When the Federal Communications Commission shut down 2,048 long-inactive proceedings in December — its biggest cleanup ever — one area where it decided to not bring down the curtain was on AM revitalization. The Commission explained that that after a closer look, it determined the AM revitalization proceeding (MB Docket No. 13-249) was one of nine proceedings that “are not good candidates for termination” at this time.
The National Association of Broadcasters has now told regulators where it thinks the next moves should be to help AM broadcasters. In a meeting last week with the Media Bureau, NAB officials urged the FCC to do away with a pair of rules it believes are burdening station owners.
NAB urged the agency to eliminate certain minimum efficiency standards that it believes hinder AMs from choosing antennas that could expand their reach and locating antennas on smaller, less expensive lots closer to their audiences.
The trade group also asked the FCC to eliminate rules that it also views as complicating AM stations’ access to the expanded band between 1605-1705 kHz. NAB urged the Bureau to consider opening a filing window for stations to apply for frequencies in the expanded band.
Several radio groups — including Bryan Broadcasting, Mid-West Management, Multicultural Radio Broadcasting and Way Broadcasting Licensee — last year urged the FCC to keep the docket open until it resolved what to do about expanded-band AM stations. They have been waiting for answers on whether the agency still wants broadcasters to decide whether to turn in AM licenses for each of the regular band stations they are associated with, a decision that has been pending for two decades.
In a disclosure filing, the NAB says during the meeting with Bureau officials it also noted he vital role of AM stations in the security of our nation’s critical infrastructure and public safety and it encouraged the FCC to continue to consider ways to promote AM radio.
The FCC’s AM revitalization effort began in 2013, and under former Chair Ajit Pai the FCC greenlit proposals to allow digital-only AM stations, relaxed simulcast rules, and made a series of technical changes such as eliminating the AM “ratchet” rule that limited power. It also relaxed community coverage standards and brought updates to nighttime interference rules. Additionally, the effort voted to do away with the main studio rule, which helped all stations, but also worked to convince some operators to keep AMs on the air. The decision in December to keep the AM docket open suggests the current administration is examining new moves to help AM operators.
Seeing a potential opening, a coalition of 20 small and mid-size broadcast operators in January urged the Commission to reactivate and broaden the revitalization effort. The group wants the FCC to reinstate the relaxed FM translator relocation policy that a decade ago allowed broadcasters to secure translators from hundreds of miles away to give their AMs a pathway to FM listeners. The group calls it the “greatest accomplishment” of the FCC’s year-long proceeding geared toward helping AMs survive.
In 2016 and 2017, the FCC allowed certain classes of AMs to acquire existing FM translators within a then 250-mile radius and relocate them to any commercial FM channel for use as fill-in service within 25 miles of the AM transmitter site.
This time, the coalition has petitioned for critical revisions. They want the acquisition radius doubled to 500 miles. The operators also propose converting the translator window from a temporary filing period into a permanent rule, arguing that time-boxed opportunities invite spectrum warehousing and gamesmanship.
More than 1,000 AMs successfully acquired and relocated translators during the prior window a decade ago. Even so, supporters estimate more than a third of all AM stations still lack at least one companion FM translator.