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If you need the complete document, download the WordPerfect version or Adobe Acrobat version, if available. ***************************************************************** Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of ) ) Amendment of Section 73.202(b), ) MM Docket No. 97-45 Table of Allotments, ) RM-8961 FM Broadcast Stations. ) (Tylertown, Mississippi) ) ) REPORT AND ORDER (Proceeding Terminated) Adopted: January 7, 1998 Released: January 16, 1998 By the Chief, Allocations Branch: 1. At the request of TRL Broadcasting Company ("petitioner"), the Commission has before it the Notice of Proposed Rule Making, 12 FCC Rcd 139 (1997) proposing the allotment of Channel 297A to Tylertown, Mississippi, as the community's second local FM service. Petitioner and Guaranty Broadcasting Corporation ("Guaranty"), licensee of Station WBBU(FM), Baker, Louisiana, filed comments. Petitioner filed reply comments. 2. Guaranty filed comments noting its has simultaneously filed applications with the Audio Services Division requesting the upgrade of Station WBBU's facilities from Class A to Class C3. It also states that Pearl Broadcasting Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Guaranty, the licensee of Station WHMD(FM), Hammond, Louisiana, has filed an application to relocate its transmitter site to accommodate Station WBBU's upgrade. Guaranty's application to upgrade WBBU's facilities is mutually exclusive with petitioner's proposal to allot Channel 297A at Tylertown. In support of its proposal, Guaranty states that the proposed upgrade at Baker outweighs any perceived benefits advanced by the Tylertown allotment. Guaranty notes that Station WBBU is the only radio service assigned to Baker, whereas Tylertown is already well served by two radio stations. Moreover, Guaranty states that Station WBBU's upgrade would provide new service to 77,425 people, while the Tylertown allotment would provide new service to only 39,710 people. We are allotting Channel 297A to Tylertown for two reasons. 3. First of all, under normal processing procedures, a conflicting one-step upgrade application filed by the comment date in a rule making proceeding would be processed as a counterproposal in that proceeding. However, we are not accepting the proposal filed by Guaranty for a upgrade of Station WBBU's facilities as a counterproposal in this proceeding because it is contingent upon Station WHMD at Hammond, Louisiana, changing its transmitter site. Although Guaranty simultaneously filed applications for both Station WBBU's upgrade and Station WHMD's change of site, the upgrade at Baker is mutually exclusive with the present site authorized for Station WHMD, thus making Guaranty's proposal to upgrade contingent upon a favorable disposition of WHMD's application. The Commission does not provide for the acceptance of contingency proposals elsewhere based on speculative results. See Oxford and New Albany, Mississippi, 3 FCC Rcd 615 (1988); recon. denied, 3 FCC Rcd 6626 (1988). 4. Second, allotting Channel 297A to Tylertown is consistent with our FM allotment priorities set forth in Revision of FM Assignment Policies and Procedures, 90 FCC 2d 88 (1982). Under priority (4), a Channel 297A allotment at Tylertown as a new service would be preferable to the Guaranty proposal to upgrade an existing facility. See Benton, El Dorado, Hampton, Harrison, Mena and Sherwood, Arkansas; Homer, Louisiana; Salisaw and Vinita, Oklahoma; and Hooks and Hilgore, Texas, 2 FCC Rcd 1963 (1987). 5. Based on the above, we believe the public interest will be served by the allotment of a new service to Tylertown. Channel 297A can be allotted to Tylertown in compliance with the Commission's minimum distance separation requirements with a site restriction of 5.3 kilometers (3.3 miles) southeast in order to avoid short-spacing conflicts with the licensed operation of Station WBBU (FM), Channel 297A, Baker, Louisiana, and Station WKXI (FM), Channel 298C1, Magee, Mississippi. 6. Accordingly, pursuant to the authority contained in Sections 4(i),5(c)(1), 303(g) and (r) and 307(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and Sections 0.61, 0.204(b) and 0.283 of the Commission's Rules, IT IS ORDERED, That effective March 2, 1998, the FM Table of Allotments, Section 73.202(b) of the Commission's Rules, IS AMENDED, with respect to the community listed below, to read as follows: City Channel No. Tylertown, Mississippi 249A, 297A 7. A filing window for Channel 297A at Tylertown, Mississippi, will not be opened at this time. Instead, the issue of opening a filing window for this channel will be addressed by the Commission in a subsequent order. 8. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, That this proceeding IS TERMINATED. 9. For further information concerning this proceeding, contact Pam Blumenthal, Mass Media Bureau, (202) 418-2180. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION John A. Karousos Chief, Allocations Branch Policy and Rules Division Mass Media Bureau