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As anyone who has worked the content end of radio knows, many interviewees are keenly focused on whatever book, movie or album they want to plug, and they try to mention it as often as possible. As a disc jockey at WOHO(AM), Toledo, Ohio in the early 1970s, I usually tried to subvert this tendency, often to the consternation of my guests.

There existed in our town a notorious topless restaurant known as The Jolly Trolley. The city council hated the place. The zoning department fought it constantly. But a certain desperate, mostly-male contingent of our town found The Jolly Trolly irresistible. Frankly, the thought of naked women grinding against a pole just above the diners was never appealing to me, but judging by the place’s parking lot, business was brisk.

I got a call from the manager of this adult establishment who thought that an on-air interview about his business might be mutually beneficial, and I agreed to it. We’ll call this character “Sid.”

[Read: Adventures in 1970s AM: Helloooo, Punkie!]

He showed up looking exactly as I expected: middle-aged and overweight with a bad comb-over. Around his neck he sported gaudy jewelry which was visible through his partially-open shirt. But when we got on the air, he was all business, never taking his eye off the prize.

Ken: The city wants to close you down but your restaurant seems to be thriving. What do you think is the main appeal of The Jolly Trolley?
Sid: Ken, I’ll be honest with you. It’s the sandwiches.

Ken: What? People come for the “sandwiches”?
Sid: That’s right. We got a hot pastrami on rye that people just love.

Ken: You would think that all those girls running around with no tops on would have something to do with it.
Sid: Not really. That’s a side issue. Let me tell you about our grilled cheese. Delicious!

This continued for the allotted time and not once would he discuss the naked women. The city finally managed to shut down The Jolly Trolley as a nuisance after several drunken brawls on the premises; one teensy shooting; and numerous citations from city health inspectors, who I guess were not fans of the pastrami.

As I gained experience as an interviewer I got a little bolder and pushed my guests a little more out of their comfort zones, mind you, as politely as possible. While their agendas were centered on promoting a product, mine was compelling radio.

All the Best Parts

Jimmy Dean was a huge star, having recorded a number of hits including “Big Bad John,” “P.T. 109” and many others. In 1969 he turned his attention to his newest venture, Jimmy Dean Pure Pork Sausage. Even those who eschewed food products made of the embarrassing parts of pigs were still forced to see his folksy commercials on TV at all hours.

Someone from Mr. Dean’s office in Nashville had called and told my talk show producer that Jimmy and his entourage would be driving through Toledo on their way to Detroit to promote the sausage, and asked if we would like to interview him. Those were the circumstances that in November of 1972 brought me face to face with a tall man in a cowboy hat who took his place seated across the big desk from me in the WOHO talk studio. Fortunately, I had a piano at hand for just such occasions. Since I recorded our conversation it was an easy matter to transcribe it and obtain these excerpts.

Ken: So I guess you’re going around the country hawking your sausage.
Jimmy Dean (with thick Texas drawl): Hawkin’ my sausage? I don’t know why that sounds dirty but it does. Well I guess you could call it that. It’s in all the stores and that’s just what we want to tell people.

Ken: Well let’s talk about something different.
Jimmy Dean: Either we talk about the sausage or I come across the table and give you a little shot in the chops, you got it kid?  (Laughter)

Ken:  Let’s talk about the records you make.
Jimmy Dean: I don’t like those. And that’s along with about 90% of the public in the United States. But we just finished a session for Columbia, and the new single is out now.

Ken:  What’s the name of it?
Jimmy Dean: It’s called “You Don’t Know What Lonesome Is Until You Start Kissin’ Cows.” It’s an old ballad. (Laughter). Naw, actually it’s called “Your Sweet Love Keeps Me Homeward Bound.”

Ken: Can you remember what your first record was?
Jimmy Dean: That was a police record in Arlington, Va.! (Laughter). The first song was called “Bummin’ Around” and Dean Martin had a hit with it. The second one I wrote was “Release Me,” and I gave that one away to Englebert Humperdinck who did all right with it. But now I have a little TV show from Nashville, and it’s broadcast in all the areas where we sell Jimmy Dean Pure Pork Sausage. That includes the stores in Toledo, Ken.

Ken: You did it again! You snuck in another plug! Well listen, you’re a big-time star, so I’m going to let you play the piano in a second.
Jimmy Dean: I don’t want to play the piano.

Ken: Well, if you play, I’ll let you give another commercial for your crummy sausage.
Jimmy Dean: Now you listen! I’ll tell you the dang truth! It’s the finest quality pork sausage. Most people who make sausage are full-line factories but all we sell is Jimmy Dean Pure Pork Sausage and we use all the best parts. So there! (Sticks tongue out)

Ken: And now you’re going around selling it out of the back of your limousine out there.
Jimmy Dean: Naw… (Laughter)

Ken: Listen, I’m going to audition my latest tune for you. It’s called “Sooner or Later,” a tender love song.
Jimmy Dean: Get over to the piano, kid. Here he is, Ken Deutsch, let ’er rip.

(Ken sings a few bars of a horrible country song)

Jimmy Dean: (after song ends) If you’re a singer, the woods is full of ’em!
Ken: OK, now you get over to the piano and play.

(Jimmy Dean plays a beautiful country ballad written by Merle Haggard called “Someday We’ll Look Back.”) Then he sits back on the piano bench and says “And that’s all now, son.”

Ken: Well listen, I could give you a couple of pointers.
Jimmy Dean: I wish you would, you got one on top of your head!  (laughter)

Ken Deutsch looks back on his brief radio career fondly which is more than can be said for his listeners. Buy his books on Amazon!

The post Adventures in 1970s AM: Interviews Gone Wild appeared first on Radio World.

In a wholly unified effort, broadcaster associations from all 50 states, as well as Washington, D.C., and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, have sent a letter to House and Senate Leaders that urge them to provide relief for local media in any upcoming bills or legislative measures addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Specifically sending the letter to House Majority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Minority Leader Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), the letter echoes the efforts and needs local broadcasters have been dealing with since the start of the pandemic.

[Read: NAB Applauds HEROES Act]

“[L]ocal media outlets have been providing critical and essential service to their communities—working around the clock to ensure that their viewers, readers and listeners remain informed, connected and safe,” the letter reads. “Unlike other businesses, who have had the option of temporarily closing their doors, local broadcasters and news publishers have maintained their operations, which have become more important than ever to their communities.”

The continued operation comes even as the stations have been hit hard in revenue because of the loss of advertising. The letter details that some local broadcasters have seen advertising decline more than 50% compared to 2019, while others are reporting as much as 90% of their advertising buys have been cancelled. This could lead to revenue losses of more than $14 billion, the associations claims.

As a result, the state associations are calling for two measures to be enacted by Congress:

The first is to ensure that local media can seek relief under the Paycheck Protection Program. Many media outlets have already been helped by PPP, but the associations hope that Congress will allow them to apply for additional funds under their existing PPP loans. Some, however, have not been able to apply for PPP loans because of their place as part of a larger business or ownership group — a point of contention among different groups. These associations are asking that Congress adopt the provisions contained in the Local News and Emergency Act in the House-passed HEROES Act, which would ensure PPP eligibility is determined on a local, per station or newsroom basis.

[Read: NAB Campaign Targets Coronavirus Aid, Federal Ads for Local Stations]

Second, they want federal funds to support advertising. They ask that Congress include provisions in upcoming appropriations measures and COVID relief legislation that would direct U.S. government advertising campaigns to fund and prioritize local media for the promotion of important federal priorities; an action that had large bipartisan support earlier this year. In addition, the associations want any relief legislation for local communities should include provisions that would prioritize and incentivize stimulus recipients to spend a portion of those funds on promotion through advertising on local media.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced earlier this week that it was planning to spend advertising dollars on local media.

“We urge Congress to act swiftly to ensure that local radio and television broadcasters and local newspapers can continue to serve their vital roles in informing Americans and keeping them safe,” the letter concludes.

The full letter is available online.

The post State Broadcasters Push for Local Media Aid in Future Relief Bills appeared first on Radio World.

In an unusually frank posting, “NPR Radio Ratings Collapse as Pandemic Ends Listeners’ Commutes,” a writer for National Public Radio says, “Broadcast ratings for nearly all of NPR’s radio shows took a steep dive in major markets this spring.”

Author David Folkenflik continues, “… as the coronavirus pandemic kept many Americans from commuting to work and school. The network’s shows lost roughly a quarter of their audience between the second quarter of 2019 and the same months in 2020.”

[Read: Big Podcasters Generate Big Numbers]

Whether the trend might be reversed is unclear but Lori Kaplan, NPR’s senior director of audience insights, warned, “We’re experiencing a sea change. … We’re not going back to the same levels of listening that we’ve experienced in the past on broadcast.”

There was one ray of amelioration, stations in many markets, including Chicago, Detroit, Miami, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Austin, Texas, saw rises in listenership.

As bad as the broadcast news was overall engagement is up. “Podcast downloads and the usage of NPR’s listening apps are up nearly a quarter, and there is a 76% increase in users of NPR.org as more people access the network’s content from home.”

Read the whole thing here.

The post NPR Sees Big Drop in Broadcast appeared first on Radio World.

Kongsue Xiong is the owner of Asian American Broadcasting, licensee of KFXN(AM) in Minneapolis. It is heavily involved with local Laotian immigrants and citizens of Hmong descent.

In this Q&A he discusses how the station is approaching the coronavirus, especially in providing timely and useful information to its listeners. He was interviewed by Suzanne Gougherty, director of MMTC Media and Telecom Brokers at the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council. MMTC commentaries appear regularly in Radio World, which welcomes other points of view on industry issues.

Suzanne Gougherty: What has your station been doing to keep Hmong listeners informed during the continued pandemic?

Kongsue Xiong: KFXN has invited Minnesota attorney general, health department experts, and other city officials come to talk about the governor’s executive orders, health regulations, and many other issues related to the pandemic which is dangerous for the Hmong community.

Gougherty: Have you been doing any live interviews with health officials in your community?

Xiong: KFXN has invited many medical doctors and other health officials from the city come to talk about the COVID-19, what is it, how to prevent it, and what to do if you get infected.

[Read: MMTC Seeks Donated Gear for Broadcaster Hit by Protest]

Gougherty: What special news coverage have you been airing during the coronavirus outbreak?

Xiong: KFXN is a minority news source agency, we went after the major news outlets such as, ABC, CNN, KMSP(TV), KARE(TV), and international news organizations that are reliable news sources. Also we had daily updates locally and nationally what is happening so the Hmong community we serve was kept informed, this practice is ongoing.

Gougherty: Have most of your clients continued to support you during this difficult period?

Xiong: KFXN is having a difficult time keeping all of our clients because many advertising agencies and businesses are not totally open because of the state response to the pandemic.

Gougherty: What is your message to your audience regarding COVID-19?

Xiong: KFXN is constantly trying to educate the community about health issues, social distancing, and how to obtain resources that are available locally and how to reach out to help others. It is a difficult time for everyone but we have to deal with it carefully and seriously.

Gougherty: Have you been securing political advertising revenue for the next election?

Xiong: KFXN doesn’t have or get any political advertising at the moment.

Gougherty: What do you see as the new normal for your station operations since the pandemic?

Xiong: KFXN is a vital resource to help the Hmong community and especially the elderly to cope with their stress and make them feel more connected and alive each day. Our programming to our community is a great source of hope, and our audience knows that we are of reliable place for news and information, plus entertainment. We will continue this practice well after the pandemic.

The post Community Broadcaster Confronts Coronavirus appeared first on Radio World.

Broadcasters in the United States are implementing a number of COVID-19 safety protocols as they resume radio station operations. But the process has been both tentative and uneven, given the dynamic national health and economic situation.

Industry leaders say safe return of employees is their priority as they evaluate when to reopen facilities and reimagine what new workplaces will look. Many broadcasters closed facilities at the onset of the coronavirus, and it’s very likely many will continue to have some employees work from home, according to those familiar with the situation.

Return-to-work scenarios shared by several executives with Radio World are wide-ranging and include safety protocols like social distancing along with mitigation efforts to prevent further virus outbreaks.

One challenge facing broadcasters is the varying reopening requirements set by local jurisdictions. As of early July some parts of the country had reopened even as other states were seeing spikes in the number of COVID-19 cases.

Many broadcasters are following the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Environmental Protection Agency for cleaning and disinfecting workplaces and other common areas. Radio station lobbies remain closed to the public in many cases, according to sources with direct knowledge of discussions.

Like a number of companies, Cox Media Group, which operates 54 radio stations in 10 markets, declined to discuss its specific re-entry approach for this story. However, a spokesperson said the company is moving ahead with caution. “We are doing everything we can to create a safe work environment and ensure our employees’ well-being.”

Practical concerns

The pandemic processes described by those who spoke with us include drastic measures like limiting free movement of employees inside buildings, avoiding the use of large meeting spaces, and even limiting the return of employees considered at high risk of contracting the virus. In many cases sales people will continue working off-site.

Those new work routines for employees are still being carved out, with new guidelines being adopted as office spaces and studios are realigned. Work models are still being fine-tuned by many large broadcast groups but work from home for some employees is expected to be extended.

A top-market public radio executive noted that companies not only must create their own rules but abide by those of the buildings where they lease space. This may raise additional issues involving maximum building occupancy, new “traffic patterns” such as one-way stairwells, and additional security card readers to support those patterns.

Also, if more air and IT staff are expected to work permanently from home, their employers may need to provide those homes with uninterruptible power supplies for conditioning and backup power — and have plans in place for “passing the mic” to backup talent or support people if the home is hit by an extended power outage.

Longer-term, a high-ranking corporate executive at one major radio group foresees a major shift to more centralized broadcast operations.

“It is pretty clear that corporate radio is trending to more centralized operations in general, similar to what iHeartMedia is doing. If anything, this pandemic proved remote operation could be achieved much more easily than first thought,” he said. “I think we will generally see facilities with fewer people and more on-air content being generated centrally instead of locally.”

iHeartMedia announced earlier this year plans to create AI-enabled Centers of Excellence in order to consolidate some operations at its radio stations, according to those familiar with the development.

Toolkit

NAB Executive VP and Chief Technology Officer Sam Matheny said radio CEOs and other senior leaders he has spoken to have been pleasantly surprised at how well the shift to remote work has gone.

“In many cases 75 to 80% of the workforce is now, or was at one point, remote. The technology and engineering is there to enable it,” Matheny said.

[Related: “New Ebook Explores Broadcasting From Home”]

For some broadcasters, returning employees to the office may sound easy, but working from there could be hard, he said.

“I think a really important thing broadcasters can do right now is to have a plan for what happens when someone in their organization is diagnosed with COVID-19. This is especially true for stations that operate with a small staff where a single infection could cause a major disruption due to quarantine of multiple employees,” Matheny said.

The NAB has a Coronavirus Toolkit that offers station operation resources, educational resources and a link to the CDC’s guidelines on reopening.

“When it comes to returning to the office, the size and configuration of the broadcast facility and team will drive the physical considerations,” Matheny said. “Face masks are a major area of focus and were deemed the most needed Personal Protective Equipment item by broadcasters and others in the communications sector for critical employees.”

Hand sanitizer, gloves and supplies for regular cleaning of studio or other shared equipment are critical, Matheny said. “And an item that I believe is unique to broadcasters is the increased need for changeable microphone screens,” he said.

Other strategies being considered by broadcasters to maintain social distancing include barriers, modified work hours, alternating days in the office as well as people working remotely, Matheny said.

Cleaning crews will be necessary since wiping down all surfaces will be critical, he said. “And even staggered building entry times might be necessary since using elevators will be difficult while maintaining social distancing.”

Limited occupancy

One engineering executive at a major broadcast group said remote work for his company will continue for some time.

“Occupancy of air studios will be limited based on size,” the source said. “All air staff who are in the building will be at least six feet apart with clear dividers installed where necessary.”

Break rooms are likely to remain closed for some time, he said, and companies will do regular cleaning and sanitizing of touch points throughout broadcast facilities.

Many broadcasters are operating with fewer employees after furloughs; the industry has also seen recent job cuts that predated or were not specifically tied to the health crisis. One open question is how many such jobs might be recovered.

Big and small broadcast groups tell Radio World they are facing similar economic and operational issues during the pandemic.

Smaller and medium-sized groups are affected as much as the biggest ones. Art Sutton, president/CEO of GA-Carolina Broadcasting, said his company furloughed nine employees and closed stations to the general public. “We won’t consider bringing our employees back before July 31, when the federal government’s $600 weekly unemployment benefit expires,” he said.

The broadcaster, which has 16 radio stations across five small and medium markets, saw major revenue declines the past several months.

“Since we are operating with fewer people, that helps to offset our revenue declines of 5% in March 2020 compared to March 2019,” he said. Sutton reported a “brutal” 33% decline in April, 20% in May and a projected drop in June of 15-16%.

What’s your own experience? Email radioworld@futurenet.com with “Letter to the Editor” in the subject field.

The post U.S. Radio Remains in Pandemic Mode appeared first on Radio World.

SiriusXM’s new hybrid radio system, which combines over-the-air reception with streaming and on-demand functions, will be in many BMW vehicles starting this summer.

Its 360L audio infotainment system will start showing up in most 2021 models. The BMW deal continues a rollout of the platform with various carmakers; SiriusXM recently announced agreements with General Motors and Audi.

[Related: “It’s Confirmed, SiriusXM Will Acquire Stitcher” target=”_blank”]

The announcement was made by Ralph Mahler, department head, BMW Product & Strategy, and Chris Paganini, VP, Automotive Partnerships, at SiriusXM. Car buyers will get a 12-month subscription to SiriusXM’s All Access package.

The selling points for the 360L system include a library of recorded content available on-demand, personalized recommendations and the ability to search for related content.

The vehicle can also receive software updates. “One expected future software update will enable 360L’s newest feature, Personalized Stations Powered by Pandora,” the company said in its announcement. That capability will let drivers can create ad-free music “stations” based on the artist they are listening to, give songs a thumbs up/thumbs down and skip songs.

The new platform will come in 2021 BMWs including the 2 Series, 3 Series, 4 Series, 5 Series, 8 Series, X1, X3, X4, X5, X6, X7 and Z4 models.

The post BMW Joins the 360L Hybrid Platform Bandwagon appeared first on Radio World.

GeoBroadcast Solutions is highlighting the use of its MaxxCasting synchronized FM booster technology in a single-frequency digital radio network at Entercom in San Diego.

GBS says this is the first commercially deployed HD Radio SFN. And it says the success of the project also supports its separate regulatory proposal to allow U.S. radio stations to use geo-targeting on FM boosters.

The station in this case is KWFN(FM), flagship of San Diego Padres baseball. The ballclub opens its abbreviated 2020 season at home on July 24.

GBS said the four-node SFN “extends clear FM and HD Radio coverage up and down the busy Interstate 15 and State Route 78 corridors. The improved signal also increases penetration with Nielsen PPM Portable People Meters to help broadcasters accurately measure audiences and set advertising rates.”

Areas with better coverage reportedly include Escondido, Ramona and San Marcos; and GBS said the station has seen a positive impact in ratings.

The manufacturer quotes Entercom Market Technical Operations Director JR Rogers saying the commuter listening experience improved because “the holes in the signal coverage have been greatly diminished.” This despite difficult hilly terrain in the area. Rogers told GBS that the community was previously served by a powerful AM signal from Mexico.

Entercom, he continued, particularly wanted to improve KWFN’s coverage to support Padres game coverage.

Separately, as we’ve reported, GBS has been petitioning the Federal Communications Commission to let radio broadcasters air geo-targeted programming. KWFN is not such a case; but GBS says this implementation of an HD SFN demonstrates that geo-targeting will work when boosters are equipped with its ZoneCasting technology.

[Related: “GBS Gathers Support for Geo-Targeting”]

“ZoneCasting will eventually owe its success to MaxxCasting, the foundational architecture that is currently boosting FM and HD signals from the Boston market’s WXLO(FM) to KWFN in San Diego,” it stated.

(The GBS geotargeting proposal in turn prompted a separate group to ask the FCC to also allow geotargeting on translators, which GBS deplored as essentially muddying the issue, as we’ve reported.)

The San Diego HD SFN installation includes GatesAir Flexiva transmitters with FAX Exgine exciters, a Flexiva FXMI 4g Exporter/Importer HD Radio system and Intraplex IP networking and synchronization gear to time-lock FM and HD signals between the main transmitter and the nodes.

Bert Goldman of Goldman Engineering Management coordinated system design and FCC compliance. Shively provided directional antennas. Distributor SCMS managed equipment sales and staging.

Users and suppliers are both invited to send Radio World your news about interesting technology deployments. Email radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post KWFN Deploys an HD Radio Single-Frequency Network appeared first on Radio World.

Responding to the story “Urban One Disappointed by FCC Action on AM Multicasts”:

Someone please put Ajit on the shoot and ask him why the commission won’t support expanding the FM band in the lower end!

It’s the simplest way to revitalize the AM stations in a way that is most easily supported by radio and transmitter manufacturers, and applying the same or similar rules governing the existing FM band.

This band could be designated all-digital and allow the AMs time to build their facilities ahead of and during the manufacturing of radios, while working toward a migration of the existing FM stations to an all-digital mode as well, with the possibility of fixing some allocation variances, like grandfathered overlaps that become meaningless in some cases once the stations are all digital.

I’ve been saying this for two plus decades now. Has we started one decades ago, we’d be settled in pretty good by now!

I’ve also spoken about the future use of the existing AM band being given (allocated) to local municipalities for their public notifications, information and other messaging.

Nothing serves the public better than the city council and other divisions, having a direct connection to their citizens. We used to have this on our cable TV providers, but those have pretty much all dried up. But, being able to access this from anywhere (car, home, portable) is a better solution than the cable ever provided.

Traveler’s Information Stations are well programmed in some cities, but not many exist. A 250 watt TIS could serve two or three suburbs, or an entire community of small towns, especially when they aren’t all piled on top of each other’s frequency.

In light of recent and past events, maybe a local municipality’s TIS could be a platform for protests, rather than unsafe disruptions of traffic in the streets! That doesn’t work now because you can barely hear them, basically making them a waste of energy as just noise generators. At a minimum, they would sure be public service if they provided the city official’s updated information regarding those and other events.

Comment on this or any letter or article. Email radioworld@futurenet.com with “Letter to the Editor” in the subject field.

[Related: “FCC Officially Proposes to Allow All-Digital on the AM Band”]

The post Letter: AM Migration Is Still a Good Idea appeared first on Radio World.

If your radio station is tackling that elephant in the room (Hello there, Mr. Coronavirus) with panache, style or outright parody, the creators of a new awards event want to hear from you.

That’s the consensus of a new awards event — the Coronavirus Radio Ideas Awards — which will honor radio professionals from around the world that have used their brands and ideas to better serve their listeners during the COVID-19 pandemic.

[Read: Radio Is the Local Lifeblood for Brands During COVID-19]

The Coronavirus Radio Ideas Awards will highlight the best ideas in 10 separate categories, such as Best Social Media Video Content and Best Hometown Video. Two other areas — Best Podcast and Best Journalistic Content — will be up for recognition later in the year.

Radio professionals have through July 31, 2020, to nominate their favorite ideas. After that, online voting will begin on August 6, 2020, and will continue through Sept. 7, 2020.

The contest is the brainchild of the radio industry companies Benztown, P1 Media Group as well as Radiodays Europe, Radiodays Asia and RDE Podcast Day.

The 10 categories up for nomination are:

Best Social Media Video Content

Best Virtual Event

Best Parody

Best Virtual Concert

Best Station Promo

Best Community Service

Best Social Media Visual

Best Hometown Video

Best Sales Promotion

Best Mega Promotion

The two other categories that are part of the awards can be nominated later in the year and those two will be being judged by a panel of experts. Those two categories are: Best Podcast and Best Journalistic Content.

To nominate your favorite promos, visuals, videos and parodies, go here.

The post New Awards to Honor Radio’s Humor and Insight on Coronavirus appeared first on Radio World.

AM radio station owners in the United States are likely to get a rule break next month from the Federal Communications Commission.

Chairman Ajit Pai says the FCC will vote on whether to eliminate the radio duplication rule for AM stations while retaining it for FMs.

“In 1964, the FCC first adopted rules to restrict the duplication of programming on commonly owned broadcast radio stations operating in the same geographic area,” Pai explained in a blog post.

The original reason was to prohibit FM stations in larger cities from duplicating too much programming of a co-owned AM station in the same area, though the cross-service limitation later was dropped.

“We’ve revised [the rule] several times throughout the decades in response to changing market conditions. The current version of the rule was adopted in 1992. Going on three decades later, the rules are overdue for a revision,” Pai wrote.

[Related: “Radio Duplication Rule Up for Discussion”]

Given other recent votes that eased AM rules by this commission, it seems the change is likely to pass.

The rule at present prohibits any commercial AM or FM radio station from devoting “more than 25 percent of the total hours in its average broadcast week to programs that duplicate those of any other station in the same service (AM or FM) which is commonly owned or with which it has a time brokerage agreement if the principal community contours … of the stations overlap and the overlap constitutes more than 50 percent of the total principal community contour service area of either station.”

When the commission proposed the change a few months ago, it noted that the current rule was adopted 27 years ago to foster competition, programming diversity and spectrum efficiency, but that radio has changed significantly since then.

Pai cited “realities of the marketplace” and technical challenges faced by AM broadcasters as reasons to lift the rule from those licensees. “This approach will afford AM broadcast licensees greater flexibility, facilitate all-digital broadcasting by AM stations and ultimately allow stations to improve service to their communities.”

(Pai’s reference to all-digital service on the AM band was brief but suggests that the FCC soon will allow AMs to switch to that mode if they wish, as it has recently proposed.)

Another rule change that looks likely to be adopted at the August commission meeting has to do with broadcast infrastructure and antenna siting.

The rules currently prohibit the grant or renewal of a license for an FM or TV station if the applicant or licensee controls an antenna site that is “peculiarly suitable” for broadcasting in the area and does not make it available for use by other similar licensees.

The FCC noted last fall that when these rules came about around the end of World War II, FM and television were in their infancies, and the infrastructure available to broadcast a signal over the air was sparse.

“Back then,”  Pai wrote, “the commission froze the construction of new broadcast facilities in order to preserve equipment and materials (or materiel, if you’re so inclined) for the war effort. At the same time, the commission adopted rules requiring existing broadcast licensees to share their facilities in certain situations. To our knowledge, there has never been a case where all the criteria necessary to invoke the rules were successfully met. And given the significant broadcast infrastructure deployment since then, and the fact most towers are now owned by independent companies that lease tower space to broadcasters, these rules no longer serve any practical purpose.”

Pai said no broadcasters even filed comments about the proposed repeal.

Meanwhile on the C-Band front, Pai said he has circulated final draft procedures for a C-band auction to be held in December, to be voted on next month, and said the commission is moving quickly on this issue.

“If it weren’t for COVID-19, the ‘Top Gun’ sequel would be in theaters right now,” he pointed out. “Nonetheless, you can rest assured that we’ll all be mavericks in three weeks. That’s because when it comes our August meeting’s main attraction, repurposing C-band spectrum for 5G, we feel the need — the need for speed.” And he kindly provided a link for that cultural reference.

The post FCC Is Likely to Kill the Duplication Rule for AM Stations appeared first on Radio World.