There are just two new construction permits since last week’s LPFM Watch. Both are religious stations, in Adelanto, CA and Yuma, AZ. The holiday weekend probably slowed things down, but we’re also getting close to the next batch of MX groups of applicants competing for frequencies to be opened for resolution by the FCC. Recall […]
Archive | Digital Radio
Join us at 8 PM EDT Tonight for a Hangout with Prof. John Anderson
Prof. John Anderson has been covering radio and communications freedom for more than a decade at DIYMedia.net. He recently filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the FCC regarding a recent decision that effectively put the Commission in the role of determining what is and is not news. Last year his first book, Radio’s […]
UK ponders 12 year terms for “re-advertised” analog radio stations
The United Kingdom’s broadcast regulator Ofcom is considering letting “re-advertised” analog radio station licenses extend for twelve years, the maximum possible license length. The current policy is to set licenses approaching their expiration date at seven, but “market and regulatory developments” since 2010 suggest a reconsideration, a Ofcom consultation concludes: ” . . . we […]
Catch Super Bowl XLVIII on the radio this Sunday
Looking for info on how to listen to this 2021’s Super Bowl LV? Click here. Sports are nearly as popular on the radio as on television. As USA Today observes, there are 289 more all-sports radio stations on the air since 2006, and this weekend’s Super Bowl is their “summit.” All these stations will be […]
Clear Channel: let AM stations go all digital on a voluntary basis
Clear Channel Communications has posted its response to the Federal Communications Commission’s proceeding on AM radio revitalization. The radio giant has many recommendations, among them the suggestion that the FCC should permit all digital AM operations “on a voluntary basis.” “As more HD receivers are installed in vehicles and more consumer digital receivers are purchased, […]
Smooth Jazz returns to Chicago airwaves via HD Radio 2
Two of our most enduringly popular “long-tail” posts are about the demise of Smooth Jazz radio in Chicago. This April, 2012 report about the changeover from the format to alternative rock on the FM backdoor station 87.7 FM and my July, 2012 followup detailing where to find other jazz programming on the Chicago airwaves consistently […]
Classical segregator or savior? The case for Q2, WQXR’s online “living composers” channel
Hallowed New York City classical radio station WQXR’s “Q2” channel is now well over three years old. I am a big fan of the service. It is one of the few places in the classical music radiosphere in the United States where you can consistently listen to a high quality stream of contemporary classical music […]
The state of global DAB and DAB+ radio
Radio World and Radio.NL report that the government of the Netherlands is considering sunsetting that country’s FM band and transitioning to digital radio broadcasting. This would mean DAB+. The decision rests on the pace at which Dutch consumers adopt the standard via DAB+ receiver purchases. An economic minister says radio receiver buyers will trigger the […]
Patent trolls target HD Radio, Innovation Act targets trolls
First podcasts, and now HD Radio. Patent trolls are looking at new radio forms as potential cash cows to milk. Earlier this year we covered a company called Personal Audio that is suing independent podcasters like Adam Carolla along with big companies like CBS for allegedly violating its patent for a “disseminating a series of […]
UK digital radio transition effort holds lessons for AM revitalization
To say that public comments on the FCC’s AM revitalization proposals are barely trickling in could be charitably called an understatement. As of yesterday there were a total of three comments filed. Two of these are from amateur radio operator Nickolaus Leggett, which Matthew reviewed last week. In the absence of more commentary on the […]