HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS NEVER GIVE LEGAL I.Ds -EVER.

[nightfly61]

Has anyone ever heard a small market station that remembers to give a legal SOMETIME in the hour during high school sports? If I were a big market PD & was tuned in to some of these guys, that's be my first question.
When I board op-ed sports I'd at least try to bury one in a spot break between 10 'til or 10 after...but that's beside the point. Even college sports give legals at the top (and still lots of times bottom) of the hour. Are these guys so wrapped up in the thrill of a bunch of 15 year olds running around that they can't stay legal?

 

[markbohach]

Yes- at WLOH we give the ID every hour during HS football. You can listen to our game broadcast archives
if you don't believe it. www.wloh.net

MB

 

[xmusicmatt]

Has anyone ever heard a small market station that remembers to give a legal SOMETIME in the hour during high school sports? If I were a big market PD & was tuned in to some of these guys, that's be my first question.
When I board op-ed sports I'd at least try to bury one in a spot break between 10 'til or 10 after...but that's beside the point. Even college sports give legals at the top (and still lots of times bottom) of the hour. Are these guys so wrapped up in the thrill of a bunch of 15 year olds running around that they can't stay legal?

When I worked for a small market north of Columbus back in 1999 and board op'ed many High School sports events we did the legal id each hour (usually around 58: - 02: but yes it was done

 

[scottwmro]

Has anyone ever heard a small market station that remembers to give a legal SOMETIME in the hour during high school sports? If I were a big market PD & was tuned in to some of these guys, that's be my first question.
When I board op-ed sports I'd at least try to bury one in a spot break between 10 'til or 10 after...but that's beside the point. Even college sports give legals at the top (and still lots of times bottom) of the hour. Are these guys so wrapped up in the thrill of a bunch of 15 year olds running around that they can't stay legal?

If it's an AM station that has very low nighttime power or no nighttime authority at all, chances are you won't hear a legal i.d. They don't want to get caught or get some nasty letter from the station they are to protect, or the commission. I once worked at a FM station that it's sister AM carried a local college team, and when it came time to reduce power AND go do a narrow directional pattern, the board op would jump after the automatic switch was made to go from day power/pattern to night power/pattern, and switch it back to day. They were a Class B on a Regional Channel. This stuff goes on ever fall during High School Football Season.

 

[KevinFodor]

I think most legally operating stations do air a Legal ID, though it's probably done at "a natural break in programming", as the FCC rules specify. That means the commercial set during the time-out at :52 would qualify as that natural break where an ID could be aired.

But as scottwmro most likely correctly points out, if you are one of those AM stations that cheats and goes back to day pattern to broadcast your football games (illegal, yes...but what really are the chances you're going to get caught these days?), you surely don't want your call letters out there, now...do you?

Some station owners have even incorrectly told their employees (according to those on these boards) that it's legal for them to go back to day power to air high school football as it's the station covering "the local community". What bull!

The FCC should be looking at this stuff...as well as a whole bunch of FM stations who are overmodulating these days to the point of distortion on air. But, there's too few inspectors and too little time.