Speaking of that pesky DTV transition, the commission earlier this week issued its latest version of station channel assignments.
The listing is based on tentative channel allocations proposed in the commission’s Seventh Further Notice (and you thought that IBOC rules are taking a while!). James O’Neal of our sister publication TV Technology tells me this is intended to be the last such table of assignments before the big planned digital cutover on Feb. 17, 2009.
The document lists final spectrum “parking places” for 1,800 TV stations within the “core” Channel 2 through 51 slots. In addition to U.S. stations, assignments for operations in Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are included.
The new DTV assignment table excludes low-power television stations, which will be addressed in a separate proceeding.