Low power FM (LPFM) applicants are on pins and needles as they await word about applications that were filed in the recently closed window. In order to answer some of the burning questions and give a sense of timing, today the FCC released a notice (PDF) offering guidance for LPFM applicants. The notice also provides […]
The FCC just released a list of eight California radio stations that did not submit license renewals by the August 1, 2013 deadline this year. Per FCC regulations, as of December 1, 2013, all eight of these licenses are considered expired. The disappearing stations include two FM stations, three LPFM stations, and three FM translator […]
Twitter has 49 million users every month in the US. Facebook has 198 million. There are about 6 million US Spotify users. What about terrestrial broadcast radio, that old-school, supposedly dying analog medium? Radio has 241.8 million listeners per week, not just per month. Take that, Silicon Valley. Those numbers are according to Nielsen’s December […]
Perusing through the Federal Communications Commission’s database of pending new Low Power FM applications, I see many worthy contenders. But I would like to be a fly on the wall when the FCC considers the following organizations. What caught my eye are their names: The Global Service Center for Quitting Chinese Communist Party is among […]
I just heard from Peter Doyle, chief of the FCC’s Audio Division, that there were 2,819 filings for low-power FM licenses during the application window that closed last Friday. The applications are publicly searchable in the FCC’s database. The release of this data is just a tad bit earlier than yesterday’s estimated release time, but […]
Update Nov. 21, 2013: The FCC actually released the official application total earlier than expected. See our updated report for details: Official count of LPFM applications lower than some expectations There’s been a bit of speculation amongst low-power FM community radio supporters since the licensing window closed last Friday. With all the energy and excitement […]
Though I was not struck with any particular concern, apparently there has been just a touch of anxiety amongst broadcasters that new FCC Chair Tom Wheeler did not appoint anyone with a broadcast background to his staff. An unnamed broadcast industry executive told Politico earlier this week, “That creates some heartburn for us.” Maybe I’m […]
In an enforcement advisory this week, the Federal Communications Commission reminds broadcasters about the guidelines for using Emergency Alert System codes and attention signals. Prompted by complaints over the use of emergency alert tones in commercials or promotional spots on television, the FCC not only released details about recent policy violations (TBS and a Kentucky […]
My friend John Anderson wrote his dissertation on the complex policy machinations behind HD Radio becoming the digital radio standard, and now he has a book coming out telling the story. He knows more about the topic than just about anyone else. So when he says that the all-digital option for AM revitalization is very […]
New FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler announced his staff appointments today, and there is potentially good news for public interest advocates and supporters of innovative radio in his appointment of Public Knowledge president Gigi Sohn as Special Counsel for External Affairs. Sohn co-founded Public Knowledge in 2001, and under her leadership the group has been a […]
