CBS has now answered the IBOC interference allegations made by All-Pro station KATY(FM), in Idyllwild, Calif.
In its response filed with the FCC, CBS Radio calls the complaint “factually defective” on several points and urges the commission to dismiss the complaint.
We’ve reported that All-Pro said it’s receiving “ongoing and destructive interference” from the IBOC signal of KRTH(FM) in Los Angeles; CBS disputes this.
CBS also states that the lack of interference complaints from “disinterested parties” — meaning ordinary KATY listeners — means the commission has no basis to take any action beyond simply dismissing the petition.
The “petitioner did not provide a single documented complaint of interference from KATY listeners within KATY’s protected 60 dBu service contour,” stated CBS. This year, the FCC said stations need to submit six documented complaints of ongoing interference within a station’s protected contour to merit triggering IBOC interference mitigation procedures.
CBS states that KRTH did not increase digital power. Rather, it said, the complaint “concerns authorized digital facilities that have been in operation for over three years.” It said KRTH is in compliance with FCC IBOC requirements.
The company also challenges KATY’s technical analysis, calling it “seriously flawed,” saying KATY’s attempts to “liken the digital radio service to a secondary service and to suggest that co-channel interference rules should apply even though KRTH operates on a first-adjacent channel to KATY are unsupported and baseless.”
All-Pro attorney J.J. McVeigh told me the broadcaster is reviewing the CBS response and intends to file a rebuttal.
