# FCC regs don't allow station to go full power?



## jdspencer (Nov 8, 2003)

I sent the following question to WIVT/WBGH. WBGH is our LP NBC affiliate. WIVT is the ABC affilate (in HD). 


> Can you give me any info if WBGH will ever go full power and thus deliver high definition?


Here's what I received as an answer.


> Not by broadcast. Due to FCC regulations, only one of our stations can be broadcast at full power.


So the FCC regulations state that if a company owns two TV stations in an area that both can't be full power. That's a crock. I asked them to supply the pertinent reg.

Or is it? Can anyone verify this situation?


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## Cholly (Mar 22, 2004)

jdspencer said:


> I sent the following question to WIVT/WBGH. WBGH is our LP NBC affiliate. WIVT is the ABC affilate (in HD).
> 
> Here's what I received as an answer.
> 
> ...


The reason is WBGH is a low power station (licensed only for low power) and thus available reliably ONLY via Time Warner Cable. They don't have the transmitter or antenna to go high power. I'm not sure if there's an available full power UHF or VHF channel in the Binghamton market. Basically, they have to apply for the channel, then get a construction permit, then buy the equipment and go ahead with construction.

I doubt that they are financially able to do all that.

(I moved from Binghamton to the Charlotte area last year)


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

Probably, as written above, they only are licensed for the power they have now... so they would have to upgrade and perhaps that isn't in their budget.

Also... at the moment stations are dual-broadcasting in digital and analog... so there are restrictions there too... and it could be that once they go completely digital, and kill their analog broadcast in a few years... that they will be at "full power" on the digital station and that might be better for you too.


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## jdspencer (Nov 8, 2003)

Thanks for the info. I suspected that it would be something like this. You'd think the station could have mentioned these little details.


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## Tower Guy (Jul 27, 2005)

jdspencer said:


> So the FCC regulations state that if a company owns two TV stations in an area that both can't be full power. That's a crock. I asked them to supply the pertinent reg.
> 
> Or is it? Can anyone verify this situation?


It's true, but the explanation given isn't very clear.

Owning two full-power stations in a single market is called a Duopoly. The FCC allows Duopolies if there are 8 full power station owners, or if the second station has been obtained through the use of a "failing station waiver". The second station should be a minor network such as CW or MyNetWork; not a NBC/ABC combo.

So, because there are fewer than 8 stations in Binghamton, if the owner were to get a full power permit for the LPTV station, he would have created an illegal Duopoly.

Even low power stations have been allowed to select a companion digital channel, but no licenses have yet been issued.


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## RCinFLA (Oct 4, 2006)

There are probably several reasons for lower power but I think the overriding issue is the present two channel transmission is creating a lot of overlapping interference limitations. This is a temporary arrangement and stations will evenually be back to their original allocated channel when old analog system plug is finally pulled. 

Here in S. Fla. I get 25 HD channels OTA and there are only two UHF channels I do not receive a channel on. I am having trouble finding a spot for my UHF modulator on my master antenna system.


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## jdspencer (Nov 8, 2003)

Speaking of interference, can anyone explain how two of my VHF digital channels can be 7 and 8 without interchannel inteference? Afterall, RF is RF regardless if it is analog or digital being carried on the carrier. Or is it that the receiver's tuner (ATSC) can discriminate better?


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## jcrobso (Mar 30, 2005)

"two of my VHF digital channels can be 7 and 8 without interchannel inteference?"
Yes analog and digital are both RF. But operate completly different, with analog there is "spillage" into the next adjencent channel. Digial dosen't have a carrier like analog does. It's just a plused signal, has channel identifaction embeded in the stream, so the tuner alwise knows what stream it's reviceing( simplified version). John


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