Reading the PBS threads over on the National TV board had got me thinking how ironic it is that while markets like Ashville NC - Greenville/Spartanburg SC have multiple PBS stations, the entire state of Arizona only has three, KUAT 6 Tucson, KAET 8 Phoenix and KUAS 27 Tucson, and KUAS is a simulcast of KUAT, to fill in for terrain shielding in Marana and Oro Valley. Other than that, there is only one other NCE station in Arizona: KDTP 11 Holbrook, a Daystar station, which was formerly channel 39 in Phoenix.
Looking at the FCC Table of Allotments, however, Arizona had been allotted more than a dozen other UHF NCE channels, mostly for operation in the small towns, but none have ever been built. They were:
14 - Globe, Kingman
16 - Flagstaff, Nogales, Yuma
17 - Page, Parker
18 - Holbrook
19 - Prescott
22 - McNary (Show Low area)
23 - Ajo, Safford
28 - Douglas
43 - Coolidge
Of these, only four allotments received applications to construct stations: 16 Flagstaff (2 apps), 16 Nogales (3 apps), 17 Page (1 app), and 43 Coolidge (3 apps). Six other allotments have been repurposed for DTV operations: 16 Yuma for KSWT-DT Yuma; 18 Holbrook, formerly for KTFL-DT Flagstaff, now an open DTV allotment for Flagstaff; 19 Prescott for KMOH-DT Kingman; 22 McNary for KNAZ-DT Flagstaff; and 23 in both Ajo and Safford for KVOA-DT Tucson. Two others are currently occupied by LPTV translators: 28 Douglas by K28EY Douglas (KHRR) and 43 Coolidge by K43CO Casa Grande (KAZT).
The only surviving applications are the one for ch 17 Page, and one of the three for ch 43 Coolidge. The rest have been dismissed.
So after all that setup, here's the question: what happens to the remaining applications?
The Page application is held by Lake Powell Antennavision, which used to own several translator stations in Page before shutting them down and selling the last to the University of Utah; I'm not sure Lake Powell Antennavision even exists anymore.
The remaining Coolidge application is owned by The American Legacy Foundation out of Tucson (not the anti-smoking organization) and had been dismissed, but was reinstated in October 2007. They're still around, because they filed a modification request to specify DTV operations in November 2007. (Somehow I missed this in my monthly updates.) The attachments are an interesting read - one documents what kinds of programming they intend to air in the different dayparts, while the other is a technical exhibit documenting their requested switch from a 5 MW analog operation from a mountaintop north of Casa Grande (where the current K43CO antenna is located) to a 1 MW digital operation from the South Mountain antenna farm in Phoenix.
So the Coolidge applicant looks like they're still serious about opening an NCE station, but when the FCC published their DTV Table of Allotments, Page channel 17 and Coolidge channel 43 weren't allotted. I wonder what happens now? Do they have to file new requests for rule making for the allotments, or will the FCC add those allotments back where possible?
Note: Although there never was an application for the Yuma NCE allotment, Arizona Western College has filed a Petition for Rule Making, requesting that the FCC allot channel 24 for NCE DTV operation in Yuma. If allotted, they intend to file an application, most likely to be called KAWC-TV (their radio stations are KAWC and KAWC-FM).
Looking at the FCC Table of Allotments, however, Arizona had been allotted more than a dozen other UHF NCE channels, mostly for operation in the small towns, but none have ever been built. They were:
14 - Globe, Kingman
16 - Flagstaff, Nogales, Yuma
17 - Page, Parker
18 - Holbrook
19 - Prescott
22 - McNary (Show Low area)
23 - Ajo, Safford
28 - Douglas
43 - Coolidge
Of these, only four allotments received applications to construct stations: 16 Flagstaff (2 apps), 16 Nogales (3 apps), 17 Page (1 app), and 43 Coolidge (3 apps). Six other allotments have been repurposed for DTV operations: 16 Yuma for KSWT-DT Yuma; 18 Holbrook, formerly for KTFL-DT Flagstaff, now an open DTV allotment for Flagstaff; 19 Prescott for KMOH-DT Kingman; 22 McNary for KNAZ-DT Flagstaff; and 23 in both Ajo and Safford for KVOA-DT Tucson. Two others are currently occupied by LPTV translators: 28 Douglas by K28EY Douglas (KHRR) and 43 Coolidge by K43CO Casa Grande (KAZT).
The only surviving applications are the one for ch 17 Page, and one of the three for ch 43 Coolidge. The rest have been dismissed.
So after all that setup, here's the question: what happens to the remaining applications?
The Page application is held by Lake Powell Antennavision, which used to own several translator stations in Page before shutting them down and selling the last to the University of Utah; I'm not sure Lake Powell Antennavision even exists anymore.
The remaining Coolidge application is owned by The American Legacy Foundation out of Tucson (not the anti-smoking organization) and had been dismissed, but was reinstated in October 2007. They're still around, because they filed a modification request to specify DTV operations in November 2007. (Somehow I missed this in my monthly updates.) The attachments are an interesting read - one documents what kinds of programming they intend to air in the different dayparts, while the other is a technical exhibit documenting their requested switch from a 5 MW analog operation from a mountaintop north of Casa Grande (where the current K43CO antenna is located) to a 1 MW digital operation from the South Mountain antenna farm in Phoenix.
So the Coolidge applicant looks like they're still serious about opening an NCE station, but when the FCC published their DTV Table of Allotments, Page channel 17 and Coolidge channel 43 weren't allotted. I wonder what happens now? Do they have to file new requests for rule making for the allotments, or will the FCC add those allotments back where possible?
Note: Although there never was an application for the Yuma NCE allotment, Arizona Western College has filed a Petition for Rule Making, requesting that the FCC allot channel 24 for NCE DTV operation in Yuma. If allotted, they intend to file an application, most likely to be called KAWC-TV (their radio stations are KAWC and KAWC-FM).