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Graham Brock, Inc. |
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Broadcast Technical Consultants |
| Vol. XIII, No. 4 |
R. Stuart Graham, Jr. |
| April 2006 |
Jefferson G. Brock |
| AM Application Process Continues |
| Eighty-six applications for new AM stations
submitted in the 2004 filing window were dismissed by
the Commission. These applicants failed to submit the
required Section 307(b) Analysis for their proposed
facility, or they submitted them in an untimely manner.
As a result of these dismissals, some of the
applications that were mutually exclusive with these
filings will become single applications and can move
forward in processing at the Commission. |
| No Tower Light and No Registration |
| The FCC initially fined a station in Indiana
$16,000 for repeatedly failing to register their
tower structure and maintain the lighting. The
licensee responded that they believed the tower in
question was under 200 feet and did not require
lighting or registration. However, a subsequent
survey indicated the structure was over 200 feet.
The licensee then noted that lights were being shot
out by hunters and, due to financial matters, they
did not have the ability to pay a fine of that
magnitude. After the FCC reviewed the compliance
history and financial records of the licensee, the
fine was reduced to $4,000. |
Under the Commission’s present rules,
licensees of expanded band AM stations must turn
in the license of either the in-band AM station
or its expanded band counterpart on the fifth
anniversary of the grant of the license for the
expanded band channel. Several parties have
submitted “Requests for Waiver” with the FCC to
allow them to retain both channels for an
additional period of time. The parties
requesting the waiver/extension include Clear
Channel, Entercom and 12 other broadcasting
companies. In addition, the parties also asked
the Commission to waive the restriction
regarding the transfer of the in-band station,
which would allow the sale of the station to a
recognized small business. In the request, the
petitioners note that many of the in-band AM
stations are operating with unique programming
that would be lost if the license was returned
to the FCC in favor of the expanded band
station. The parties also request a waiver of
the multiple ownership rules since these rules
note that the licensee can hold the licenses for
both AM stations without being penalized (only
one AM station counts towards the ownership
limit). |
| The FCC has already released its
regularity fees for broadcast stations,
which will be due in September. On average,
the fees increased about 3% from the values
last year. Regulatory fees for radio
stations are based on population coverage
and class of the station. TV fees are based
on whether the station is VHF or UHF and the
market size in which the station operates.
For radio stations, the fees range from $375
to $9,125. For TV stations, the fees can be
as low as $1,725 up to $62,675. All
auxiliary stations, RPU, STL, ICR, etc., are
assessed a fee of $10 per license. |
| Stu, Jeff and Marilyn will be at the
National Association of Broadcasters
Convention in Las Vegas. If you would
like to meet with them or just put a
face to a name, please let them know.
You may reach them at the Bellagio, or
can contact them through the office
(912-638-8028). |
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