Today there are 13 FrankenFM radio stations broadcasting in the US. These are vestiges of the analog TV past, given a short term lease by the Federal Communications Commission, now with a chance at a longer life.
Until July 2022 FrankenFMs were the analog audio signals of low-power TV (LPTV) stations on channel 6, which could be heard at the low end of the FM dial – at 87.75 MHz, to be precise. But July 2022 brought the final digital transition for these TV stations, which also meant the shutdown of their analog sound transmission.
However, some of these stations managed to build audiences that were generally unaware that they were listening to a TV station, and so they petitioned the FCC for special temporary authority (STA) to continue broadcasting in analog on the FM dial, even though their TV signals went digital. The FCC granted this exception to a baker’s dozen FrankenFMs on an experimental basis, and is now considering making this permanent, with the vote due on July 20.
Some hoped that this might be an opportunity to expand the FM, either by opening up 87.7 FM to more applicants (it’s not part of the official FM dial), or by expanding the dial even further to 82 MHz, reallocating the full bandwidth of what was once assigned to TV channel 6. To some disappointment, the Commission has indicated that it only intends to consider a fairly narrow option, only authorizing these last 13 FrankenFMs, taking additional stations or FM band expansion off the table.
Some public radio broadcasters have opposed any authorization of FrankenFMs because they see them as having taken a back-door into the FM dial, and that their FM service is a happy accident, never intended by the original rules of the game. They also think 87.75 MHz should fall into the non-commercial band (88 – 92 MHz), and object to the fact that many, if not most, FrankenFMs operate as commercial stations.
For its part the FCC seems to acknowledge that these remaining FrankenFMs are serving real listeners who’ve come to rely on their programming, often targeted to minority communities. So this final proposal up for vote represents an attempt to thread the needle, balancing a desire not to negatively impact listeners while also not opening the floodgates or creating additional controversy with the broadcast industry, in which there is no united opinion on expanding the FM band.
I’m not typically given to making predictions, but given the STAs already issued to these last FrankenFMs, combined with the very constrained proposal up for vote, my guess is that the FCC Commissioners are likely to authorize them. We won’t know for sure until the next public meeting on July 20, and you can be sure we’ll report on it here.
