.
Katura Jackson,
Federal Register Liaison Officer. Office of the
Secretary.
Proposed Rules
For the reasons discussed in the
preamble, the Federal Communications
Commission proposes to amend 47 CFR
parts 8 and 20 as follows:
PART 8—PROTECTING AND
PROMOTING THE OPEN INTERNET
§ 8.11
■
[Remove and Reserve].
1. Remove and reserve § 8.11.
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PART 20—COMMERCIAL MOBILE
SERVICES
2. Amend § 20.3 by revising paragraph
(b) under the definition of ‘‘Commercial
mobile radio service;’’ paragraph (a)
under the definition of ‘‘Interconnected
Service;’’ and the definition of ‘‘Public
Switched Network’’ to read as follows:
■
§ 20.3
*
Definitions.
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In this document, the
Commission proposes to eliminate its
rule that requires each AM, FM, and
television broadcast station to maintain
a main studio located in or near its
community of license. The Commission
tentatively finds that the main studio
rule is now outdated and unnecessarily
burdensome for broadcast stations. The
Commission also proposes to eliminate
existing requirements associated with
the main studio rule, including the
requirement that the main studio must
have full-time management and staff
present during normal business hours,
and that it must have program
origination capability.
DATES: Comments are due on or before
July 3, 2017; reply comments are due on
or before July 17, 2017.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments,
identified by MB Docket No. 17–106, by
any of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
• Federal Communications
Commission’s Web site: https://
fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs2/. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
SUMMARY:
Commercial mobile services.
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• Mail: Filings can be sent by hand or
messenger delivery, by commercial
overnight courier, or by first-class or
overnight U.S. Postal Service mail. All
filings must be addressed to the
Commission’s Secretary, Office of the
Secretary, Federal Communications
Commission.
• People with Disabilities: Contact
the FCC to request reasonable
accommodations (accessible format
documents, sign language interpreters,
CART, etc.) by email: FCC504@fcc.gov
or phone: (202) 418–0530 or TTY: (202)
418–0432.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
additional information on this
proceeding, contact Diana Sokolow,
Diana.Sokolow@fcc.gov, of the Policy
Division, Media Bureau, (202) 418–
2120.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a
summary of the Commission’s Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking, FCC 17–59,
adopted and released on May 18, 2017.
The full text is available for public
inspection and copying during regular
business hours in the FCC Reference
Center, Federal Communications
Commission, 445 12th Street SW., Room
CY–A257, Washington, DC 20554. This
document will also be available via
ECFS at https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs/.
Documents will be available
electronically in ASCII, Microsoft Word,
and/or Adobe Acrobat. The complete
text may be purchased from the
Commission’s copy contractor, 445 12th
Street SW., Room CY–B402,
Washington, DC 20554. Alternative
formats are available for people with
disabilities (Braille, large print,
electronic files, audio format), by
sending an email to fcc504@fcc.gov or
calling the Commission’s Consumer and
Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202)
418–0530 (voice), (202) 418–0432
(TTY).
Synopsis
1. In this Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (NPRM), we propose to
eliminate the Federal Communications
Commission (Commission) rule that
requires each AM, FM, and television
broadcast station to maintain a main
studio located in or near its community
of license.1 When the rule was
conceived almost eighty years ago, local
access to the main studio was designed
to facilitate input from community
members as well as the station’s
participation in community activities.
Today, however, widespread
availability of electronic communication
enables stations to participate in their
1 47
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CFR 73.1125(a) through (d).
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communities of license, and members of
the community to contact broadcast
radio and television stations, without
the physical presence of a local
broadcast studio. In addition, because
the Commission has adopted online
public inspection file requirements for
AM, FM, and television broadcast
stations, community members no longer
will need to visit a station’s main studio
to access its public inspection file.
Television broadcasters completed their
transition to the online public file in
2014, and radio broadcasters will
complete their transition by March 1,
2018.2 Given these changes, in this
proceeding we tentatively find that the
main studio rule is now outdated and
unnecessarily burdensome for broadcast
stations and propose to eliminate it. We
also propose to eliminate existing
requirements associated with our main
studio rule.3
2. We propose to eliminate our rule
requiring each AM, FM,4 and television
broadcast station to maintain a local
main studio.5 We also propose to
eliminate the associated staffing and
program origination capability
requirements that apply to main studios.
We tentatively conclude that
technological innovations have
rendered a local studio unnecessary as
a means for viewers and listeners to
communicate with or access their local
stations and to carry out the other
2 As of June 24, 2016, commercial broadcast radio
stations in the top 50 Nielsen Audio radio markets
with five or more full-time employees were
required to place new public and political file
documents in the online file on a going-forward
basis. By December 24, 2016, these entities were
required to upload their existing public file
documents to the online file, with the exception of
existing political file material. As of March 1, 2018,
all noncommercial educational (NCE) broadcast
radio stations, commercial broadcast radio stations
in the top 50 Nielsen Audio radio markets with
fewer than five full-time employees, and
commercial broadcast radio stations in markets
below the top 50 or outside all markets must have
placed all existing public file material in the online
public file, with the exception of existing political
file material, and must begin placing all new public
and political file material in the online file on a
going-forward basis.
3 The associated requirements include the
requirement that the main studio must have fulltime management and staff present during normal
business hours, and that it must have program
origination capability.
4 Although LPFM stations have no main studio
requirement, points are awarded under the service’s
comparative selection procedures to those
applicants that pledge to locally originate at least
eight hours of programming per day and to
maintain a main studio with local origination
capability.
5 We note that on April 19, 2017, Garvey Schubert
Barer’s (GSB) Media, Telecom and Technology
group filed a petition asking the Commission to
initiate a rulemaking to repeal its main studio rule.
Because our proposals effectively satisfy GSB’s
request, we dismiss GSB’s rulemaking petition as
moot.
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traditional functions that they have
served. In particular, it appears that a
local main studio with staffing sufficient
to accommodate visits from community
members no longer will be justified
once broadcasters fully transition to
online public inspection files. We invite
comment on these proposals.
3. We also seek comment on the costs
that AM, FM, and television broadcast
stations face in complying with the
current main studio rule and associated
requirements. How significant are these
costs, particularly for small stations?
Would eliminating the main studio rule,
as well as the associated staffing and
program origination capability
requirements, enable broadcasters to
allocate greater resources to
programming and other matters? Would
eliminating the rule make it more
efficient for co-owned or jointly
operated broadcast stations to co-locate
their offices, rather than operating a
main studio in or near each station’s
community of license? We invite
comment on these and other efficiencies
that could be achieved by eliminating
the main studio rule. Are there any
particular issues we should be aware of
with regard to eliminating the main
studio rule for non-commercial
broadcast stations?
4. How frequently do stations receive
in-person visits from members of the
community, and are those visits to
request access to hard copy public
inspection files or for other purposes?
To what extent do people contact
stations by telephone, by mail, or
online, rather than through in-person
visits? Have technological advances,
including widespread access to the
Internet, mobile telephones, email, and
social media, obviated the need to
accommodate in-person visits from
community members? If we eliminate
the main studio rule, would competitive
market conditions ensure that stations
will continue to keep apprised of
significant local needs and issues?
Would eliminating the main studio rule
impact a station’s ability to
communicate time-sensitive or
emergency information to the public? If
the existence of a local main studio no
longer plays a significant role in
ensuring that broadcast stations serve
their local communities, then
eliminating the main studio requirement
likely will not significantly impact the
requirement that the Commission ‘‘make
such distribution of licenses,
frequencies, hours of operation, and of
power among the several States and
communities as to provide for a fair,
efficient, and equitable distribution of
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radio service to each of the same.’’ 6 We
seek comment on whether the current
main studio rules and related
requirements are necessary to
implement section 307(b) of the
Communications Act of 1934, as
amended. Relatedly, we ask commenters
to describe any remaining benefits of the
main studio requirements and the
associated staffing requirements.
5. Although the Commission
eliminated its program origination
requirement in 1987, it subsequently
clarified that stations must nonetheless
‘‘equip the main studio with production
and transmission facilities that meet
applicable standards [and] maintain
continuous program transmission
capability . . . [to] allow broadcasters to
continue, at their option, and as the
marketplace demands, to produce local
programs at the studio.’’ We invite
comment on the continued relevance of
the program origination capability
requirement that currently applies to
main studios. What function does it
serve today? To what extent do stations
produce local programming at their
main studios? If we eliminate the main
studio rule, should we maintain the
program origination capability
requirement, and, if so, how? Would
program origination, to the extent it
happens today, occur anyway absent
any capability requirement as stations
seek to continue to meet viewers’ and
listeners’ interests?
6. We propose to retain section
73.1125(e) of our rules, which requires
‘‘[e]ach AM, FM, TV and Class A TV
broadcast station [to] maintain a local
telephone number in its community of
license or a toll-free number.’’ We invite
comment on this proposal. Would
retention of this requirement help
ensure that members of the community
continue to have access to their local
broadcast stations, for example, to share
concerns or seek information, if the
current main studio requirements are
eliminated? Stations currently are
required to post their telephone
numbers in their online public files. If
we eliminate the main studio rule,
should we encourage stations to also
publicize their phone numbers in
additional ways, such as on their Web
sites? Should we require the telephone
number to be staffed during normal
business hours so that community
members may seek assistance during
that time? Or, should we require the
telephone number to be staffed at all
times in which the AM, FM, or Class A
6 47 U.S.C. 307(b). We do not herein propose any
modifications to the existing requirements
pertaining to submission of quarterly issues/
programs lists and requirements pertaining to a
station’s coverage of the community served.
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TV station is on the air? Alternatively,
is a staffed telephone number
requirement unnecessary so long as
station staff regularly retrieves and
responds promptly to voicemail
messages from the public left at that
telephone number? If community
members must leave a voicemail
message in order to reach a local
broadcast station, will this impede the
station’s ability to relay time-sensitive
emergency information to the public?
Should we instead require each station
to designate a point of contact to
respond to communications from the
public? We invite comment on these
alternatives and any other approaches
we should consider to ensure that
members of the public can easily
contact station representatives and
receive timely responses. Should
broadcasters establish processes to
ensure their ability to receive timesensitive or emergency information
during non-business hours?
7. To the extent that stations are no
longer required to have a local main
studio, we seek comment on how we
should ensure that community members
have access to a station’s public file. In
this regard, we note that television
stations already have fully transitioned
their public file materials to the online
public file as have some radio stations.
We recognize that under current rules,
some stations may continue maintaining
public inspection files locally, and not
online, even after the applicable
compliance deadline. In addition,
certain existing political materials that
are part of the public inspection file
may remain in the local public
inspection file, rather than the online
public inspection file, until the station
is no longer required to retain the
materials in question. If all or a portion
of a station’s public inspection file is
not available via the online public file,
we invite comment on how best to
ensure that community members have
access to the relevant materials in the
absence of a local main studio. For
example, should we require the station
to provide community members with
access to its local public inspection file
at another location in the community of
license, such as a local library or
another station’s main studio? 7
Commenters advocating that approach
should explain how stations would
notify community members of the
location of their public inspection file.
Alternatively, should we eliminate the
7 Applicants without a main studio currently
have a similar requirement. See 47 CFR
73.3526(b)(1) (‘‘. . . An applicant for a new station
or change of community shall maintain its file at
an accessible place in the proposed community of
license or at its proposed main studio.’’).
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main studio rule only for stations that
have fully transitioned all public file
material to the online public file,
including existing political file
materials? 8 Would it be reasonable to
permit a station to eliminate its local
main studio if it has transitioned all of
its public file materials to the online
public file except for its political file
materials for which it has a two-year
retention period? We seek comment on
the pros and cons of these various
approaches.
8. In addition to the proposed
revisions to section 73.1125 of the
Commission’s rules, we propose to
eliminate other Commission rules that
currently reference section 73.1125.
Specifically, if we eliminate the main
studio rule, we also will need to delete
sections 73.3538(b)(2) (informal
application to relocate main studio),
73.1690(c)(8)(ii) (location of FM studio
within station principal community
contour), and 73.1690(d)(1) (permissive
change in studio location) of the
Commission’s rules, all of which are
premised on the existing main studio
rule.9 We invite comment on this
proposal. Are any other rule changes
needed to conform to the proposed
elimination of the main studio rule and
associated requirements, including with
respect to any rules that reference
‘‘studio’’ or ‘‘main studio’’ instead of
section 73.1125? 10 For example, Class A
stations are required to broadcast an
average of at least three hours per week
of ‘‘locally produced programming’’
each quarter. The Commission’s rules
define ‘‘locally produced programming’’
as programming ‘‘(1) Produced within
the predicted Grade B contour . . . ; (2)
Produced within the predicted DTV
noise-limited contour . . . ; or (3)
Programming produced at the station’s
main studio.’’ If the main studio rule
8 For example, because television stations without
waivers, and some radio stations, have fully
transitioned all public file material to the online
public file, they could eliminate their main studio
upon the effective date of an order in this docket,
if any, eliminating the main studio rule; whereas,
radio stations that have not yet complied with the
online public file requirements would not be able
to take advantage of this potential rule change until
they too had fully transitioned, if we only eliminate
the main studio requirement for stations that have
fully transitioned to an online public file. A station
has ‘‘fully transitioned,’’ and thus could eliminate
the main studio under this approach, only if all
existing political file material was either voluntarily
transitioned to the online public file, or, in the case
of television stations, is older than the two year
retention period.
9 In preparing this NPRM, we determined that
section 73.1690(d)(2) of our rules references section
73.1410 of our rules, which has been deleted, and
we thus propose to delete that outdated reference.
10 See, e.g., 47 CFR 73.3526(b)(1), (b)(2)(ii), (c)(2),
(e)(4); Id. 73.3527(b)(1), (b)(2)(iii), (c)(2), (e)(3); Id.
73.3544(b)(3).
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and associated location restrictions are
eliminated, how does that impact the
third option? Could a Class A station
locate a ‘‘main studio’’ at a distance
outside its contour and still qualify as
having ‘‘locally produced
programming’’? We seek comment on
how to address this issue. Should we
eliminate the main studio option from
this rule? If so, how should we address
Class A stations with main studios
currently located outside the applicable
contour? Is there some other relevant
requirement we can substitute, to the
extent necessary to meet our statutory
requirements for Class A stations?
9. We also invite comment on any
other issues related to our proposals in
this proceeding. What impact would
elimination of the main studio rule and
the associated staffing and program
origination requirements have on other
Commission proceedings? 11
10. Finally, we invite comment on
any alternate proposals we should
consider, rather than completely
eliminating the main studio rule and
associated requirements. For example,
should we only eliminate the rule for a
certain subset of stations, such as those
that are located in small and mid-sized
markets or those that have fewer than a
certain number of employees?
Commenters advocating this approach
should explain with specificity how we
should define those stations that will be
permitted to eliminate their main
studio. We have proposed to eliminate
the main studio rule and the associated
requirements for all AM, FM, and
television broadcast stations. Is there
any reason to distinguish between our
treatment of AM, FM, and television
broadcast stations in this context? We
also invite comment on alternative ways
we can reduce main studio-related
burdens on broadcast stations.
11. As required by the Regulatory
Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended
(RFA), the Commission has prepared an
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
(IRFA) concerning the possible
significant economic impact on small
entities by the policies and rules
proposed in the NPRM. Written public
comments are requested on the IRFA.
Comments must be identified as
responses to the IRFA and must be filed
by the deadlines for comments provided
on the first page of the NPRM. The
Commission will send a copy of the
NPRM, including the IRFA, to the Chief
Counsel for Advocacy of the Small
Business Administration (SBA). In
11 For example, in certain cases Commission staff
has assessed if one station is exercising de facto
control over another by considering, among other
things, compliance with the main studio minimum
staffing requirements.
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 105 / Friday, June 2, 2017 / Proposed Rules
summary, the NPRM proposes to
eliminate the rule that requires each
AM, FM, and television broadcast
station to maintain a main studio
located in or near its community of
license.12 The NPRM also proposes to
eliminate existing requirements
associated with our main studio rule,
including the requirement that the main
studio must have full-time management
and staff present during normal
business hours, and that it must have
program origination capability. The
proposed action is authorized pursuant
to sections 4(i), 4(j), 303, 307(b), and
336(f) of the Communications Act of
1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 154(i),
154(j), 303, 307(b), 336(f). The types of
small entities that may be affected by
the proposals contained in the NPRM
fall within the following categories:
Television Broadcasting, Radio
Broadcasting. The projected reporting,
recordkeeping, and other compliance
requirements are: (1) A proposal to
eliminate the rule requiring each AM,
FM, and television broadcast station to
maintain a local main studio; and (2) a
proposal to eliminate the associated
staffing and program origination
capability requirements that apply to
main studios. There is no overlap with
other regulations or laws. The
Commission invites comment on
alternative ways it can reduce main
studio-related burdens on small entities,
including whether a requirement that
the local telephone number for a main
studio be staffed during normal business
hours is unnecessary so long as station
staff regularly retrieves and responds
promptly to voicemail messages from
the public left at that telephone number,
or whether the Commission instead
should require each station to designate
a point of contact to respond to
communication from the public;
whether instead of eliminating the main
studio rule entirely, the Commission
could only eliminate the rule for a
certain subset of stations, such as those
that are located in small and mid-sized
markets or those that have fewer than a
certain number of employees; and
whether to adopt an alternate approach
pursuant to which, if the Commission
does not eliminate the main studio rule
entirely, it could eliminate the rule only
for stations that have fully transitioned
their public file materials to the online
public file.
12. This document does not contain
any proposed new information
collection requirements. It does,
however, contain proposals to delete
rules that contain information collection
requirements. The Commission, as part
12 47
CFR 73.1125(a) through (d).
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of its continuing effort to reduce
paperwork burdens, invites the general
public and the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) to comment on the
information collection requirements that
would be impacted by the proposals
contained in this document, as required
by the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, Public Law 104–13 (44 U.S.C.
3501 through 3520). In addition,
pursuant to the Small Business
Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public
Law 107–198, see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4),
the Commission seeks specific comment
on how it might ‘‘further reduce the
information collection burden for small
business concerns with fewer than 25
employees.’’
13. Permit-But-Disclose. This
proceeding shall be treated as a ‘‘permitbut-disclose’’ proceeding in accordance
with the Commission’s ex parte rules.
Persons making ex parte presentations
must file a copy of any written
presentation or a memorandum
summarizing any oral presentation
within two business days after the
presentation (unless a different deadline
applicable to the Sunshine period
applies). Persons making oral ex parte
presentations are reminded that
memoranda summarizing the
presentation must (1) list all persons
attending or otherwise participating in
the meeting at which the ex parte
presentation was made, and (2)
summarize all data presented and
arguments made during the
presentation. If the presentation
consisted in whole or in part of the
presentation of data or arguments
already reflected in the presenter’s
written comments, memoranda or other
filings in the proceeding, the presenter
may provide citations to such data or
arguments in his or her prior comments,
memoranda, or other filings (specifying
the relevant page and/or paragraph
numbers where such data or arguments
can be found) in lieu of summarizing
them in the memorandum. Documents
shown or given to Commission staff
during ex parte meetings are deemed to
be written ex parte presentations and
must be filed consistent with rule
1.1206(b). In proceedings governed by
rule 1.49(f) or for which the
Commission has made available a
method of electronic filing, written ex
parte presentations and memoranda
summarizing oral ex parte
presentations, and all attachments
thereto, must be filed through the
electronic comment filing system
available for that proceeding, and must
be filed in their native format (e.g., .doc,
.xml, .ppt, searchable .pdf). Participants
in this proceeding should familiarize
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themselves with the Commission’s ex
parte rules.
14. The proposed action is authorized
pursuant to sections 4(i), 4(j), 303,
307(b), and 336(f) of the
Communications Act of 1934, as
amended, 47 U.S.C. 154(i), 154(j), 303,
307(b), 336(f).
List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 73
Radio, Television.
Federal Communications Commission.
Katura Jackson,
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
Proposed Rules
For the reasons discussed in the
preamble, the Federal Communications
Commission proposes to amend 47 CFR
part 73 as follows:
PART 73—RADIO BROADCAST
SERVICES
1. The authority citation for part 73
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 47 U.S.C. 154, 303, 309, 310,
334, 336, and 339.
■
2. Revise § 73.1125 to read as follows:
§ 73.1125
Station telephone number.
Each AM, FM, TV and Class A TV
broadcast station shall maintain a local
telephone number in its community of
license or a toll-free number.
■ 3. In § 73.1690, revise paragraphs
(c)(8) and (d) to read as follows:
§ 73.1690
systems.
Modification of transmission
*
*
*
*
*
(c) * * *
(8) FM commercial stations and FM
noncommercial educational stations
may decrease ERP on a modification of
license application provided that
exhibits are included to demonstrate
that all five of the following
requirements are met:
(i) Commercial FM stations must
continue to provide a 70 dBu principal
community contour over the community
of license, as required by § 73.315(a).
Noncommercial educational FM stations
must continue to provide a 60 dBu
contour over at least a portion of the
community of license. The 60 and 70
dBu contours must be predicted by use
of the standard contour prediction
method in § 73.313(b), (c), and (d).
(ii) For commercial FM stations only,
there is no change in the authorized
station class as defined in § 73.211.
(iii) For commercial FM stations only,
the power decrease is not necessary to
achieve compliance with the multiple
ownership rule, § 73.3555.
(iv) Commercial FM stations,
noncommercial educational FM stations
E:\FR\FM\02JNP1.SGM
02JNP1
25594
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 105 / Friday, June 2, 2017 / Proposed Rules
nlaroche on DSK30NT082PROD with PROPOSALS
on Channels 221 through 300, and
noncommercial educational FM stations
on Channels 200 through 220 which are
located in excess of the distances in
Table A of § 73.525 with respect to a
Channel 6 TV station, may not use this
rule to decrease the horizontally
polarized ERP below the value of the
vertically polarized ERP.
(v) Noncommercial educational FM
stations on Channels 201 through 220
which are within the Table A distance
separations of § 73.525, or Class D
stations on Channel 200, may not use
the license modification process to
eliminate an authorized horizontally
polarized component in favor of
vertically polarized-only operation. In
addition, noncommercial educational
stations operating on Channels 201
VerDate Sep<11>2014
13:14 Jun 01, 2017
Jkt 241001
through 220, or Class D stations on
Channel 200, which employ separate
horizontally and vertically polarized
antennas mounted at different heights,
may not use the license modification
process to increase or decrease either
the horizontal ERP or vertical ERP
without a construction permit.
*
*
*
*
*
(d) The following changes may be
made without authorization from the
FCC, however informal notification of
the changes must be made according to
the rule sections specified:
(1) Commencement of remote control
operation pursuant to § 73.1400.
(2) Modification of an AM directional
antenna sampling system. See § 73.68.
*
*
*
*
*
PO 00000
Frm 00056
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 9990
4. In § 73.3538, revise paragraph (b) to
read as follows:
■
§ 73.3538 Application to make changes in
an existing station.
*
*
*
*
*
(b) An informal application filed in
accordance with § 73.3511 is to be used
to obtain authority to modify or
discontinue the obstruction marking or
lighting of the antenna supporting
structure where that specified on the
station authorization either differs from
that specified in 47 CFR part 17, or is
not appropriate for other reasons.
[FR Doc. 2017–11425 Filed 6–1–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712–01–P
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 105 (Friday, June 2, 2017)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 25590-25594]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-11425]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
47 CFR Part 73
[MB Docket No. 17-106; FCC 17-59]
Elimination of Main Studio Rule
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission proposes to eliminate its
rule that requires each AM, FM, and television broadcast station to
maintain a main studio located in or near its community of license. The
Commission tentatively finds that the main studio rule is now outdated
and unnecessarily burdensome for broadcast stations. The Commission
also proposes to eliminate existing requirements associated with the
main studio rule, including the requirement that the main studio must
have full-time management and staff present during normal business
hours, and that it must have program origination capability.
DATES: Comments are due on or before July 3, 2017; reply comments are
due on or before July 17, 2017.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by MB Docket No. 17-106,
by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Federal Communications Commission's Web site: https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs2/. Follow the instructions for submitting
comments.
Mail: Filings can be sent by hand or messenger delivery,
by commercial overnight courier, or by first-class or overnight U.S.
Postal Service mail. All filings must be addressed to the Commission's
Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission.
People with Disabilities: Contact the FCC to request
reasonable accommodations (accessible format documents, sign language
interpreters, CART, etc.) by email: FCC504@fcc.gov or phone: (202) 418-
0530 or TTY: (202) 418-0432.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information on this
proceeding, contact Diana Sokolow, Diana.Sokolow@fcc.gov, of the Policy
Division, Media Bureau, (202) 418-2120.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Notice
of Proposed Rulemaking, FCC 17-59, adopted and released on May 18,
2017. The full text is available for public inspection and copying
during regular business hours in the FCC Reference Center, Federal
Communications Commission, 445 12th Street SW., Room CY-A257,
Washington, DC 20554. This document will also be available via ECFS at
https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs/. Documents will be available
electronically in ASCII, Microsoft Word, and/or Adobe Acrobat. The
complete text may be purchased from the Commission's copy contractor,
445 12th Street SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554. Alternative
formats are available for people with disabilities (Braille, large
print, electronic files, audio format), by sending an email to
fcc504@fcc.gov or calling the Commission's Consumer and Governmental
Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice), (202) 418-0432 (TTY).
Synopsis
1. In this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), we propose to
eliminate the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) rule that
requires each AM, FM, and television broadcast station to maintain a
main studio located in or near its community of license.\1\ When the
rule was conceived almost eighty years ago, local access to the main
studio was designed to facilitate input from community members as well
as the station's participation in community activities. Today, however,
widespread availability of electronic communication enables stations to
participate in their
[[Page 25591]]
communities of license, and members of the community to contact
broadcast radio and television stations, without the physical presence
of a local broadcast studio. In addition, because the Commission has
adopted online public inspection file requirements for AM, FM, and
television broadcast stations, community members no longer will need to
visit a station's main studio to access its public inspection file.
Television broadcasters completed their transition to the online public
file in 2014, and radio broadcasters will complete their transition by
March 1, 2018.\2\ Given these changes, in this proceeding we
tentatively find that the main studio rule is now outdated and
unnecessarily burdensome for broadcast stations and propose to
eliminate it. We also propose to eliminate existing requirements
associated with our main studio rule.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 47 CFR 73.1125(a) through (d).
\2\ As of June 24, 2016, commercial broadcast radio stations in
the top 50 Nielsen Audio radio markets with five or more full-time
employees were required to place new public and political file
documents in the online file on a going-forward basis. By December
24, 2016, these entities were required to upload their existing
public file documents to the online file, with the exception of
existing political file material. As of March 1, 2018, all
noncommercial educational (NCE) broadcast radio stations, commercial
broadcast radio stations in the top 50 Nielsen Audio radio markets
with fewer than five full-time employees, and commercial broadcast
radio stations in markets below the top 50 or outside all markets
must have placed all existing public file material in the online
public file, with the exception of existing political file material,
and must begin placing all new public and political file material in
the online file on a going-forward basis.
\3\ The associated requirements include the requirement that the
main studio must have full-time management and staff present during
normal business hours, and that it must have program origination
capability.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. We propose to eliminate our rule requiring each AM, FM,\4\ and
television broadcast station to maintain a local main studio.\5\ We
also propose to eliminate the associated staffing and program
origination capability requirements that apply to main studios. We
tentatively conclude that technological innovations have rendered a
local studio unnecessary as a means for viewers and listeners to
communicate with or access their local stations and to carry out the
other traditional functions that they have served. In particular, it
appears that a local main studio with staffing sufficient to
accommodate visits from community members no longer will be justified
once broadcasters fully transition to online public inspection files.
We invite comment on these proposals.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ Although LPFM stations have no main studio requirement,
points are awarded under the service's comparative selection
procedures to those applicants that pledge to locally originate at
least eight hours of programming per day and to maintain a main
studio with local origination capability.
\5\ We note that on April 19, 2017, Garvey Schubert Barer's
(GSB) Media, Telecom and Technology group filed a petition asking
the Commission to initiate a rulemaking to repeal its main studio
rule. Because our proposals effectively satisfy GSB's request, we
dismiss GSB's rulemaking petition as moot.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. We also seek comment on the costs that AM, FM, and television
broadcast stations face in complying with the current main studio rule
and associated requirements. How significant are these costs,
particularly for small stations? Would eliminating the main studio
rule, as well as the associated staffing and program origination
capability requirements, enable broadcasters to allocate greater
resources to programming and other matters? Would eliminating the rule
make it more efficient for co-owned or jointly operated broadcast
stations to co-locate their offices, rather than operating a main
studio in or near each station's community of license? We invite
comment on these and other efficiencies that could be achieved by
eliminating the main studio rule. Are there any particular issues we
should be aware of with regard to eliminating the main studio rule for
non-commercial broadcast stations?
4. How frequently do stations receive in-person visits from members
of the community, and are those visits to request access to hard copy
public inspection files or for other purposes? To what extent do people
contact stations by telephone, by mail, or online, rather than through
in-person visits? Have technological advances, including widespread
access to the Internet, mobile telephones, email, and social media,
obviated the need to accommodate in-person visits from community
members? If we eliminate the main studio rule, would competitive market
conditions ensure that stations will continue to keep apprised of
significant local needs and issues? Would eliminating the main studio
rule impact a station's ability to communicate time-sensitive or
emergency information to the public? If the existence of a local main
studio no longer plays a significant role in ensuring that broadcast
stations serve their local communities, then eliminating the main
studio requirement likely will not significantly impact the requirement
that the Commission ``make such distribution of licenses, frequencies,
hours of operation, and of power among the several States and
communities as to provide for a fair, efficient, and equitable
distribution of radio service to each of the same.'' \6\ We seek
comment on whether the current main studio rules and related
requirements are necessary to implement section 307(b) of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended. Relatedly, we ask commenters to
describe any remaining benefits of the main studio requirements and the
associated staffing requirements.
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\6\ 47 U.S.C. 307(b). We do not herein propose any modifications
to the existing requirements pertaining to submission of quarterly
issues/programs lists and requirements pertaining to a station's
coverage of the community served.
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5. Although the Commission eliminated its program origination
requirement in 1987, it subsequently clarified that stations must
nonetheless ``equip the main studio with production and transmission
facilities that meet applicable standards [and] maintain continuous
program transmission capability . . . [to] allow broadcasters to
continue, at their option, and as the marketplace demands, to produce
local programs at the studio.'' We invite comment on the continued
relevance of the program origination capability requirement that
currently applies to main studios. What function does it serve today?
To what extent do stations produce local programming at their main
studios? If we eliminate the main studio rule, should we maintain the
program origination capability requirement, and, if so, how? Would
program origination, to the extent it happens today, occur anyway
absent any capability requirement as stations seek to continue to meet
viewers' and listeners' interests?
6. We propose to retain section 73.1125(e) of our rules, which
requires ``[e]ach AM, FM, TV and Class A TV broadcast station [to]
maintain a local telephone number in its community of license or a
toll-free number.'' We invite comment on this proposal. Would retention
of this requirement help ensure that members of the community continue
to have access to their local broadcast stations, for example, to share
concerns or seek information, if the current main studio requirements
are eliminated? Stations currently are required to post their telephone
numbers in their online public files. If we eliminate the main studio
rule, should we encourage stations to also publicize their phone
numbers in additional ways, such as on their Web sites? Should we
require the telephone number to be staffed during normal business hours
so that community members may seek assistance during that time? Or,
should we require the telephone number to be staffed at all times in
which the AM, FM, or Class A
[[Page 25592]]
TV station is on the air? Alternatively, is a staffed telephone number
requirement unnecessary so long as station staff regularly retrieves
and responds promptly to voicemail messages from the public left at
that telephone number? If community members must leave a voicemail
message in order to reach a local broadcast station, will this impede
the station's ability to relay time-sensitive emergency information to
the public? Should we instead require each station to designate a point
of contact to respond to communications from the public? We invite
comment on these alternatives and any other approaches we should
consider to ensure that members of the public can easily contact
station representatives and receive timely responses. Should
broadcasters establish processes to ensure their ability to receive
time-sensitive or emergency information during non-business hours?
7. To the extent that stations are no longer required to have a
local main studio, we seek comment on how we should ensure that
community members have access to a station's public file. In this
regard, we note that television stations already have fully
transitioned their public file materials to the online public file as
have some radio stations. We recognize that under current rules, some
stations may continue maintaining public inspection files locally, and
not online, even after the applicable compliance deadline. In addition,
certain existing political materials that are part of the public
inspection file may remain in the local public inspection file, rather
than the online public inspection file, until the station is no longer
required to retain the materials in question. If all or a portion of a
station's public inspection file is not available via the online public
file, we invite comment on how best to ensure that community members
have access to the relevant materials in the absence of a local main
studio. For example, should we require the station to provide community
members with access to its local public inspection file at another
location in the community of license, such as a local library or
another station's main studio? \7\ Commenters advocating that approach
should explain how stations would notify community members of the
location of their public inspection file. Alternatively, should we
eliminate the main studio rule only for stations that have fully
transitioned all public file material to the online public file,
including existing political file materials? \8\ Would it be reasonable
to permit a station to eliminate its local main studio if it has
transitioned all of its public file materials to the online public file
except for its political file materials for which it has a two-year
retention period? We seek comment on the pros and cons of these various
approaches.
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\7\ Applicants without a main studio currently have a similar
requirement. See 47 CFR 73.3526(b)(1) (``. . . An applicant for a
new station or change of community shall maintain its file at an
accessible place in the proposed community of license or at its
proposed main studio.'').
\8\ For example, because television stations without waivers,
and some radio stations, have fully transitioned all public file
material to the online public file, they could eliminate their main
studio upon the effective date of an order in this docket, if any,
eliminating the main studio rule; whereas, radio stations that have
not yet complied with the online public file requirements would not
be able to take advantage of this potential rule change until they
too had fully transitioned, if we only eliminate the main studio
requirement for stations that have fully transitioned to an online
public file. A station has ``fully transitioned,'' and thus could
eliminate the main studio under this approach, only if all existing
political file material was either voluntarily transitioned to the
online public file, or, in the case of television stations, is older
than the two year retention period.
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8. In addition to the proposed revisions to section 73.1125 of the
Commission's rules, we propose to eliminate other Commission rules that
currently reference section 73.1125. Specifically, if we eliminate the
main studio rule, we also will need to delete sections 73.3538(b)(2)
(informal application to relocate main studio), 73.1690(c)(8)(ii)
(location of FM studio within station principal community contour), and
73.1690(d)(1) (permissive change in studio location) of the
Commission's rules, all of which are premised on the existing main
studio rule.\9\ We invite comment on this proposal. Are any other rule
changes needed to conform to the proposed elimination of the main
studio rule and associated requirements, including with respect to any
rules that reference ``studio'' or ``main studio'' instead of section
73.1125? \10\ For example, Class A stations are required to broadcast
an average of at least three hours per week of ``locally produced
programming'' each quarter. The Commission's rules define ``locally
produced programming'' as programming ``(1) Produced within the
predicted Grade B contour . . . ; (2) Produced within the predicted DTV
noise-limited contour . . . ; or (3) Programming produced at the
station's main studio.'' If the main studio rule and associated
location restrictions are eliminated, how does that impact the third
option? Could a Class A station locate a ``main studio'' at a distance
outside its contour and still qualify as having ``locally produced
programming''? We seek comment on how to address this issue. Should we
eliminate the main studio option from this rule? If so, how should we
address Class A stations with main studios currently located outside
the applicable contour? Is there some other relevant requirement we can
substitute, to the extent necessary to meet our statutory requirements
for Class A stations?
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\9\ In preparing this NPRM, we determined that section
73.1690(d)(2) of our rules references section 73.1410 of our rules,
which has been deleted, and we thus propose to delete that outdated
reference.
\10\ See, e.g., 47 CFR 73.3526(b)(1), (b)(2)(ii), (c)(2),
(e)(4); Id. 73.3527(b)(1), (b)(2)(iii), (c)(2), (e)(3); Id.
73.3544(b)(3).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. We also invite comment on any other issues related to our
proposals in this proceeding. What impact would elimination of the main
studio rule and the associated staffing and program origination
requirements have on other Commission proceedings? \11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\11\ For example, in certain cases Commission staff has assessed
if one station is exercising de facto control over another by
considering, among other things, compliance with the main studio
minimum staffing requirements.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. Finally, we invite comment on any alternate proposals we should
consider, rather than completely eliminating the main studio rule and
associated requirements. For example, should we only eliminate the rule
for a certain subset of stations, such as those that are located in
small and mid-sized markets or those that have fewer than a certain
number of employees? Commenters advocating this approach should explain
with specificity how we should define those stations that will be
permitted to eliminate their main studio. We have proposed to eliminate
the main studio rule and the associated requirements for all AM, FM,
and television broadcast stations. Is there any reason to distinguish
between our treatment of AM, FM, and television broadcast stations in
this context? We also invite comment on alternative ways we can reduce
main studio-related burdens on broadcast stations.
11. As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, as
amended (RFA), the Commission has prepared an Initial Regulatory
Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) concerning the possible significant
economic impact on small entities by the policies and rules proposed in
the NPRM. Written public comments are requested on the IRFA. Comments
must be identified as responses to the IRFA and must be filed by the
deadlines for comments provided on the first page of the NPRM. The
Commission will send a copy of the NPRM, including the IRFA, to the
Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration (SBA).
In
[[Page 25593]]
summary, the NPRM proposes to eliminate the rule that requires each AM,
FM, and television broadcast station to maintain a main studio located
in or near its community of license.\12\ The NPRM also proposes to
eliminate existing requirements associated with our main studio rule,
including the requirement that the main studio must have full-time
management and staff present during normal business hours, and that it
must have program origination capability. The proposed action is
authorized pursuant to sections 4(i), 4(j), 303, 307(b), and 336(f) of
the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 154(i), 154(j),
303, 307(b), 336(f). The types of small entities that may be affected
by the proposals contained in the NPRM fall within the following
categories: Television Broadcasting, Radio Broadcasting. The projected
reporting, recordkeeping, and other compliance requirements are: (1) A
proposal to eliminate the rule requiring each AM, FM, and television
broadcast station to maintain a local main studio; and (2) a proposal
to eliminate the associated staffing and program origination capability
requirements that apply to main studios. There is no overlap with other
regulations or laws. The Commission invites comment on alternative ways
it can reduce main studio-related burdens on small entities, including
whether a requirement that the local telephone number for a main studio
be staffed during normal business hours is unnecessary so long as
station staff regularly retrieves and responds promptly to voicemail
messages from the public left at that telephone number, or whether the
Commission instead should require each station to designate a point of
contact to respond to communication from the public; whether instead of
eliminating the main studio rule entirely, the Commission could only
eliminate the rule for a certain subset of stations, such as those that
are located in small and mid-sized markets or those that have fewer
than a certain number of employees; and whether to adopt an alternate
approach pursuant to which, if the Commission does not eliminate the
main studio rule entirely, it could eliminate the rule only for
stations that have fully transitioned their public file materials to
the online public file.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\12\ 47 CFR 73.1125(a) through (d).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
12. This document does not contain any proposed new information
collection requirements. It does, however, contain proposals to delete
rules that contain information collection requirements. The Commission,
as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, invites
the general public and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to
comment on the information collection requirements that would be
impacted by the proposals contained in this document, as required by
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3501
through 3520). In addition, pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork
Relief Act of 2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4), the
Commission seeks specific comment on how it might ``further reduce the
information collection burden for small business concerns with fewer
than 25 employees.''
13. Permit-But-Disclose. This proceeding shall be treated as a
``permit-but-disclose'' proceeding in accordance with the Commission's
ex parte rules. Persons making ex parte presentations must file a copy
of any written presentation or a memorandum summarizing any oral
presentation within two business days after the presentation (unless a
different deadline applicable to the Sunshine period applies). Persons
making oral ex parte presentations are reminded that memoranda
summarizing the presentation must (1) list all persons attending or
otherwise participating in the meeting at which the ex parte
presentation was made, and (2) summarize all data presented and
arguments made during the presentation. If the presentation consisted
in whole or in part of the presentation of data or arguments already
reflected in the presenter's written comments, memoranda or other
filings in the proceeding, the presenter may provide citations to such
data or arguments in his or her prior comments, memoranda, or other
filings (specifying the relevant page and/or paragraph numbers where
such data or arguments can be found) in lieu of summarizing them in the
memorandum. Documents shown or given to Commission staff during ex
parte meetings are deemed to be written ex parte presentations and must
be filed consistent with rule 1.1206(b). In proceedings governed by
rule 1.49(f) or for which the Commission has made available a method of
electronic filing, written ex parte presentations and memoranda
summarizing oral ex parte presentations, and all attachments thereto,
must be filed through the electronic comment filing system available
for that proceeding, and must be filed in their native format (e.g.,
.doc, .xml, .ppt, searchable .pdf). Participants in this proceeding
should familiarize themselves with the Commission's ex parte rules.
14. The proposed action is authorized pursuant to sections 4(i),
4(j), 303, 307(b), and 336(f) of the Communications Act of 1934, as
amended, 47 U.S.C. 154(i), 154(j), 303, 307(b), 336(f).
List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 73
Radio, Television.
Federal Communications Commission.
Katura Jackson,
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
Proposed Rules
For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal
Communications Commission proposes to amend 47 CFR part 73 as follows:
PART 73--RADIO BROADCAST SERVICES
0
1. The authority citation for part 73 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 47 U.S.C. 154, 303, 309, 310, 334, 336, and 339.
0
2. Revise Sec. 73.1125 to read as follows:
Sec. 73.1125 Station telephone number.
Each AM, FM, TV and Class A TV broadcast station shall maintain a
local telephone number in its community of license or a toll-free
number.
0
3. In Sec. 73.1690, revise paragraphs (c)(8) and (d) to read as
follows:
Sec. 73.1690 Modification of transmission systems.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(8) FM commercial stations and FM noncommercial educational
stations may decrease ERP on a modification of license application
provided that exhibits are included to demonstrate that all five of the
following requirements are met:
(i) Commercial FM stations must continue to provide a 70 dBu
principal community contour over the community of license, as required
by Sec. 73.315(a). Noncommercial educational FM stations must continue
to provide a 60 dBu contour over at least a portion of the community of
license. The 60 and 70 dBu contours must be predicted by use of the
standard contour prediction method in Sec. 73.313(b), (c), and (d).
(ii) For commercial FM stations only, there is no change in the
authorized station class as defined in Sec. 73.211.
(iii) For commercial FM stations only, the power decrease is not
necessary to achieve compliance with the multiple ownership rule, Sec.
73.3555.
(iv) Commercial FM stations, noncommercial educational FM stations
[[Page 25594]]
on Channels 221 through 300, and noncommercial educational FM stations
on Channels 200 through 220 which are located in excess of the
distances in Table A of Sec. 73.525 with respect to a Channel 6 TV
station, may not use this rule to decrease the horizontally polarized
ERP below the value of the vertically polarized ERP.
(v) Noncommercial educational FM stations on Channels 201 through
220 which are within the Table A distance separations of Sec. 73.525,
or Class D stations on Channel 200, may not use the license
modification process to eliminate an authorized horizontally polarized
component in favor of vertically polarized-only operation. In addition,
noncommercial educational stations operating on Channels 201 through
220, or Class D stations on Channel 200, which employ separate
horizontally and vertically polarized antennas mounted at different
heights, may not use the license modification process to increase or
decrease either the horizontal ERP or vertical ERP without a
construction permit.
* * * * *
(d) The following changes may be made without authorization from
the FCC, however informal notification of the changes must be made
according to the rule sections specified:
(1) Commencement of remote control operation pursuant to Sec.
73.1400.
(2) Modification of an AM directional antenna sampling system. See
Sec. 73.68.
* * * * *
0
4. In Sec. 73.3538, revise paragraph (b) to read as follows:
Sec. 73.3538 Application to make changes in an existing station.
* * * * *
(b) An informal application filed in accordance with Sec. 73.3511
is to be used to obtain authority to modify or discontinue the
obstruction marking or lighting of the antenna supporting structure
where that specified on the station authorization either differs from
that specified in 47 CFR part 17, or is not appropriate for other
reasons.
[FR Doc. 2017-11425 Filed 6-1-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P