Look they, the daytimer/low power owners knew the terms of the license when they signed it on or took control. Smart operators have an agreement with the local cable-tv provider to carry the AM station's audio. Makes it a win win for everyone. The station, the cable op, and the listener. At a bare minimum streaming is effective as well. Plus the station operates within the terms of the license.
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AM stations on "High School Football" Power
- Thread starter nd2023
- Start date
R
rbrucecarter5
Guest
All I know is that - if a station I owned was stepped on by a distant station broadcasting high school football, or I was a listener and a station on football power interfered with something I was listening to, I would file an interference complaint with the FCC without a second thought. Stations know the terms of their license, if they are unwilling or unable to abide by those terms they should go off the air and surrender their license.
Sorry, I do not consider something as banal and inane as a football game to be "in the public interest". It is just a game, not vital news and information. If a station cannot survive on revenue generated through legal means, it probably needs to be put out of its misery.
Sorry, I do not consider something as banal and inane as a football game to be "in the public interest". It is just a game, not vital news and information. If a station cannot survive on revenue generated through legal means, it probably needs to be put out of its misery.
Perhaps I should've worded my earlier post better. Basically all I was saying is while I don't exactly condone "football power", I also don't really see any harm done as long as....and ONLY as long as...there are no broadcaster or listener complaints. I agree with rbrucecarter that I would raise bloody (heck) with the FCC if my station was getting stepped on, or if I was a listener being subjected to interference from some distant local event.
That's basically why I said the FCC should stop the practice....and punish appropriately....at the first verifiable complaint. Violation of terms of licence done at the broadcasters own peril. But as has been pointed out, we're mostly talking about roughly two hours programming one night a week on a lower powered stations during hours of (usually) little AM radio listening. I always stand to be corrected, but my guess is that the number any complaints is/would be small.
Banal and inane? IMHO so is "Dancing with the Stars", but it attracts an audience! Personally FWIW, I'm not a fan of high school sports myself (or DWTS, for that matter.)
Public Interest? Perhaps/perhaps not. Depends on the community, the station, and the audience. As I said in my post, my experience was that "sports booster" revenue enabled us to do more in other areas irrespective of whether Friday night sports could be considered pub serv in and of itself.
Put a station out of its misery? Again, it depends on the community. My rule of thumb has always been that more local content/more choices/more population segments being served are usually a good thing....as are enterprises that provide jobs.
Finally I have to say that Jay Walker makes a good point about streaming and entering agreements with local cable operators. I'd certainly want to choose that route first. So perhaps my view is colored by the fact my perspective is from a few decades ago when fewer of these options were available.
And a time when the small town local sports team was a bigger deal in the community. As was the small town all-local AM radio station.
But I do feel the industry should have bigger concerns than whether or not the station in South Podunk might be running at 500 watts day power for a couple of hours on a dozen or so Friday nights. Again....just my opinion. Nothing more. I have no skin whatsoever in this game.
That's basically why I said the FCC should stop the practice....and punish appropriately....at the first verifiable complaint. Violation of terms of licence done at the broadcasters own peril. But as has been pointed out, we're mostly talking about roughly two hours programming one night a week on a lower powered stations during hours of (usually) little AM radio listening. I always stand to be corrected, but my guess is that the number any complaints is/would be small.
Banal and inane? IMHO so is "Dancing with the Stars", but it attracts an audience! Personally FWIW, I'm not a fan of high school sports myself (or DWTS, for that matter.)
Public Interest? Perhaps/perhaps not. Depends on the community, the station, and the audience. As I said in my post, my experience was that "sports booster" revenue enabled us to do more in other areas irrespective of whether Friday night sports could be considered pub serv in and of itself.
Put a station out of its misery? Again, it depends on the community. My rule of thumb has always been that more local content/more choices/more population segments being served are usually a good thing....as are enterprises that provide jobs.
Finally I have to say that Jay Walker makes a good point about streaming and entering agreements with local cable operators. I'd certainly want to choose that route first. So perhaps my view is colored by the fact my perspective is from a few decades ago when fewer of these options were available.
And a time when the small town local sports team was a bigger deal in the community. As was the small town all-local AM radio station.
But I do feel the industry should have bigger concerns than whether or not the station in South Podunk might be running at 500 watts day power for a couple of hours on a dozen or so Friday nights. Again....just my opinion. Nothing more. I have no skin whatsoever in this game.
F
FreddyE1977
Guest
cyberdad said:
But they don't. Try running a two-watt pirate out of your bedroom for a couple of months and you'll find out.
C
cd637299
Guest
C'mon down to Miami-Ft. Lauderdale. Rent a car and turn on the FM....10 to 15 pirates easy. Hobby-killers.....
cd
(We've had a scant few on AM as well, but apparently no response from listeners...!!)
cd
cd
(We've had a scant few on AM as well, but apparently no response from listeners...!!)
cd
K
kenglish
Guest
What ever happened to "the Law, is the Law, is the Law"?
Ever walk out of the studios at 3:00 AM, to get something out of your car across the street? You can still get a Jaywalking ticket, even if there are no cars in sight (just a cop-car parked behind a bush down the street).
Ever walk out of the studios at 3:00 AM, to get something out of your car across the street? You can still get a Jaywalking ticket, even if there are no cars in sight (just a cop-car parked behind a bush down the street).
B
BigDave
Guest
I listen to High School football and it helps that where I live the games are broadcast on FM. ;D
K
kenglish
Guest
In this market, TV stations are doing High School Football on their sub-channels and even on main channels (even in HDTV).
Not that it helps people who are driving at the time, like on radio. ;D .
Not that it helps people who are driving at the time, like on radio. ;D .
F
FreddyE1977
Guest
Nick said:
My point was that the FCC was much more likely to turn on a pirate at the behest of local broadcasters
and the NAB (and pressure they both put on the local Congressman) than to get involved in a he said-she said spitting match between two licensed broadcasters.
How about this? I know of a station here in Virginia that is on AM primarily with an FM translator. On Friday nights, they split programming on AM and FM for added revenue. Can somebody say illegal?
Is the split programming 2 different high school football games?memoriesradio said:
I wonder how high school football is such a big money maker for AM stations. Is it really that popular that it can save an AM station from going under? My high school football games had maybe a few hundred in attendance on average, with a maximum of 1000 for the rivalry game with the other school in the district. I can't imagine a large radio audience, maybe a few hundred more people.
Small town radio does not need many listeners for local sports. Just need local advertisers. Everyone in town knows someone who plays or did play local sports. Business owners can be a part of supporting the local community. Especially good for out of town games. Ten games a year for $500.00 and if the station gets 30 to sign up, pays some bills.
I agree that high school football is important for small town stations. It's a great way to generate community involvement and it can also help with the bottom line.
What I don't agree with is bending the rules just because it's a licensed facility. If the license days you power down at night, or change pattern, I say you comply or turn in your license.
Licensed operators get mad if unlicensed community stations use long ground wires, and I think most of the time they are the ones who complain to the FCC. Yet they look the other way if they (or one of their competitors) bends the rules. That's wrong.
What I don't agree with is bending the rules just because it's a licensed facility. If the license days you power down at night, or change pattern, I say you comply or turn in your license.
Licensed operators get mad if unlicensed community stations use long ground wires, and I think most of the time they are the ones who complain to the FCC. Yet they look the other way if they (or one of their competitors) bends the rules. That's wrong.
B
BigDave
Guest
Nick said:
In Dalton,Georgia Dalton High School games were carried on 104.5 FM WYYU while Northwest Whitfield was carried 1230 AM WYYU
K
kenglish
Guest
How many stations are having to pay for the rights to the games?
When I was doing P.A. announcing in high school, back in the late 60's and early 70's, the schools were glad to get the exposure, and there would often be two local stations and the other town's station there, broadcasting live. The local TV stations would be there shooting 16mm film for the 11 PM news.
Around 1972 or so, the schools (probably the State Athletic Association) decided to start charging for rights. Suddenly, there were games that got no coverage at all. Only the biggest contests would warrant live broadcasts, and often there was only one (local) station.
Did it change?
When I was doing P.A. announcing in high school, back in the late 60's and early 70's, the schools were glad to get the exposure, and there would often be two local stations and the other town's station there, broadcasting live. The local TV stations would be there shooting 16mm film for the 11 PM news.
Around 1972 or so, the schools (probably the State Athletic Association) decided to start charging for rights. Suddenly, there were games that got no coverage at all. Only the biggest contests would warrant live broadcasts, and often there was only one (local) station.
Did it change?
F
FreddyE1977
Guest
Nick said:
I dunno. But it is now a regular Friday night feature of our 50,000 watt clear channel
legacy station that begins with a "K"
kenglish said:
It must have. I remember it the way you do, but where I grew up there were probably few games ever heard on AM (close to Chicago).
Seems they were on FM when finally available, but in that region football was heavily supported by the community and contests between towns was fierce.
In other areas, football is often just another school sport, not something a majority of the population is interested in.
I like the idea of Friday night High School Football on AM and the concept of someone at the transmitter site "forgetting" to reduce power.
Whoopsie.
I'm trying to think if I EVER heard high school football on AM back then. I don't think so, due to daytimers and prox to Chicago.
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