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Explaining 1st and 2nd service

9

#905

Guest
I'm certain some of the contributors to this board have "been there and done that" when it comes to the FCC's 1st and 2nd service category in the awarding of a construction permit. How are they determined and how important are they?
 
1st service = first station licensed to a certain town. WFMS provides "first service" to Fishers (hah). WWFT provides "first service" to Lawrence under their CP.

If someone wanted to move, say, WCBK from Martinsville to Plainfield, they would probably have to provide evidence that Martinsville is adequately covered by other frequencies. As far as I know, WCBK is first service, and removing that first service would not be easy. Radio Disney already provides first service to Plainfield.
 
Service includes AM and FM, so in the case of an AM-FM combo like WCBK, the FM could be moved and the AM left behind (or vice versa given some of the crazy long distance moves for AM daytimers in the past few years). The remaining signal can also be a non-commercial station. I don't know if an LPFM is sufficient.
 
I didn't realize there was a WCBK AM, so I guess that was a bad example. Ah well.
 
First service and second service gives one "bonus points" when talking to the FCC. The FCC prefers to give licenses that will give a community first or second service - even when the real target of the signal is not that city.

Say that three applicants want to put the same signal on the same tower ...
One lists the major city that has several stations - let's just call them LOSERS.
The second applicant picks a nearby town with one radio station - they are second service.
The third applicant picks a town that no one has ever named as a city of license - they are first service.

Given the choice of providing first service to the second town or second service to the first town the FCC will give the license to the station offering first service. This only really applies to non-commercials as the FCC doesn't get a choice in the commercial band ... they get to hold an auction (eventually). Money wins.

Moving stations around has proven effective using the "first" and "second" service status. It still seems a bit fraudulent to me. The main studio rules are very lax ... the studios don't have to be in the city they serve. There isn't any real limit on content requiring the station to provide their named city with any better coverage than anywhere else they choose to serve.

BTW: Applicant's can't just pick a name off of the map. They do have to prove that their "city" exists and is independent of other cities.
 
Actually, I believe the AM in Martinsville is WMCB, 1540, and it simulcasts the WCBK programming.
 
Plainfield has NO first service. RDZ is in Carmel, KLU is in Castleton. Could a argument be made if someone was motivated!!
 
Nope. "Local service," in the FCC's current policy, refers to city of license, not studio location. So WRDZ is Plainfield and WKLU is Brownsburg, and you'd pretty much have to persuade the Commission to rethink its entire current allocations policy to change that.
 
Hoosierky said:
Plainfield has NO first service. RDZ is in Carmel, KLU is in Castleton. Could a argument be made if someone was motivated!!
Click to expand...

Fybush is correct (god he must be bored if he is surfing the Indiana board)

Notice what Charlie Morgan started (before he was treated like Daniel Pearl by Cumulus) with 104.5, 93.9 and 95.5 and the moving around of city of licenses was madness bordering on absolute genius. He got 93.9 from a class A 80/90 station on Arthur Sumrall's tower in Noblesville to almost a full class B in Beech Grove via a short stop at 38th and Mithoeffer.

#1-104.5 Change city of license from Indianapolis to Noblesville
#2-93.9 Change city of license from Noblesville to Fishers and move signal to 38th and Mithoeffer
#2.5 Buy 93.7 in Seymour, accept interference from 93.9 and downgrade to a Class A in Louisville downtown area and change freq to 93.9
#3 Change City of License for 95.5 from Indianapolis to Fishers
#4 Apply for and get upgrade to B1 status for 93.9, change City of License to Lawrence...but put tower in Beech Grove.

The boy knows his stuff.
 
DeVasher said:
Fybush is correct (god he must be bored if he is surfing the Indiana board)
Click to expand...

Keep in mind that the in-laws are in Fort Wayne...gotta keep an eye on what's happening out that way before we make the haul over there later this month!

And yes, Charlie Morgan did a brilliant job with the 93.9 upgrade. Great engineer, great guy.
 
Stop writing about this or Russ Oasis might get ideas!!!
Then Fort Wayne and everywhere else he's at will be reduced to scrap steel from all the wrecked towers!!!

I'm glad to see, though, that there are women here in Fort Wayne that are interested in the engineering type, like Mr. Fybush's lady. Just wish I could find one meself. Of course being employed helps too... :)
 
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