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By this Public Notice, the Media Bureau opens MB Docket No. 21-263, "Updating Broadcast Radio Technical Rules."

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Several changes to U.S. radio technical rules are on the agenda for the July 13 meeting of the Federal Communications Commission.

“We’re cleaning up our broadcast radio rules,” wrote Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. She said a notice of proposed rulemaking will be voted on that is intended to fix rules that are “redundant, outdated or in conflict with other rules.”

If this NPRM is approved, the commission would then take public comments on these proposed changes, for final action later.

What follows is a summary of the changes. The full proposal is posted on the Radio World website.

Maximum Rated Transmitter Power for AM Stations

This proposal would change section 73.1665(b) to remove the maximum rated transmitter power limit for AM stations.

“We tentatively conclude that an equipment limitation on potential transmitter power is outdated and unnecessary given our current reliance on actual operating antenna input power as the most accurate and effective means of ensuring that AM stations adhere to their authorized (nominal) power limits.”

The change would remove the maximum rated transmitter power for AM stations as set out in an appendix and delete a corresponding table.

NCE Community of License Coverage

This would change two rule sections that were adopted in 1997 to “harmonize” with the NCE FM community coverage standard in another section, which was adopted later.

“This change will create consistency across different rules regarding the requirement for community coverage for NCE FM stations,” the commission said.

The requirement in the newer section that stations reach 50% of their community of license or 50% of the population in their community would replace the more general requirement in the older sections stating that the station must cover “a portion of the community.”

“We propose to amend these two rules to state that an NCE FM station operating on a reserved channel must provide a predicted 60 dBμ signal to at least 50% of its community of license or reach 50% of the population within the community.”

FM Transmitter Interference to Nearby Antennas

The third change would eliminate section 73.316(d), “which we tentatively conclude is an unnecessary burden on applicants.”

The commission said this rule is used rarely and it tentatively concluded that the rule “does not prevent interference to any significant degree, if at all.”

The section says that applications proposing the use of FM transmitting antennas within 60 meters of other FM or TV broadcast antennas must include a showing as to the expected effect, if any.

The FCC says it is not aware of any industry complaints of this kind of interference over the 70 years that the rule has been on the books.

NCE FM Class D Second-Adjacent Channel Interference Ratio

Next, the FCC wants to change a section that sets out signal strength contour overlap requirements for NCE FM Class D stations, “to harmonize the requirements with the more permissive standard applied to all other NCE-FM stations.” It said it wants to be consistent across different NCE FM station classes regarding contour overlap limits.

“We tentatively conclude that the current Class D contour overlap requirement is not necessary given the proven efficacy of the less restrictive requirements for other stations and anticipate that this change will allow Class D stations greater site selection flexibility as well as the opportunity to potentially increase their coverage areas.”

Back in 2000 the commission said this change was warranted but it deferred action because of the pending creation of a low-power FM service.

“The LPFM service has now been established and is currently a relatively mature service, so we tentatively conclude that the time is ripe to extend the otherwise universal 100 dBu contour overlap standard for second-adjacent channels to NCE FM Class D stations.

Protection for Grandfathered Common Carriers in Alaska in the 76-100 MHz Band

Here, the commission would delete a requirement that radio stations in the 76–100 MHz band protect common carrier services in Alaska. It said there are no such services remaining.

Earlier, existing common carrier operations had been grandfathered in with the understanding that they would gradually move to other parts of the spectrum.

AM Fill-in Area Definition

The FCC wants to tweak the definition of “AM fill-in area” in one part of the rules to conform to the requirement in another part that the “coverage contour of an FM translator rebroadcasting an AM radio broadcast station as its primary station must be contained within the greater of either the 2 mV/m daytime contour of the AM station or a 25-mile (40 km) radius centered at the AM transmitter site.” The goal is consistency across the rules for fill-in translator transmitter siting.

International Agreements

Last, the commission plans to amend the allocation and power limitations for broadcast stations within 320 kilometers of the Mexican and Canadian borders to comply with current treaty provisions.

-The 1991 U.S.-Canada FM Broadcasting Agreement contains minimum distance separations but offers contour overlap parameters for short-spaced stations to demonstrate compliance, so the FCC wants to remove a reference to the agreement and include contour overlap-based protection for short-spaced stations. It would also replace an existing table with updated minimum distance separations agreed upon in 1997.

-Similarly, the commission wants to remove a reference to the 1992 U.S.-Mexico Broadcasting Agreement and include contour overlap-based protection for short-spaced stations.

-It proposes to update sections governing FM translators located near the Canadian and Mexican borders, to conform with the relevant treaties.

-Last, it would revise language about translator power limitations near the borders. The changes are intended to codify the international agreements, so if the NPRM passes, the commission will ask commenters “to focus on whether the proposed changes properly implement the relevant treaty provisions rather than suggest changes to any of the agreed-upon limits.”

The post Radio Technical Rules to Be Cleaned Up appeared first on Radio World.

Proponents of a power increase for LPFM stations in the United States can point to hundreds of comments in favor of raising the maximum power level for many stations to 250 watts. But the National Association of Broadcasters continues to express strong opposition.

The Federal Communications Commission is considering a proposal from REC Networks that would amend Parts 73 and 74 of the rules to create an LP-250 class of service with an effective service contour of about 4-1/2 miles. This would be in addition to the current LP-100 service. The proposal also would set a maximum HAAT for new or modified LP-100 facilities of about 1,480 feet.

The commission modified its low-power FM rules in 2020 to allow for engineering improvements that improved reception of some LPFMs and opened up options for station relocation. At that time it rejected a bid to allow 250 watts, and a recent FCC decision affirmed the actions in that order.

REC Networks in the meantime submitted a fresh proposal that it believes resolves the FCC’s earlier concerns. Comments on that were due yesterday, and the vast majority favor an increase, citing the benefit to local communities.

However, NAB urged the commission to reject the petition, saying it is similar to petitions that have already been rejected on technical and policy grounds. It says the proposal would risk significant overcrowding of the already congested FM band, cause increased interference with other services and take LPFM beyond its original intention as a hyperlocal service.

Passionate support

The support for REC’s “Simple LP250” among grassroots advocates revealed the passion of some LPFM listeners and station operators.

“In Chicago, WLPN(LP) has been on the vanguard, with 24 hours of programming in multiple languages, with a focus on serving the historically underserved members of the community,” wrote radio listener Keefer Dunn. “Allowing a station like WLPN to increase its signal strength would allow it to reach more Chicagoans on the South and West sides, two areas of historic underinvestment.”

The proposal is supported by WQFB(LP) in Flagler Beach, Fla. “With an increase in power WQFB has an opportunity to obtain additional underwriters and listeners … to assist with the funding needed for equipment upgrade and additional programming and staff,” the station wrote.

Wayne Johnson, station manager for WGPG(LP) in Battle Creek, Mich., told the FCC the station would be thankful for any power increase to enable it to increase coverage area.

“Our signal strength is very weak, causing a lot of static in the main business district on the south side of town. This discourages our listeners from continually listening to our broadcast as they travel through town. We are a religious station and we believe that we are providing unique programming to the Battle Creek residents. It would really help our effectiveness if the maximum wattage output was raised from 100 to 250 watts,” Johnson wrote.

KFXY(LP), licensed to Mesa, Ariz., commented: “KFXY supports this small increase in power as it would help our station and many others with getting our signal into buildings in our 60 dB and fighting off interference from distant stations.”

Even the mayor of Monona, Wis., wrote on behalf of WVMO(LP), which is licensed to her city: “WVMO went on the air in August of 2015. Since that time the radio station has become a tremendous asset to Monona and the east side of Madison, Wis. Our little station has provided hyperlocal programming,” wrote Mary O’Connor.

O’Connor hosts a weekly interview segment on the station called “Monona Lowdown” in which she answers citizen’s questions and updates the community on the latest happenings.

Opposition

NAB based part of its opposition to LP-250 on the potential of overcrowding a congested FM band.

“Moreover, (a power boost) is simply unnecessary. The FCC has already bent over backwards to improve LPFM service coverage by permitting the use of translators, boosters and other measures,” it wrote.

“Essentially, LPFM advocates are asking that LPFM stations be permitted to enjoy the same (or even greater) coverage as full-service Part 73 FM stations, but without the same public interest and regulatory obligations. Such an obvious end-run around the commission’s rules would set a dangerous precedent.”

NAB continued: “The petition still fails to justify a total overhaul of LPFM service. FM broadcasters report that too many LPFM stations already transmit at higher than authorized power or from an unauthorized location, cause frequent interference and hinder translator service, among other problems, under the current 100-watt regime. Allowing LPFMs to substantially increase their power would unnecessarily exacerbate these harms.”

If REC’s proposal is ultimately approved, NAB asks that the FCC create a system for ensuring technical compliance by LPFM stations.

NAB said it understands “that authorizing LP-250 service would allow some LPFM stations to slightly expand the reach of the few LPFM stations that actually provide meaningful local content,” but on balance, “it is far more important to preserve reliable access to the news and information provided by incumbent radio broadcasters.”

The FCC, which has indicated another filing window for new entrant LPFM construction permits is on the horizon, says there is no reply comment period for this petition.

The post LP-250 FM Petition Draws Lots of Interest appeared first on Radio World.

Does it really matter if your broadcast facility is just a little off — say 256 feet — from its permitted coordinates? What about if those coordinates are more than two miles off?

Those were the issues up for debate between the Federal Communications Commission and a low-power broadcaster in Nevada who is now is left with an expired license and deleted call letters after failing to convince the FCC that an unauthorized broadcasting claim was just a simple mistake.

Back in early August 2019, Chinese Voice of Golden City filed an application to modify its license for KQLS(LP) in Las Vegas to correct the coordinates of its antenna site.

[Read: LPFM Station Faces $25,000 FCC Penalty]

An “inadvertent error” led Chinese Voice to actually operate its facility 256 feet away from the spot specified in the license, the broadcaster said. Chinese Voice was confused why the FCC granted its initial application in mid-August 2019 and then four days later rescinded the license grant, saying that it was never told why —  the station continued operating in full compliance with the commission rules, albeit at a location 256 feet away from its licensed spot.

Chinese Voice said that since its Chinese-language programming serves the public interest, the FCC would do well to grant the station a Special Temporary Authority to keep broadcasting at the same site.

The Media Bureau responded to say that while the licensee correctly determined that its coordinates were off by 256 feet, any change in station geographic coordinates can only be made after a construction grant permit has been approved. That means that Chinese Voice has been operating at an unauthorized site for more than a year.

The actions from those kinds of unauthorized actions are significant: expiration of the license and deletion of call letters for stations operating at an unauthorized facility for 12 months or longer. As a result, the bureau dismissed both the earlier modification application request and the request for an STA and outright deleted the station’s call sign.

Chinese Voice filed a petition for reconsideration but that too was denied. The facts of this case do not support reinstatement of the license, the bureau said, for two reasons. One, Chinese Voice used a license modification application to request the coordinate change (which is the wrong way to go about it). Two, the FCC can only reinstate an expired license when failure to broadcast at the proper site “was for a compelling reason beyond the licensee’s control.” That was not the case here, the bureau said.

Chinese Voice tried again, filing an application for review and asking the bureau to review its earlier decision. It was at this point that the results of the Enforcement Bureau’s 2019 investigations were revealed.

The Enforcement Bureau found that even though the station admitted that it had been using a mobile facility to operate 256 feet away from the official permit site, it also subsequently relocated the station —without commission approval — to a different rooftop location that is nearly 2.3 miles from the permitted site. Following Enforcement Bureau inspections, Chinese Voice then stopped operating from that site and resumed operations at its mobile facilities.

Failing to mention that the station had been operating for 15 months a spot more than 2 miles away was a significant finding. In its final opinion and order on the matter, the Media Bureau found that Chinese Voice may have “withheld material information … and made incorrect statements to the commission … when it repeatedly claimed that the station’s actual transmitter site was never changed.” As a result, the bureau speculated that the licensee had perhaps “engaged in misrepresentation and/or lack of candor.”

The result: The call letters for KQLS have been deleted and the license has expired. Looking ahead, the bureau said it will require Chinese Voice to attach a copy of its final reconsideration order to any broadcast application filed within the next five years.

The nonprofit Common Frequency called the decision a “major let-down,” saying the FCC’s final opinion and order reveals a weakness in LPFM rules. How accurate does an LPFM permittee need to be when building their facility, asked Todd Urick, program and technical director of Common Frequency. “The commission’s Section 73.1690(c)(11) of the rules gives leeway to many facilities that currently are not exactly on the cross-hairs of their licensed coordinates. Is that same comfort not extended to LPFM?”

“This oversight in the rules needs further clarification or amendment within the LPFM rules,” he said.

 

The post LPFM Sees Call Sign Deleted After Unauthorized Broadcasting Claim appeared first on Radio World.

Actor and comedian Jim Gaffigan — a five-time Grammy-nominated comedian, actor, writer and producer and contributor to CBS Sunday Morning — will entertain NAB Show attendees with a special Sunday afternoon performance.

Gaffigan will play a key role in the formal opening of the 2021 NAB Show, the first convention and expo from the National Association of Broadcasters since April 2019. He will offer a live comedy performance at the NAB Show Sunday Kick Off scheduled for 4:15pm Pacific on October 10.

“After a difficult year and unfortunate hiatus for NAB Show, we look forward to celebrating the opening of the show floor with the ever talented and hilarious Jim Gaffigan,” said NAB President/CEO Gordon Smith, who will preside over his final NAB Show in his role, as he is retiring at year’s end. “His notoriously fun and entertaining performance is ideal for this momentous occasion as we reunite and reengage in Las Vegas.”

Gaffigan’s performance will be exclusively open to attendees of NAB Show and co-located events.

With a deadline fast approaching, the State of Alaska was pressed with an urgent situation. More than a dozen TV translator stations needed to drop their analog transmissions. But, that wouldn’t be possible, putting the licenses and viewers at risk.

The FCC listened, and agreed with the state.

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Your favorite radio stations without commercial interruptions.

That’s the brand promise of Auddia, the developer of a proprietary AI platform for audio and innovative technologies for podcasts that is now reinventing how consumers engage with audio.

It’s the subject of the latest InFOCUS Podcast, distributed ahead of a major announcement from the Boulder, Colo.-based technology company. Auddia, not to be confused with Audacy (formerly Entercom), says it’s achieved “a major advancement” in its proprietary technology at the core of its Artificial Intelligence engine.

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Photo: Tim Feagan

iHeartMedia station WOOD(FM) in central western Michigan is off the air due to a fire at its transmitter facility.

According to the Michigan Association of Broadcasters the station in Grand Rapids/Muskegon suffered a lightning strike during a severe thunderstorm and the signal “may be down for a week.”

MAB posted this image, which was taken by iHeart’s Market President Tim Feagan.

The WOOD website says its signal at 106.9 is down and “is currently being worked on.” It pointed listeners to WOOD Radio at 1300 on the AM band, its website or the iHeartRadio app.

 

The post Fire Is Not Good for WOOD appeared first on Radio World.

Last week, the FCC adopted an Order of Reconsideration that rejected a pair of petitions seeking reconsideration of the Commission’s Low Power FM (LPFM) Technical Rules Order.

The Order adopted rule changes designed to “improve the LPFM service and provide LPFM stations with greater flexibility,” the Commission notes. Importantly, the Order rejected a proposal to increase maximum Effective Radiated Power to 250 watts.

It appears a new petition for rulemaking seeking a LPFM power increase has surfaced. And, the NAB has already voiced its opposition to the request.

FOR MEMBERS ONLY: We’ve got a RBR+TVBR OBSERVATION to share on this subject. The NAB should be pleased with what we believe … sort of.

 

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Global media ad sales platform maker Matrix has named a new Chief Operations Officer.

The Pittsburgh-based company says she will be “instrumental in helping execute the company’s global growth strategy, expanding their solutions portfolio into existing and new market verticals.”

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As RBR+TVBR first reported on Tuesday (6/22) a deal has been struck that will send two of its FM radio properties serving the Delmarva region to the owner of the local CBS, NBC, Telemundo and FOX affiliates, giving it a total of 7 radio stations across the area.

Now, RBR+TVBR has confirmed that Adams Media Group, led by Ron Stone, will be exiting the Eastern Shore of Maryland and southern Delaware altogether.

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One is a heritage Class B FM Rocker that gained national notoriety in the early 1990s thanks to the “Don and Mike” program and today serves as the Delmarva region’s home of the Cox Media Group-syndicated offering The Billy Madison Show in morning drive.

The other station is a Class B1 FM Classic Rocker, with the Townsquare Media-syndicated Free Beer and Hot Wings morning program as its anchor.

Both stations are being sold by the Ron Stone-led Adams Radio Group. Who’s the buyer of these rockin’ radio properties?

Look no further than the CBS television affiliate serving Salisbury and Ocean City, Md., which is taking advantage of “modernized” FCC media cross-ownership rules.

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Its stock price continues to surge. Hundreds of Talk stations have now transitioned from Rush Limbaugh to a new offering from the company’s Premiere Networks. Its music stations continue to dominate key markets across the U.S.

Things have never appeared to be better at iHeartMedia. With momentum fueling the nation’s biggest licensee of radio stations, a voluntary prepayment of term loan facilities and a repricing of an incremental term loan have come.

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Tom Birch is the President of North Carolina-based Lakes Media LLC and an industry veteran who come July 5 will beta test an innovative subscription app that is being hyped up as a potential game-changer for the radio industry.

It allows for commercial-free subscription based listening of broadcast radio stations.

Who would pay for what is available for free, even if the commercials are deleted? And, does that keep local radio local? Those are just some of the questions we asked Birch about Auddia in the latest RBR+TVBR InFOCUS Podcast, presented by dot.FM!

 

Listen to “The InFOCUS Podcast: Tom Birch” on Spreaker.

MESA, ARIZ. — The Single Frequency Network (SFN) capability of next-generation television can help TV broadcasters greatly enhance robust reception of broadcast TV signals.

That’s the conclusion of a report on the latest field trials of SFN technology recently completed as part of Phoenix Model Market testing.

“Since last summer, we’ve been testing out various configurations with another NEXTGEN TV transmission tower that can greatly enhance reception and make possible new services such as data sent to both cars and homes,” said Anne Schelle, managing director of Pearl TV, which is coordinating the Phoenix Model Market project. “The results are very encouraging.”

The second Phoenix-area NEXTGEN TV station launched last summer from KASW-TV. That’s The CW Network affiliate in the Valley of the Sun. KASW used a Single Frequency Network to supplement existing signals in the nation’s 11th largest TV market.

KASW-TV is owned by The E.W. Scripps Company and hosts KSAZ-10, the FOX station serving the market.

“Starting in February, we began a series of tests of the Single Frequency Network broadcast from KASW on physical channel 27,” said Pearl TV Chief Technical Officer Dave Folsom. “With its primary transmitter about eight miles south of downtown Phoenix and a smaller transmitter on the same physical channel 27 about 18 miles away on Shaw Butte, we were able to determine the impact of how different power levels and polarizations affected reception at various locations around the Phoenix metro area. The robustness of the signal improved. Viewer reception in difficult areas was also improved. Technical coordination between the two transmitters was shown to dramatically enhance what a consumer would be expected to receive.”

Improved Signals Enhance Options

Folsom continued, “Our two testing transmission antenna patterns were designed to intentionally overlap each other. Their signals are timed (in frequency and time) such as to interfere with each other in a positive or additive fashion and thus improve viewer’s resultant signal level, service margin and receivability within their overlap area. This is the very basis of a Single Frequency Network’s design. The improvement in signal level and service margin translates into a marked improvement in the additive signal’s signal-to-noise component. That means we can either improve reception or increase carriage bandwidth for more data.”

The recent testing was devised to test 40 locations in an approximate grid within the system’s transmission overlap area. An omnidirectional test receiver antenna was purposely used in the testing to ensure the reception was taking full benefit of both transmission signals within the overlap area.

Large improvements in signal level and service margin were found in nearly all test locations when the Single Frequency Network nodes were both transmitting. Error-free reception was improved in approximately 80 percent of the sites, according to the test report compiled by broadcast engineering consultants Meintel, Sgrignoli & Wallace as part of the Phoenix Model Market testing program.

“We believe that broadcast TV has the potential to offer a new data delivery service, because of television’s new broadcast standard speaks the same language as the internet itself,” Schelle said. “A Single Frequency Network arrangement with multiple transmission towers can help broadcasters develop new markets and new opportunities.”