How Did The Early FCC Decide Which Cities Got 50,000 Watt Stations?

[Gregg]

I know that at one point, 700 WLW Cincinnati had as much as 500,000 watts. But eventually 50,000 watts day & night became the max for North American AM radio stations. And having the right to a "clear channel" station, so you did not have to broadcast a directional signal unless you chose to, was even better. Canada and Mexico got a number of clear channel frequencies and the rest were distributed around the U.S.

So how did the FCC decide who got the most powerful signals? Or did the owner of a lesser power station simply apply for 50,000 watts and if he didn't interfere with anyone else, he got it? Clearly, the FCC had a hard time foreseeing the growth of the South and West. NYC and Chicago wound up with the most high powered stations. Who would have guessed that LA would become our #2 city? The FCC only gave LA 640 KFI and 1070 KNX. San Francisco, the biggest city in the West at the time, got 680, 740, 810 and 1100 but none was actually a clear channel station. Only 740 and 810 really cover the West, and they're shared with Toronto and Schenectedy NY respectively.

How many big Western and Southern cities got NO 50,000 watt stations? Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, Memphis, Phoenix, Tucson, Austin, Norfolk, San Jose, San Diego (although Tijuana has 2).

How many big Western and Southern cities only got one? Denver, SLC, Portland, KC, St. Louis, Atlanta, Houston, San Antonio, New Orleans, Vegas.

How many small cities got one they didn't deserve? Waterloo IA, Shreveport LA, Reno NV, Spokane WA, Lincoln NB, Wheeling WV, Ft. Wayne IN.

How did upstate NY get four? (Buffalo, Rochester, Schenectady, Albany... although Albany's 1540 on the Bahamas clear channel is so directional maybe I shouldn't count it?)





Gregg
[email protected]

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

Hi, Gregg- Someone recently posted almost the same question in another location of radio-info. You may enjoy reading what has already been posted on this topic:

RADIO PROS / The Business of Radio / Re: How were clear channels assigned?

 

[rickradio]

One question I've had for quite a while is:

How did the FCC decide on 50,000 watts for the maximum power? Why not 100,000? 20,000? 10,000? You get the idea...

 

[Ultimajock]

How many big Western and Southern cities got NO 50,000 watt stations? Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, Memphis, Phoenix, Tucson, Austin, Norfolk, San Jose, San Diego (although Tijuana has 2).

...although the Phoenix market now has one 24h 50kw signal (KMIK 1580 Tempe, the Radio Disney affiliate) and two 50k daytime/1k nighttime signals (KFNX 1100, the libertarian-conservitalker licensed to Cave Creek, and KPXQ 1360, the pseudoChristian yakker licensed to Glendale)...

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

How did the FCC decide on 50,000 watts for the maximum power?

I do not KNOW how or why that particular limit. Here in my GUESS. For that era when the decision was made, that may have been the practical limit for what could be built at an affordable price. There were a few owners like the WLW in Cincy that may have had unlimited depth of pocket, but at some point (50,000 watts?) the price had to start sky-rocketing and as a pure business play, not economically feasible.

 

[Hoosierky]

How did the FCC decide on 50,000 watts for the maximum power?

I do not KNOW how or why that particular limit. Here in my GUESS. For that era when the decision was made, that may have been the practical limit for what could be built at an affordable price. There were a few owners like the WLW in Cincy that may have had unlimited depth of pocket, but at some point (50,000 watts?) the price had to start sky-rocketing and as a pure business play, not economically feasible.

WLW ran 500,000 watts during WWII. http://www.oldradio.com/archives/stations/cinc/wlwpix.htm goes over the history, but the operation was monsterous with cooling lakes and the like. Ft Wayne's WOWO was owned by Westinghouse, so they had deep pockets.

 

[chuckydoll]

KQW in San Jose didn't move to 740 (as KCBS, San Francisco) until after WWII. KFBK in Sacramento didn't move to 1530 until after WWII.

KEX and WOWO didn't go to 50 kw on 1190 until after WWII. Same for KGA-1510 in Spokane.

Also, many stations with 50 kw fulltime were actually licensed Class II. This includes WRKO-680, CHUM-1050, KING-1090 and WNEW-1130.

To find out the historic Class I-A and Class I-B stations, dig up a Broadcasting Yearbook from the 60's or 70's.

 

[MikefromDelaware]

The first bit of information comes from this web site:
<a href="http://law.jrank.org/pages/4873/Broadcasting-History-Radio.html">Broadcasting - The History Of Radio</a>

"The success of radio produced problems as well. There was competition for frequencies and increased transmission power. The strongest AM stations have a power of 50,000 watts. At this strength, a station can be heard at night up to 1,000 miles away. The least powerful AM stations operate at 250 watts, which usually limits their range to one or two towns. Unregulated growth of the radio industry led in 1934 to the passage of the Communications Act (40 U.S.C.A. § 791). This act created the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (FCC), which replaced the FRC. The FCC began regulating broadcasting content. In the 1930s it banned over-the-air advertisement of hard liquor and lotteries."

The next bit of information comes from Wikepedia claiming these books as sources for the info. This is an interesting story.

The Radio Act of 1927
Galbi, Douglas (2002), "Revolutionary Ideas for Radio Regulation," Section II.A, Long-Run Decline in Administrative Enforcement (includes citations to print literature).
Hazlett, Thomas (1990), The Rationality of U.S. Regulation of the Broadcast Spectrum (discusses the controversy over the FRC and rent-seeking).

KFKB Milford, Kansas had been renewed several times by the Federal Radio Commission. It was one of the most popular stations in the nation. KFKB was owned by a surgeon who, among other things, espoused, over the airwaves, implanting slivers of goat testes in men's testicles for "sexual rejuvenation." The American Medical Association was very upset over a program in which he read listener mail describing symptoms, and then prescribed over the air, describing the medication by number. Listeners had to visit a Brinkley "kick back" pharmacy to fill these prescriptions. In 1930 the Federal Radio Commission denied his request for renewal. Dr. John R. Brinkley, KFKB's owner, appealed on the grounds of censorship. The U.S. Court of Appeals denied his appeal. The court ruled that the Federal Radio Commission (FRC) could consider past programming content without it being censorship. This, however, didn't stop the ever-popular Dr. Brinkley, who almost won the governorship of Kansas in 1928 by write-in votes. He simply beamed his programs to the United States over 100,000 watt XER from Villa Acuna, Coah, Mexico. This was twice the power of any broadcast radio station save one experimental 500,000 watt station WLW Cincinnati.[/u] Not to be outdone, Brinkley increased his power to 500,000 watts as well, as XERA, and used a curtain-array antenna to focus his signal northward.

The Radio Act of 1927 divided the country into five geographical zones. Each zone was represented by one of the five Commissioners. The 1928 reauthorization of the Radio Act included a provision, called the "Davis Amendment" after its sponsor Ewin L. Davis, that required each zone to have equal allocations of licenses, time of operation, station power, and wavelength. This greatly complicated things for the Commissioners; they were required to deny station applications to otherwise qualified candidates simply because the new station would put a particular state or zone over its quota. For example, the northeast had a greater population than the southwest, but was limited to the same number of stations as more sparsely populated areas. Likewise, many small communities in the southwest could have added a local station without increasing interference (because of their remoteness), but were prevented from doing so by the Davis Amendment.

 

[rickradio]

KQW in San Jose didn't move to 740 (as KCBS, San Francisco) until after WWII.

Actually, I believe KQW moved to 740 in 1941 as part of the mass U. S. AM radio frequency shift that took place in late March of that year. This was the same shift that moved KGO to its current frequency of 810 from 790, KYA to 1260 from 1230, KWG to 1230 from 1200, and so on. KFBK's old frequency is 1490, but I'm unsure of when they moved to 1530, although the frequency shift of '41 makes sense, as it would've made way for Petaluma's KTOB to hit the air in '47. Sacramento's other station, KROY, was (I believe) at 1210 before moving to 1240 in '41. Three Bay Area stations that stayed put were KSFO (560), KFRC (610), and KPO (680). KQW was at 1010 until the '41 switch. The 1010 frequency remained vacant until KSAY went on the air in the late 50s. KQW became KCBS in 1949 when CBS bought it, then through a deal worked out with with KSFO/KPIX, upgraded the power to 50,000 watts.

 

[davideduardo]

Actually, I believe KQW moved to 740 in 1941 as part of the mass U. S. AM radio frequency shift that took place in late March of that year.

You are correct. That was the change mandated by NARBA, the North American radio broadcast treaty. You can see pre and post NARBA lists and quite a few others in the listiings of complete scans of Stevenson's, White's and Radex at http://www.davidgleason.com/Radio_Archives.htm