Tax-Free Radio?

[SirRoxalot]

The Seneca Nation of Indians bought a construction permit for a Class B1 FM from Randy (Ben Homel) Michaels. Randy-Ben-Chuck made a tidy profit, buying the allocation at auction for $108K, and selling it for $250K. The station is licensed to Little Valley, and will likely target Salamanca, which is actually on reservation land.

See the FCC filing here.

The Senecas are asking for an 18 month extension to the CP.

 

[ThePickleReport]

I saw that in the R&R filings a few days ago. It will be interesting to see how the station is used.

 

[weck1230]

Would the coverage include Ellicottville? I think that the "Aspen of the North" has enough activity that it could support a station.

 

[Play Freebird]

The predicted 57 dBu (protected service) contour of this CP does cover Ellicottville nicely:

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=FM1202041.html


however, due to terrain blockage, the predicted coverage of Jamestown and Olean appears optimistic, but the Senecas would be allowed to fill in those cities with translators, if any open channels can still be found.

I'll bet we hear a lot of spots for Seneca One Stop and the casino/hotels (within FCC limitations.)

Randy Michaels originally asked over $400k for this CP, which he upgraded from a Class A. I knew that the price would come down as the expiration date approached.

 

[SirRoxalot]

It looks like the signal would cover both Ellicottville and Salamanca nicely. It would also serve a chunk of I86, and most of Allegany State Park. As 219 is extended south, it may pick up more traffic on that route as well.

There are some interesting questions if the station is owned by the Seneca Nation of Indians. Do they have to conform to standard US broadcasting laws? If they are a separate nation, is the station then owned by a non-US entity?

 

[TheBigA]

There are some interesting questions if the station is owned by the Seneca Nation of Indians. Do they have to conform to standard US broadcasting laws? If they are a separate nation, is the station then owned by a non-US entity?

That is an interesting question.

The Navajo Nation owns KTNN-AM in Window Rock AZ.

The FCC rules are clear that only US citizens can hold a broadcast license. It's why Rupert Murdoch had to renounce his Australian citizenship. He had dual citizenship up til that point.

 

[fybush]

I'm not sure how it's handled internally at the FCC, but there are a fair number of tribally-owned stations out there. KTNN is by far the biggest of them; there are some large FMs in the Dakotas and northern Wisconsin and a bunch of smaller FMs scattered around the country. I'd guess there are as many as three dozen of them, most but not all noncommercial.

 

[JustPastBuffalo]

The separate nations issue came to mind when I first read of the sale of this CP to the Seneca Nation of Indians.

What particulary intrigued me, aside from the issue of governance, is the issue of territorial rights. The studio and transmitter may be located on soveriegn Indian territory, which could make for an interesting scenario if and when the FCC does an inspection of the facilities with regard to compliance of EAS, public files or something that might involve advertising of products restricted by FCC rules. Could the Seneca Nation deny representatives of the FCC access to their studios and offices? Speculative, to be sure, but given the Seneca's opposition to New York state's plans to tax the Seneca Nation's sales of cigarettes and cigarette products, entirely within the realm of possibility should matters heat up.

I happened to be in Ellicotville, Olean and Salamance a few weeks ago assisting a friend with field measurements relating to anothe rmatter. The topography of the southern tier may be a challenge to this new B-1. From what I've been told, there's not a lot of wiggle room for moving the transmitter/tower. Moving beyond the established FCC parameters would knock it down to a Class A. So perhaps the transmitter and tower won't be on sovereign Seneca Nation land, but the studio almost certainly will be.

The projected signal of the B-1 looks like it covers a lot of territory. Question is, how thoroughly will the signal penetrate or saturate the hills an' hollers of that coverage map.

 

[SirRoxalot]

I expect that there will be a lot of "you get in on the hill, but not in the valley" and "you get it on this side of the valley, and not on that side".

 

[Savage]

I would say it's a safe bet that the station would be found decisively under the jurisdiction of the FCC. The "sovereign nation" issue is in a state of perpetual litigation in New York, with liberal judges according the natives broad (yet still specific) governmental rights and the legislature taking them away. Along with more conservative denizens of the bench.

While state regulators dither over the "sovereignty" issue and play the political angle (imagine THAT in the Empire State? : ) you've probably noticed the Feds aren't interested. They just confiscated $17K worth of unstamped cigarettes being sold at a Native convenience store. ON a reservation. The case law pretty much seems to be leaning towards the Indians' most persuasive stance being, they can sell tax-free ciggies to each other, but not to us Europeans.

I think the Feds have little interest in the prospect of the Senecas plunking a "sovereign" full Class C FM, a full-power VHF TV on Channel 6 and a 50kw AM on reservation land somewhere - which is the precedent they could potentially set if the Commission allowed their field inspectors to be turned away.

 

[heydaybegone]

I'm sitting neutral on this topic (full disclaimer). But with a tad of minimal looking (out of curiosity) - I went to the KTNN website. Headed right for their EEO statement (gee wanna see where some Fed Requirements come into play?). Anyway, it doesn't look anything like the "standard" protocol I'm familiar with. Take a look! That's just the small stuff compared to what ya'all are embarking on. Save some clicks www.ktnnonline.com/. They do it a bit differently ;D

 

[SirRoxalot]

Done Deal

Taylor on Radio Info is reporting that the Senecas have complete the purchase of the CP from Randy Michaels. Randy made a tidy profit - Radioactive LLC paid $108K, sold for $250K. Randy was able to get the facility upgraded, according to Tom Taylor:

The Seneca Indian Nation is now the owner of Randy Michaels’ FM construction permit in western New York state. That’s a Class B1 at 105.9 licensed to Little Valley, and T-R-I told you that Michaels obtained Canadian help (from the CRTC) to let the magic beanstalk grow from a Class A to a B1.

The license is for Little Valley, with coverage likely to include Ellicottville, Salamanca, Gowanda (including both Seneca reservations in the area), with fringe signals in Bradford, Olean, and Jamestown.

Here's a link to the predicted coverage map, courtesy of "Play Freebird"

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=FM1202041.html

 

[Radio_bored-Op]

general Inquiry:

HEY-
Ya know its me, so...well, i will try my best:

About a decade ago, my friend and I were discussing the
"excitement" of a station signing on in springville, ny.
...this individual, (has alot of techincal info; but also very lofty, blurring
facts, and myth), or shall i say...what *would be * awesome...
versus, what could reeely happen....

.....He stated there was a....as he put it,
an avail.FM frequencey for Springville,
(he grew up there); and noticed the development
(of big name stores), banks, and the population
*appeared* to be increasing,(fact/fiction?) ...we reely
didnt know or care / lol....
after several discussions (in 1999)we agreed upon the perfect small town for
the format of a/c-or maybe hot-ac..after a while, we moved onto
some thing else and forget about a possible/NEW FM station in springville...

Until Now.

my inquiry:
is this Seneca-radio Operation,(? FM) and is this
freq. "Springville FM" station my friend was hinting at ?