Program Origination for FM translators?

[RadioGuy1864]

From today's Radio Ink: https://radioink.com/2020/05/05/broadcasters-pressure-fcc-for-change/?

The Broadcasters for Limited Program Origination advocate that, to serve the public interest with increased program diversity, both FM booster and translator licensees should be allowed to originate limited amounts of programming instead of being required to re-broadcast only the primary station’s programming.

Something similar happened about a year ago in Toronto. CHIN AM had a translator on 91.9. They applied to the CRTC for program origination authority, and were granted it, effectively giving them a second FM station (in addition to CHIN FM 100.7) in the market. They only simulcast the AM limited hours overnight.

Those little translators might suddenly be worth a whole lot more. Thoughts?

 

[frankberry]

With program origination and separate revenue when they air commercials which are not on the AM station, they would no longer be translators.
There isn't enough ad revenue to keep many of the existing AM and FM stations in the black. This would make matters even worse.
Additionally, are there any format "holes" that these little signals could fill? I have my doubts.

 

[Groove1670]

With program origination and separate revenue when they air commercials which are not on the AM station, they would no longer be translators.
There isn't enough ad revenue to keep many of the existing AM and FM stations in the black. This would make matters even worse.
Additionally, are there any format "holes" that these little signals could fill? I have my doubts.

I am one of the groups on the proposal. It is for a certain amount of hours per week. For example, a translator would be allowed to cover a sporting event such as high school football in a market where a station isn't available. This would be good for the community, and generate additional revenue.

I would read the proposal.

 

[CTListener]

Additionally, are there any format "holes" that these little signals could fill?

Need you ask? Oldies, classic country, soft AC, standards, smooth jazz, classical, AAA, progressive talk ... am I forgetting any of the "usual suspects"?

 

[PTBoardOp94]

For example, a translator would be allowed to cover a sporting event such as high school football in a market where a station isn't available.

I think this is the most compelling programming reason I've heard for this. There are lots of AM stations with translators that air sports, and sports stations have conflicts all the time where they have to choose between, say a local high school basketball game or the NCAA Final Four.

It doesn't offend my sensibilities to permit translators to air different programming from their parent station for, say 5% of the broadcast week (about 8 hours), so long as the splits are in contiguous blocks of at least one hour.

 

[mofocat]

What programming is an independently owned translator in the commercial band allowed to run? Off air pick up of a lpfm or otherwise fed when translator is beyond the signal reach of the lpfm?

 

[b-turner]

From my reading of the rules you must simulcast the station you tell the FCC you are translating. There can be up to 30 seconds an hour to acknowledge funding of the translator (note I did not say commercial) and that applies, from my reading, to both commercial and non-commercial. The FCC allows you to change the station you simulcast with your translator. If, say, your translated station goes silent (and we're not talking a daytime only AM), your translator is silent too.

 

[louis_p]

From my reading of the rules you must simulcast the station you tell the FCC you are translating. There can be up to 30 seconds an hour to acknowledge funding of the translator (note I did not say commercial) and that applies, from my reading, to both commercial and non-commercial. The FCC allows you to change the station you simulcast with your translator. If, say, your translated station goes silent (and we're not talking a daytime only AM), your translator is silent too.

What are the requirements for FM translators of AM daytimers? Would the FM be required to power down at the end of the broadcast day?

 

[Kelly A]

This whole proposal is bogus, especially now with advertising revenue down 63% nationwide, this week alone.

Running separate spots on some translator different from the primary isn't going to move the needle. This is especially true on an FM booster. Could you imagine what that would sound like to a listening area overlapping the main signal? Or how about someone driving through the overlap zones? Neither spot would be intelligible.

Lipstick for an imaginary pig.

 

[b-turner]

I do like the idea of the AM owned FM translator originating programming if the AM license is turned in and the translator is considered a primary service. I ran numbers in a major metro based on AM versus FM radio listening. It was feasible that a translator covering 25% of the metro doing a mass appeal format with local news and information to achieve a higher number of listeners than an AM signal reaching 100% of the metro. I found that people residing in major metros tended to live and work in only a certain geographic portion of the metro meaning a fairly local station, aka, a suburban station, likely has a more reasonable shot at generating the needed revenue from small businesses or non-agency buys than the AM station with it's additional operating costs and likely less mass appeal format.

Some would argue that revenue would be an issue, but I personally know of several shopper/newspaper hybrids that are eclipsing $500,000 a year serving a suburban community and those dollars are from local businesses almost exclusively.

I understand the argument of full power broadcasters that paid dearly for their frequency, saying they bought their way in but the AMs are being handed a frequency.

 

[b-turner]

AM daytimers that have an FM translator can be on 24 hours. When the AM daytimer hits sunset, they can continue on the translator overnight. In that respect they can originate programming sunset to sunrise.