Numbers Indicate Close to a Third of U.S. TV Stations Modifying Final DTV Facilities

By Doug Lung
published

This week I’ve added a new field to the spreadsheets I extract from the FCC Media Bureau’s CDBS database and post at www.xmtr.com/fcc.

The field, “dtv_type” is in the “applications.dat” table. Database entries before the field are added are blank, but newer applications indicate if the application is “POSTTRAN”, or post-DTV-transition only; “BOTH” meaning the change applies to facility before and after the Feb. 17, 2009 transition date; or “PRETRAN”, meaning it applies to facilities operational before the transition date and not after it.

Using the menu item under “Data” labeled “AutoFilter” in Excel or OpenOffice.org Calc you can filter results to include only pre-transition applications or applications affecting post-transition facilities. I know in the past at least one company used my spreadsheets to generate channel listings. If anyone is still using them for that purpose, excluding “POSTTRAN” entries should eliminate any references to channels that won’t be on the air until Feb. 18, 2009.

I used the “dtv_type” field to see how many applications and construction permits the FCC had processed for final DTV facilities where either “POSTTRAN” or “BOTH” was indicated in the field. It’s obvious the FCC has been very busy. A total of 404 new construction permits affecting post-transition facilities have been approved and an additional 56 construction permits have been granted for modifications. Only 145 applications remain to be processed. Combined, the number of construction permits, modified construction permits and applications represents approximately a third of all U.S. TV licensees! For details, see the DTV Station Status per FCC CDBS – May 7, 2008 table.

Doug Lung
Doug Lung

Doug Lung is one of America's foremost authorities on broadcast RF technology. As vice president of Broadcast Technology for NBCUniversal Local, H. Douglas Lung leads NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ RF and transmission affairs, including microwave, radars, satellite uplinks, and FCC technical filings. Beginning his career in 1976 at KSCI in Los Angeles, Lung has nearly 50 years of experience in broadcast television engineering. Beginning in 1985, he led the engineering department for what was to become the Telemundo network and station group, assisting in the design, construction and installation of the company’s broadcast and cable facilities. Other projects include work on the launch of Hawaii’s first UHF TV station, the rollout and testing of the ATSC mobile-handheld standard, and software development related to the incentive auction TV spectrum repack.
A longtime columnist for TV Technology, Doug is also a regular contributor to IEEE Broadcast Technology. He is the recipient of the 2023 NAB Television Engineering Award. He also received a Tech Leadership Award from TV Tech publisher Future plc in 2021 and is a member of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society and the Society of Broadcast Engineers.