Well, since
@radiofan2023 and
@KeithE4 have brought it up, I'm going to repeat a prediction I made already in several other threads, although I do not necessarily think it will happen as quickly as within the next 12 months.
I agree that a significant number of standalone AMs (i.e.,
sans FM translator) will go permanently silent over the next few years. They will almost certainly be those with 5kW ERP or less, perhaps even some as high as 10kW ERP in markets where AM listening is approaching a level of non-existent.
The prime candidates for same will be the ones that are plugged into satellite-delivered formats. The ones that are considered "heritage", with local ownership and locally-originated programming, will hold on as long as they can, but I expect most of them either already have translators or will jump at a chance to acquire same.
And that brings me to what I have been saying for a couple of years now. The "AM Revitalization Act" which allowed for translators to rebroadcast AM stations was a misnomer ... it did
nothing to improve AM itself. I believe the FCC will see that, especially if the owners of such stations start lobbying Carr about it, and the following is (IMNSHO) the likely scenario:
- Translators will be allowed to transition to a new, contour protected, Class A0, provided they have an AM as their program origination source.
- The associated AM station will be required to go permanently silent and the license surrendered upon the licensing of the translator as a separate station. The call letters would be reassigned to the translator and would have to remain there for a set period of time before the licensee would be allowed to change them.
- The owners of the new Class A0 stations would also be subject to a minimum period of ownership after the transition before selling them to another operator. (This would not preclude format changes, as I don't want to reopen that can of worms in terms of FCC authority over same.)
- The transition period would have a fixed start and end date, after which all stations that did not convert to Class A0 would permanently remain Class D ... no "after the fact" applications for later conversion.
- This would not apply to translators which retransmit HD streams from FMs, because ... well, that has nothing to do with AM stations.
- After the transition, the remaining AM stations would be allowed to submit applications for power increases, directional pattern changes, and the like, based on what AMs were still on the air and requiring protection.
This would declutter the AM band, making the remaining stations (most of which I would expect to be licensed at higher power levels) more viable and less susceptible to skywave and groundwave interference.
BTW, if I may be permitted a second long-term prediction, I also think that at some point, the FCC will see the outdatedness of
§ 73.1201 and do away with the required call letters/community of license announcement each hour. We are one of the very few countries that still require that, and the FCC field inspectors don't need that announcement to do their jobs.
aptv.org
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www.latimes.com
