Going into the 2023 application window for new low-power FM stations we are unlikely to see the kind of massive expansion of the sort we had after the 2013 window. That’s because there are many fewer open frequencies, stemming from the fact that there are simply more FM radio stations on the dial in 2023 than in September, 2013, right before that last application window opened.
But just how big is the change? The FCC reports on the number of broadcast stations every quarter, so getting an exact number is trivial.
As of September 30, 2013 there were 17,356 FM licensed broadcast stations in the US. As of March 31, 2023 that number was 21,838. That means there are 4482 more – a 25% increase. However, the aggregate growth in FM doesn’t tell the whole story.
LPFMs can be squeezed into the dial on frequencies where full-power stations aren’t permitted. The same is true for translator repeater stations. And the growth in both these kinds of stations has been even greater: 60%!
There were 788 licensed LPFMs in September, 2013, and now there are 1,999 in March, 2023 – 154% more. Translators grew from 6,055 in 2013 to 8,939 in 2023, making for a 48% increase. In fact, combined, LPFMs and translators constitute a full half of all FM radio station licenses today. In 2013 they made up a little less than a quarter.
The LPFM growth is directly attributed to that 2013 application window, which resulted in the vast majority of new stations going on the air between 2014 and 2016. In 2016 and 2017 the FCC conducted application windows for translators, which drove the growth in those licenses. Two of those windows were specifically for AM stations which were newly permitted to obtain repeaters on FM, further fueling demand for valuable space on that dial.
So, that’s the state of things as we head into this next (and possibly final) opportunity for new LPFM community radio stations. Even though there will be fewer opportunities, this is no cause for despair. In the last decade so many more communities got their first – or second, third or fourth – community radio station. For example, my home of Portland, OR – which had two community stations and no true LPFMs in 2013 – added five more. Putting more on the air is kind of frosting on the cake, and at least some will likely be claiming frequencies from some of the LPFMs that weren’t able to survive, especially through the challenges of the pandemic.
