When listening to a radio liner, what determines the city of license? I ask because I recall back when 105.3 was the buzz, the linear would go WBZY Bowden, Atlanta. Well, WBZY tower is located off US Hwy 27 about 5 miles north of Newnan. Bowden is in western Carroll county is located at the Alabama border. Hell, even Carrollton would make better sense since the Carrollton is much larger than Bowden. Still would seem to make more sense to be Newnan/Atlanta. Until the upgrade, WALR is on the same tower but I don't think their city of license is Bowden. Can someone with more knowledge about this issue explain it better for me?
-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
City of License
- Thread starter acheron1982
- Start date
The city of license is supposed to be the city in which a radio station provides "local service" to. But in many cases (such as Bowden), it's not the city of license that the station really focuses on serving, as it is the nearest, larger location. The way it was explained to me, the FCC gave out a certain number of frequencies to communities all around the country. Once those cities' allocations were filled, operators that wanted to get into those cities used a nearby location as a way to get around it, pretending to offer "local service" to that locale. If anyone has a different story than mine, please tell.
The city of license definitions are just another way the FCC doesn't see the forest from the trees. For example, WKHX-FM ID's as Marietta/Atlanta. (From what I understand, once a station mentions its COL, it's allowed to add other locales reached.) Yes, they originally were a Marietta station, WBIE-FM. But frankly, their target geography is the Atlanta metro, their transmitter site is in Atlanta, and their signal is strong across the metro. WSTR-FM is licensed to Smyrna and ID's as Smyrna/Atlanta; same story as WKHX.
A relaxation of rules in 1989 led to a slew of move-ins around the U.S. The idea was to move away from the city of license toward the market the station wanted to target, but that a city-grade signal still had to cover the city of license. 104.7 was originally an Athens station so when it moved to target Atlanta, it could only move far enough so the city of license would not lose its city grade signal. But WFSH-FM obviously targets the Atlanta market and doesn't care about Athens.
My opinion is if a station such as 95.5, 97.1 or 104.7 is allowed to move from its COL, it should be able to move as far as it can without interfering with another station. Once it moves, it does nothing for its original city of license. The FCC is just fooling itself.
A relaxation of rules in 1989 led to a slew of move-ins around the U.S. The idea was to move away from the city of license toward the market the station wanted to target, but that a city-grade signal still had to cover the city of license. 104.7 was originally an Athens station so when it moved to target Atlanta, it could only move far enough so the city of license would not lose its city grade signal. But WFSH-FM obviously targets the Atlanta market and doesn't care about Athens.
My opinion is if a station such as 95.5, 97.1 or 104.7 is allowed to move from its COL, it should be able to move as far as it can without interfering with another station. Once it moves, it does nothing for its original city of license. The FCC is just fooling itself.
The station's city of license is the first city mentioned after the call letters in the ID. Usually, the city immediately follows the call letters, but it's permissible to insert certain specific other pieces of information. (frequency, ownership, etc.) It is NOT permissible to insert any other city.
You can say pretty much anything you want either after or before the call letters/city sequence. Including the names of other cities. "WSTR-FM, Smyrna-Los Angeles" would be perfectly legal. (though very optimistic
) You can also say pretty much anything you want at any time during the hour except during the ID. "WSTR-FM, Chicago" would be fine as long as you say "WSTR-FM, Smyrna" on the hourly ID. And since the FCC now ignores the requirement that the hourly ID be as close to the hour as possible, you can't really predict when you'll hear the ID with the *real* city of license.
WBZY didn't choose Carrollton or Newnan because the FCC wouldn't have approved those changes. They want a move to create a "favorable arrangement of allotments". Generally this is accomplished by moving a station from a city that will still have several other stations to one that doesn't have any. Carrollton already had three stations (WUWG 90.7, WBTR-FM 92.1, WLBB 1330); Newnan had at least two. (WNEA 1300 & WCOH 1400. WWLG 96.7 was once licensed to Newnan as well, although I think it moved to Peachtree City before WBZY applied to move)
Basically, to get the move approved, WBZY had to find some community that didn't already have a radio station. *
WALR's city of license is Palmetto. It was originally a La Grange station.
The location of the tower has little to do with any of this. The FCC requires that the tower be located close enough to the city of license to provide a "city grade" (70dBu) signal across that city. And they require that it be located such that the station doesn't interfere with any existing stations. (and that the FAA doesn't get bent out of shape about hazards to aircraft) Otherwise, they really don't care where it is.
* It should be noted that the FCC has recently begun to consider a move to a city in a metropolitan area to be a move to that metropolitan area. IOW, if Bowden is in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area, moving from Macon to Bowden wouldn't be approved. It was announced today that an attempt to move a station into Des Moines, Iowa (technically, "Johnson", Iowa) has been stalled for this reason.
WSTR (formerly WKXI and WQXI-FM) is still licensed to Smyrna.
WSBB (formerly WNGC, WYAP, and WBTS) was originally Athens but moved to Doraville with their move-in.
WSRV (formerly WFOX) is still licensed to Gainesville, as is WYAY (formerly WWLT and WWID).
WNNX (formerly WWWQ and WHMA) was originally licensed to Anniston, AL (!) before moving to College Park. Probably holds the record for the longest move-in in ATL.
WKHX (formerly WBIE-FM) is still licensed to Marietta.
WALR (formerly WLAG, WJYF, WYAI, and probably others) was originally LaGrange but moved to Greenville, GA before moving to Palmetto.
WFSH is still licensed to Athens.
WBZY (formerly WYAI--no relation to the WYAI at 104.1--and WMAX and WLCL) is still licensed to Bowdon (IIRC that Bowdon was the original city of license), even after a frequency move from 105.5. It was a brand-new station about 10 years ago.
WWVA-FM (formerly WCHK, WGST-FM, WMXV, and WLCL) is still licensed to Canton, even after a frequency move from 105.5.
WNGC (formerly WSTE and WLET and WZLI) was originally Toccoa and is now Arcade.
All the stations still with their original city of license still city-grade those cities. The ones that changed moved in far enough to require a new city of license.
There are other weird aspects, such as WCNN being licensed to the currently-nonexistent city of North Atlanta (disincorporated in the 1960s before 680 took to the air as WRNG) and the FCC not allowing WCNN to change it to Atlanta, and the FCC disallowing a station to be licensed to Sandy Springs for not being incorporated, while allowing a station to be licensed to unincorporated Mableton (WPZE).
WSBB (formerly WNGC, WYAP, and WBTS) was originally Athens but moved to Doraville with their move-in.
WSRV (formerly WFOX) is still licensed to Gainesville, as is WYAY (formerly WWLT and WWID).
WNNX (formerly WWWQ and WHMA) was originally licensed to Anniston, AL (!) before moving to College Park. Probably holds the record for the longest move-in in ATL.
WKHX (formerly WBIE-FM) is still licensed to Marietta.
WALR (formerly WLAG, WJYF, WYAI, and probably others) was originally LaGrange but moved to Greenville, GA before moving to Palmetto.
WFSH is still licensed to Athens.
WBZY (formerly WYAI--no relation to the WYAI at 104.1--and WMAX and WLCL) is still licensed to Bowdon (IIRC that Bowdon was the original city of license), even after a frequency move from 105.5. It was a brand-new station about 10 years ago.
WWVA-FM (formerly WCHK, WGST-FM, WMXV, and WLCL) is still licensed to Canton, even after a frequency move from 105.5.
WNGC (formerly WSTE and WLET and WZLI) was originally Toccoa and is now Arcade.
All the stations still with their original city of license still city-grade those cities. The ones that changed moved in far enough to require a new city of license.
There are other weird aspects, such as WCNN being licensed to the currently-nonexistent city of North Atlanta (disincorporated in the 1960s before 680 took to the air as WRNG) and the FCC not allowing WCNN to change it to Atlanta, and the FCC disallowing a station to be licensed to Sandy Springs for not being incorporated, while allowing a station to be licensed to unincorporated Mableton (WPZE).
jabba17 said:
I stand embarrassedly corrected! The 105.3 in Macon is still in Macon, moved to 105.5 (and reduced power) at the same time the Bowdon station moved to 105.3 & increased power.
FCC-CDBS suggests Bowdon was indeed the initial city of license, with the initial application filed in October 1991 and the license-to-cover in 1996. I note 105.5 was allotted to Cartersville in the initial 1964 table. (there was no channel allotted to Bowdon) Since it couldn't have been allotted to both cities at the same time, it had to move at some point.
Yeah, their definition of a "community" is a bit vague & dynamic... In general they have not required a city-of-license to be incorporated as long as the applicant can show some kind of cohesiveness as a community. Two stations up here (Clarksville, Tennessee) are licensed to Fort Campbell, Kentucky. There is no such city -- it's a military base. (but one that's large and cohesive enough that it's reasonable to call it the city-of-license for a radio station)
It's very possible the reason for denying Sandy Springs was not because it wasn't incorporated, but because the applicant couldn't show that it really existed as a community...
Chances are the FCC won't allow WCNN to change its city of license to Atlanta because it can't provide a city-grade signal (at least at night) across enough of the city. They could probably find some other small community up there to which they deliver enough signal, but since there's a fee for changing your city-of-license, and because the FCC doesn't seem to be interested in forcing them to change it, they probably don't see the point. ($2,685 if I'm reading properly, plus legal fees)
I did look up North Atlanta on Wikipedia; it redirects to Brookhaven, Georgia and notes that there's a reincorporation movement going on up there. So maybe North Atlanta will exist again, under a different name?
WCHK now WWVA in Canton was originally at 105.5. That was probably the original Cartersville allotment, Cartersville and Canton being pretty close. Where is this "initial 1964 table"--I'd like to see that.w9wi said:
When WYAI (Bowdon) started up, they used a "Y105.5" logo that looked identical to the original logo for Y106 and Y104 (the original WYAI out of LaGrange). They moved in, upped power, and changed frequency about 10 years ago. From what I remember, WYAI (Bowdon) came on the air after WCHK moved from 105.5 to the current 105.7, making room on 105.5 for a small class A FM. The timeline of the Bowdon station suggests that it was contingent on the WCHK move.
I see your point about Sandy Springs. At the time, the boundaries of Sandy Springs were still being discussed, while North Atlanta and Mableton were and are still both US Census CDPs.
WCNN looks like it city-grades all of the ATL city limits at night: http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WCNN&service=AM&status=L&hours=N
The real question about the possible Brookhaven incorporation is would the FCC force WCNN to change (or automatically change?) their city of license to Brookhaven? Brookhaven would indeed be a reincorporation of North Atlanta, as Brookhaven as proposed would encompass all of the old city of North Atlanta.
Jabba, when WSBB (then WNGC) moved in, it was still licensed to Athens. The tower was off route 81 south of route 316. Then when it moved to the 97.1 tower, I believe Athens was still the city of license. Somehow, Cox was able to get it changed to Doraville, the purpose being an eventually move into Atlanta since it would still city-grade Doraville.
I don't know how, but somehow the change in COL for 104.1 from LaGrange to Greenville had to do with Cox's grand scheme to move 95.5 into Atlanta. As far as Palmetto goes, that's based on the construction permit to move to the 107.9/96.7 tower. I heard there was a zoning issue with increasing the current tower's height very slightly.
I don't know how, but somehow the change in COL for 104.1 from LaGrange to Greenville had to do with Cox's grand scheme to move 95.5 into Atlanta. As far as Palmetto goes, that's based on the construction permit to move to the 107.9/96.7 tower. I heard there was a zoning issue with increasing the current tower's height very slightly.
Under the old 25 mile rule, the original 105.5 allocation at Cartersville was moved to Canton and used for WCHK-FM. This was done in many places. The 92.1 at Jackson was originally allocated to Covington, the old 96.7 at Cochran was first assigned to Eastman and the 101.7 in Warner Robins was a Hawkinsville allocation.jabba17 said:
The allocation of 105.5 at Bowden was created after WCHK-FM moved to 105.7 and upgraded.
The upgrade of WYAI/Bowden from 6kw on 105.5 to 100kw on 105.3 was very costly. In order for this to happen, WDEN/Macon had to be paid to downgrade from 100kw on 105.3 to 25kw on 105.5. I’m told that cost $10m. Also, WQSB/Albertville, Alabama was paid to downgrade to 50kw on 105.1. That price tag on that was reportedly $3m.
Interesting thread - it has always intrigued me over the past 20 years or so at all of the "chess moves" involved in moving some stations around - particularly where multiple owners are involved. It makes my head spin. I live near Asheville, NC, and one of the newer FMs in Asheville (licensed to Weaverville) was moved several years ago from Tazewell, TN some 90 miles away. Regarding the qualifications for an "unincorporated" COL that have been discussed here, does it least need a Post Office - a zip code - or does that matter?
Eric
Eric
Re: 680 "North Atlanta"
There is a Neal Boortz aircheck on grhof.com featuring Boortz signing off WRNG, from 1979. I am not positive but I don't think WRNG had moved to the Peachtree Corners array by that time, if for no other reason than a directional signal probably would have eliminated the need for a signoff.
Now, if your question is why they haven't sold the calls to someone else, that's a good question.
I am not positive but WRNG had the North Atlanta CoL from day one, when they were a daytimer with a single tower. I think the tower was actually in Brookhaven (North Atlanta), not the current array in Peachtree Corners (which is going to be incorporated on July 1).DomQuinn said:
There is a Neal Boortz aircheck on grhof.com featuring Boortz signing off WRNG, from 1979. I am not positive but I don't think WRNG had moved to the Peachtree Corners array by that time, if for no other reason than a directional signal probably would have eliminated the need for a signoff.
They picked up the WCNN calls when they were simulcasting the CNN Headline News audio in the early 80s (after flipping from talk Ring Radio). Except for a brief stint in the late 80s as a nostalgia station with the calls WGTW ("Stardust 68"), they have retained the WCNN calls ever since.Hotseat said:
Now, if your question is why they haven't sold the calls to someone else, that's a good question.
In the mid-90s, WEND in Charlotte ID'ed for a short while as "WEND Charlotte-Dallas-Denver-Cleveland" because the last three are some small towns in their coverage area.w9wi said:You can say pretty much anything you want either after or before the call letters/city sequence. Including the names of other cities. "WSTR-FM, Smyrna-Los Angeles" would be perfectly legal. (though very optimistic
From what I heard, the FCC made them quit. I guess they got too big for their britches or something?
Then for a short while around that time, WTHZ (94.1 Lexington) was using liners saying "WHTZ Hitz 94" but ID'ed as "WTHZ Lexington." So it's hard to tell what the FCC really thinks sometimes...
There used to be a station on 920 in Lexington Park, which is in southern Maryland. The station, WPTX, used to ID as WPTX Lexington Park, Hollywood, California. Both Hollywood and California are small towns nearby in St. Marys County, Maryland.
That sounds like a station trying to improve their recognition in the Arbitron diaries by covering all the bases as to how someone might jot them down, although if there were no other station to be confused with I am not sure if it would matter. Would Arbitron ding a station for someone transposing the call letters if it wasn't ambiguous?quadraphonic said:Then for a short while around that time, WTHZ (94.1 Lexington) was using liners saying "WHTZ Hitz 94" but ID'ed as "WTHZ Lexington." So it's hard to tell what the FCC really thinks sometimes...
I'm thinking of the old "Warm 99" controversy in ATL from 30 years ago, where Arbitron dinged WRMM Warm 100 because "Warm 99" (as people were prone to entering the station in diaries) could have been confused with competing AC "WSB 99FM", as WSB-FM went by at the time. Warm 100 became Warm 99.7 to address that, Cox sued Susquehanna, Cox lost, and WSB 99FM became B98.5.
Probably the single event that affected the future Q100 more than any other.
eacalhoun1 said:
I haven't been able to get a clear understanding of that. I remember when Q100 moved into Atlanta, they originally wanted to use Sandy Springs as a COL, but couldn't because it wasn't an incorporated community. At the same time, Gluckstadt, MS, (near Jackson) is currently a COL for Y101 (WYOY), but isn't an incorporated community. In fact, Gluckstadt residents and businesses have Madison addresses.
- Status