{"id":15058,"date":"2016-05-03T16:18:51","date_gmt":"2016-05-03T20:18:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/streamingradioguide.com\/startingover\/?p=15058"},"modified":"2016-05-03T17:56:56","modified_gmt":"2016-05-03T21:56:56","slug":"fcc-tv-spectrum-case-study-new-york-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/streamingradioguide.com\/startingover\/?p=15058","title":{"rendered":"FCC TV Spectrum Case Study – New York City *updated"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"image\"<\/a><\/p>\n

So the FCC is clearing everything above Channel 29
\n30,31,33,36,38,40,42,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51 (15 licenses)<\/p>\n

Available channels without channel sharing
\n2,4,5,6 9,10,12 14,15,16,17,19,20,25,26 (15 licenses)<\/p>\n

If every VHF channel is filled, nobody has to go off the air, except it isn’t that simple.<\/p>\n

New York City is not an island, it is a DMA™. A station in Eastern Long Island could coexist just fine with a station in New Jersey on the same channel. The interference column tries to define how much the licensed signal is in conflict with other potential stations in the same DMA™. Some channels may not be available because of overlaps with existing stations not in the New York DMA™<\/p>\n

Potential conflicts<\/a><\/p>\n

You know, looking at the details – this packing looks extremely unaggressive and a huge windfall. In addition to the sales, the NAB has coerced the FCC to give $1.4 billion to change their equipment. Unlike AM radio, because of the short wavelength, moving to a different UHF channel is nothing more than a software setting in the transmitter.<\/p>\n

Part of the crowding is due to Low Power digital TV, conceptually similar to Low Power FM – stations only viewable for a couple miles. For example in New York City VHF Channel 2 is occupied by 300 watt WKOB (virtual ID channel 42). These were created to allow “minority” communities to create TV stations at much lower cost than a full power TV station. They are not in the incentive auction but the FCC has to find a way to preserve them<\/p>\n