Status of FCC Television "Market Area Modification" for southern Pinal County
16 July 2022: In early July I sent an inquiry to the Pinal County Board of Supervisors regarding the current status of the FCC "Market Area Modification" petition. This was the response:
According to our attorney, the next step prior to submitting an application would be to get a new review of the technical and economic feasibility for changing the market area for the whole county. He has revised his request to include this information, and will be sending this request soon. Please feel free to contact me with any further questions.
I replied that it is probably not appropriate for the entire county to be changed to the Tucson market area. The northern half of Pinal County should remain in the Phoenix market. This would be similar to how the National Weather Service offices split the county for their forecasts. Logic would dictate that the Federal Government should be consistent in splitting the county in things they control (NWS and FCC). I also noted that the FCC has approved split counties for other market areas around the country. This was the followup response from the County.
Yes, you are correct. We sat in a meeting a few months ago with our attorneys and attorneys from DISH Network to understand the technicalities of it all. This was done in the Albuquerque and the Southern Colorado area, as an example. It does take some cooperation from the local networks, as well; however, yes, it would make sense to have the county divided horizontally.
As is typical when critical Government action is needed, Government moves slowly. As I've said many times since I began my Satellite TV Reform effort in 2013, the next crisis could be weeks, days, or even hours away. This was clearly demonstated in 2020 with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Bighorn Fire. Government must not continue to allow local lives to be put at risk and local businesses to be harmed through delayed action on this critical issue.
If you are a southern Pinal County resident who cannot receive the Tucson TV stations or a business owner and have not yet contacted the Pinal County Board of Supervisors, I urge you to do so and let them know that immediate action is needed on this issue. Here is contact information for the Board:
Supervisor Jeffrey McClure: bosdistrict4@pinal.gov
Supervisor Mike Goodman: mike.goodman@pinal.gov
Supervisor Stephen Miller: Stephen.Miller@pinal.gov
Supervisor Jeff Serdy: jeff.serdy@pinal.gov
Supervisor Kevin Cavanaugh: kevin.cavanaugh@pinal.gov
Pinal County Manager Leo Lew: countymanager@pinal.gov
Pinal County Clerk of the Board Natasha Kennedy: Natasha.Kennedy@pinalcountyaz.gov
Please cc me (mweasner@mac.com) on any FCC Petition emails you send. Thank you.
Pinal County Supervisor meets with Local Citizens, some progress reported
Main Flawed Satellite TV Regulation page