The company behind the MeTV brand that also owns broadcast TV stations in markets such as Milwaukee and Chicago has convinced the FCC’s Media Bureau to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking public comment on a proposal to shift one of its properties from one city to another in the Land of Enchantment.
In the digital age, a UHF signal is better than having a VHF signal when it comes to propagation. As such, Weigel Broadcasting through its TV-49 Inc. subsidiary wants an unbuilt full-power TV station in Silver City, N. Mex., to Truth or Consequences, N. Mex.
The future KKAB-TV would remain on Channel 12, and Weigel argues that no viewers in Silver City would be deprived of existing service for two reasons. First, KKAB hasn’t yet signed on the air. Second, co-owned KKAD is licensed to Silver City.
Truth of Consequences, a community of roughly 6,053 people, does not have a TV broadcast allotment at this time. Silver City, to the west, has a slightly larger permanent population. The two cities are only accessible via a windy trek along State Highway 152.
As Barbara Kreisman, Video Division Chief, sees it, the proposal warrants consideration.
The Comment Date will be affirmed as 30 days from publication of the NPRM in the Federal Register. The Reply Comment Date is 45 days from such publication.
The proposal is MB Docket 25-84.
