Seattle Station Loses Battle for DTV Channel 53

KCTS-TV, licensee of educational television station KCTS in Seattle and one of two applicants for a new station on educational NTSC Channel 62 in Seattle requested the FCC substitute educational DTV Channel 53 for the analog Channel 62. As Seattle is within 248 miles of the U.S./Canadian border, the FCC (as required by a Letter of Understanding between the commission and Industry Canada) requested concurrence from the Canadian government. The other mutually exclusive applicant, Washington Family Broadcasting, agreed to join KCTS-TV in its petition for rule making for Channel 53.

The Canadian government opposed the request. It indicated allotment of DTV Channel 53 to Seattle would not protect DTV Channel 53 at Chilliwack, British Columbia and CIVI-TV, Channel 53, in Victoria, British Columbia. Although KCTS-TV agreed to reduce its requested power to 240 kW at 714 meters HAAT (height above average terrain), the Canadian government objected to the amended proposal saying it failed to protect the Chilliwack DTV Channel 53.

As a result of the Canadian opposition, the FCC denied the petition for rule making from KCTS-TV.

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.