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Starting a Small Radio Station?
- Thread starter EMR_for_all
- Start date
As I've mentioned buying a station doesn't sound realistic at this point.
If there's a license between LP FM and full power commercial we might be interested in that, but even though people have kind of hinted at that, it doesn't sound like there is one
Interested in info, including contact info,on consultants but it's rural and I doubt there's one in this area. Do you just Google radio consultant? Really dont know what to look for, even or how much it costs to talk to one
No,notmad.. if im mad, you and everyone will know.
LPFM is limited to 100 watts at 100 feet or the equivalent thereof. If you go higher, you must reduce power. If a dude has an lpfm license, the application filed will specify his transmitter power output so theres no "talking about a 10 or 30 watt transmitter".. he knows what he needs.
Non commercial stations 88 to 92 can have more then 100 Watts at mroe then 100 feet but you need a filing window for that and nothings happening anytime soon.
Commercial stations 92 to 108 have license classes that re 6, 25, 50 and 100kw at certain heights, if you go above that you have to derate your power. Theres no filing window for commercial stations either and youll compete against others for those.
If you had an LPFM licens, the grant of a permit also specifies the height at which the antenna must go. IF you went up to 150 feet of tower, you'd probably be looking at powr under 50 watts,.
Yuo are, somewhat understandably thinking, because you arent expierenced, you can just do some of these things by simply asking the FCC or just willy nilly go and do it.
Some of what you can do and should do is specified on a license you already have and you've present things liek you just want to go and change.
I don't know your market, but there could be a non-commercial station for sale. Many Colleges/Universities are selling stations, could be something to look into.
If you go back and reread some of the responses to your earlier post, you will see that you have few options at present. First, new stations can only be obtained when there is a “filing window“ at the FCC during which time and only during which time can new stations be applied for. That covers every class of station.
People who do not know anything about the FCC, the technical side of broadcasting, and the business aspects (including legalities) truly must hire an expert to advise them. This is not something that can be learned through a couple of online questions because it is incredibly complex unless you have been in the business for a good while.
Here is an example of an area that you are obviously unfamiliar with. For FM stations of any class power and antenna height have a tight relationship. In brief, each class of service on FM has a maximum power at a particular antenna height. If you want to have a higher antenna height, you must, then, reduce the power to get the equivalent coverage area.
Without knowing what 2000 watt FM you are referring to, this could possibly be a Class A station that had to reduce power in order to have a higher antenna height. This is just one example of the complexity of engineering and licensing
Again, to proceed further, you truly need to hire an ex first, who can help you because your level of ignorance about everything from licensing to the technical aspects of Radio is very high. That does not mean that you cannot proceed with your dream, but you cannot do it with a couple of questions on this board.
While we may find an exception or two, if you are looking for a commercial band (92.1 and up) FM, think in the 6 figure range.
For a non-commercial station, there could be a facility that becomes available due to funding cuts or due to the lessened interest in radio at colleges. But you'd still need to form a non-profit corporation to even do that.
Remember, there is no such thing as one kind of "full power" FM. There could be one with a few hundred watts at a very high antenna, or one with 100,000 watts at 2000 feet antenna level.
Or there are "translators" which are lower power, but must "translate" another station or HD channel; they can't stand alone without a station or signal to "translate".
Or there are LPFMs. But they still require filing for a license in a "window" and, generally, having an adviser or attorney specialized in this.
For example, when I built my first station, a brand new 1,500 watt AM in 1964, the total cost in today's dollars was $240,000.
The consultants are traditionally in the Washington, DC, area to be near the FCC. Or they are simply located anywhere with today's electronic access. But before any of us might give you the name of one, you have to show that you can afford to proceed.
Even then, the seller will require the buyer to have counsel, acts of incorporation and some knowledge of radio to even start discussions.
(All this advice is null and void if your last name is "Güell")
Let's get some info. Where are you? What is the LPFM you mention? What area do you want to cover?
You mentioned KHCB in Houston. Why do you want to air their programming? How will you raise the money for your monthly expenses? KHCB gets dollars from listeners and the bulk of income from listeners goes to the special offers the national ministries include in their programs and KHCB gets a cut of that, not you.
What is the population base you propose to cover? Where do they listen to Christian programming now? What percentage want only music? Do you know what percentage of listeners that donate?
Now let's talk basics: What is a legal ID? Does it play on the air? When? What does it consist of? Let's use WXXX located in Greenville at 97.1. Show me the legal ID. Do that and I'll go further.
You mentioned KHCB in Houston. Why do you want to air their programming? How will you raise the money for your monthly expenses? KHCB gets dollars from listeners and the bulk of income from listeners goes to the special offers the national ministries include in their programs and KHCB gets a cut of that, not you.
What is the population base you propose to cover? Where do they listen to Christian programming now? What percentage want only music? Do you know what percentage of listeners that donate?
Now let's talk basics: What is a legal ID? Does it play on the air? When? What does it consist of? Let's use WXXX located in Greenville at 97.1. Show me the legal ID. Do that and I'll go further.
There's a lot of (probably inadvertent) negativity and gatekeeping here, and I would like to try to reset the conversation a little.
I *am* the sort of consultant you're looking for - my services include FCC filings, station brokerage and engineering, as well as sales for a radio automation software company. (And few of us are actually in DC anymore. We can do what we do from anywhere.)
Unlike what others here have said, most of us in roles like mine absolutely *do* want to be found easily, at least for a quick initial consultation. An important part of my business as a station broker is to try to expand the universe of potential station owners, in part so that the station sellers I work with can get the best deals possible for their stations.
The National Association of Media Brokers, of which I am a member, just met this week in Las Vegas and enjoyed an excellent presentation from the NAB's Broadcast Leadership Training program, which exists specifically to help would-be station owners get a toehold in the business.
So having said that, here are the questions I would start with if you emailed me for help:
What's the existing LPFM construction permit, and how long until it expires? At this point, anyone with an outstanding LPFM permit from the last window has less than a year to finish building it out.
As others have explained here, you can't just put up a taller tower for an LPFM. Beyond a certain limit (30 meters, but that's "above average terrain," not above ground), a height increase requires a power decrease. Either way, you get about 5-6 miles of decent coverage at the most. That's just the limitation of the LPFM service. And the choice of transmitter output power is determined by what's on your construction permit. It's also not something you can increase on a whim. In any case, a 30-watt rig won't be enough for you - and you need an FCC accepted model of transmitter, too.
If you want a service with greater coverage, and if you want to be a commercial operator, you need something other than an LPFM.
The good news is that there are lots of existing commercial stations for sale at prices as low as a few tens of thousands of dollars. But there's always a tradeoff. The less you spend buying a license, the more you're going to need to spend to improve whatever it is you're buying.
For less than $50,000, I can sell you a license for an AM station in a pretty big market. You'll get a transmitter and a little equipment with it, but you'll also need to relocate it to a new site. That's not impossible but it's not cheap, either. For $200,000, I can sell you a fully functional AM/FM combo in a nice small town, but you'll have to have a business plan to succeed the present owners and keep the sales that they've made personally over the years.
No matter what you're doing, you need a solid plan going in to understand all the expenses you need to be budgeting for. Music licensing, required equipment, engineering and maintenance, power bills - even for an LPFM, you need at least a few thousand dollars a month at the bare minimum. It's not an easy business to get started in, but many of us are ready to help if you're really in a position to take on the challenges.
I *am* the sort of consultant you're looking for - my services include FCC filings, station brokerage and engineering, as well as sales for a radio automation software company. (And few of us are actually in DC anymore. We can do what we do from anywhere.)
Unlike what others here have said, most of us in roles like mine absolutely *do* want to be found easily, at least for a quick initial consultation. An important part of my business as a station broker is to try to expand the universe of potential station owners, in part so that the station sellers I work with can get the best deals possible for their stations.
The National Association of Media Brokers, of which I am a member, just met this week in Las Vegas and enjoyed an excellent presentation from the NAB's Broadcast Leadership Training program, which exists specifically to help would-be station owners get a toehold in the business.
So having said that, here are the questions I would start with if you emailed me for help:
What's the existing LPFM construction permit, and how long until it expires? At this point, anyone with an outstanding LPFM permit from the last window has less than a year to finish building it out.
As others have explained here, you can't just put up a taller tower for an LPFM. Beyond a certain limit (30 meters, but that's "above average terrain," not above ground), a height increase requires a power decrease. Either way, you get about 5-6 miles of decent coverage at the most. That's just the limitation of the LPFM service. And the choice of transmitter output power is determined by what's on your construction permit. It's also not something you can increase on a whim. In any case, a 30-watt rig won't be enough for you - and you need an FCC accepted model of transmitter, too.
If you want a service with greater coverage, and if you want to be a commercial operator, you need something other than an LPFM.
The good news is that there are lots of existing commercial stations for sale at prices as low as a few tens of thousands of dollars. But there's always a tradeoff. The less you spend buying a license, the more you're going to need to spend to improve whatever it is you're buying.
For less than $50,000, I can sell you a license for an AM station in a pretty big market. You'll get a transmitter and a little equipment with it, but you'll also need to relocate it to a new site. That's not impossible but it's not cheap, either. For $200,000, I can sell you a fully functional AM/FM combo in a nice small town, but you'll have to have a business plan to succeed the present owners and keep the sales that they've made personally over the years.
No matter what you're doing, you need a solid plan going in to understand all the expenses you need to be budgeting for. Music licensing, required equipment, engineering and maintenance, power bills - even for an LPFM, you need at least a few thousand dollars a month at the bare minimum. It's not an easy business to get started in, but many of us are ready to help if you're really in a position to take on the challenges.
Thanks for a clarification. I was hesitant to post anyone's name in this case because I felt that I might be encourage a bunch of looky-loos to you and other experts.
For EMR_for_all I'd say that Scott is an ideal source: he has technical skills "just a lawyer" will not have. He has the administrative / FCC knowledge that you need, and he has business knowledge that will help understanding the local and state zoning and other permit needs. And he knows how to run and program a station.
"Jack of all trades, master of none" does not apply here. Scott has the skill set that will fulfill the whole spectrum of needs that you have.
On the other hand, some of us can give basic guidance, but little specific advice. In my case, I have run and programmed large market stations, often parts of groups. But for specific needs, my skill-set involves knowing who to call for advice in legal, technical and other areas where I am not qualified to give definitive advice. This is why you need Scott or someone like him.
But this becomes something you do not want to do online.
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Thanks for all the info, re read it and probably need to read it some more.
Best of luck to you as you explore all of this!
Scott is your 'go to guy'.
Here's a little advice from my end: It's all about money. Money is the tool that makes everything happen. There is never enough. The fatal mistake many make is stopping when there's enough to cover expenses. You will lose 20% of your income annually through no fault of your own. You want reserve dollars for emergencies and supporters dropping off. A station owner once said money to a radio station is comparable to gas for a car. Without gas, you can't get down the road. You just have a pretty chunk of metal that cannot move.
Radio has many paths of knowledge. An on-air person likely knows little about sales. Don't be suckered in by somebody saying they worked in radio now or at some point. Well rounded experience understanding how each job in radio functions and interacts is essential. Can you get a part-time gig at a local station?
Research all you can but don't listen much to friends. They will think like you and/or tell you what they think will encourage you but not what you need to hear.
Learn all you can. Becoming a Christian means a life of learning and growth. Radio is the same way.
Here's a little advice from my end: It's all about money. Money is the tool that makes everything happen. There is never enough. The fatal mistake many make is stopping when there's enough to cover expenses. You will lose 20% of your income annually through no fault of your own. You want reserve dollars for emergencies and supporters dropping off. A station owner once said money to a radio station is comparable to gas for a car. Without gas, you can't get down the road. You just have a pretty chunk of metal that cannot move.
Radio has many paths of knowledge. An on-air person likely knows little about sales. Don't be suckered in by somebody saying they worked in radio now or at some point. Well rounded experience understanding how each job in radio functions and interacts is essential. Can you get a part-time gig at a local station?
Research all you can but don't listen much to friends. They will think like you and/or tell you what they think will encourage you but not what you need to hear.
Learn all you can. Becoming a Christian means a life of learning and growth. Radio is the same way.