Thinking of getting into the business...

[TheMakdaddi]

Hello all; I'm looking into the details of starting a new commercial FM radio station (I apologize if this isn't the right board to post this on). I've spent a lot of time perusing the boards here and the FCC website trying to figure out all the permits required. I've read a handful of books on the subject (Started with 'The Radio Station' by Michael C Keith) and have learned quite a bit in the process but am still stumped on a few issues. Is there anyone here that could answer some questions for me?

For starters:
1. On the FCC 'How to apply for a broadcast station' page, it lists several forms & applications that must be submitted but it makes my head spin every time I read it, trying to figure out what order it all has to be done in. The Allotment first, the CP first, an auction?!....
2. How is the market-size determined? (i.e. for any applications that need to know the area I would like to broadcast to...).
3. How do I determine what I need my ERP to be?
4. Disregarding what the FCC site 'suggests' as a typical lead-time, what tends to be the time-frame on getting all of the necessary permits required to start construction of the transmitter site and what does it typically cost (not the equipment, but the cost of the permits & other fees to the FCC)?

I'm sure my lack of knowledge of RF is shining bright to anyone reading this. I have a (somewhat) technical background but RF definitely isn't part of it...yet.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

> Hello all; I'm looking into the details of starting a new
> commercial FM radio station (I apologize if this isn't the
> right board to post this on). I've spent a lot of time
> perusing the boards here and the FCC website trying to
> figure out all the permits required. I've read a handful of
> books on the subject (Started with 'The Radio Station' by
> Michael C Keith) and have learned quite a bit in the process
> but am still stumped on a few issues. Is there anyone here
> that could answer some questions for me?
>
There are exceptions, but for all practical purposes, you are not going to bile for a new station, and get permission to build a new station. The dial is crammed pretty full, are for those few locations where a new operation might be squeezed in, the "very sharp people" who are in this business already and know all the rules and standard operating procedures will squeeze in ahead of you. That's the bad news. We can still answer some questions for you and help you learn.

If you want to be in the business, are you willing to do it somewhere else, or are you tied to a place, a city, a community where you want to be and remain? If you are flexible, think about buying an existing station.

Think about working for a existing station. It is a lot easier to learn about something you have you hands on, and you pick up answers and tips from your fellow workers.

If you are bound and determined to get a new station in a community you already have picked out, plan on finding a Consulting Engineer to does applications for people and be prepared to lay some money on him.

For some of us to point you to a consultant who specializes in your area, we probably need to know a hint of where you are, where you are interested in starting this station.

 

[TheMakdaddi]

Thanks for the post. I ran across some marketing material from a company called 'Sterling Communications' last night; it looks like they're the kind of consulting firm I need to contact.
The market we're considering is about 60 miles north of Tampa, FL (on the gulf-coast). We primarily just want to cover two counties that have a combined population of about 250,000. There are no local commercial FM stations that are located in either of the counties, but most of the Tampa & Orlando stations broadcast over the area we're interested in.
Do you have any recommendations for a consultant that can help me in that area?

 

[THEInsultant]

> Thanks for the post. I ran across some marketing material
> from a company called 'Sterling Communications' last night;
> it looks like they're the kind of consulting firm I need to
> contact.
> The market we're considering is about 60 miles north of
> Tampa, FL (on the gulf-coast). We primarily just want to
> cover two counties that have a combined population of about
> 250,000. There are no local commercial FM stations that are
> located in either of the counties, but most of the Tampa &
> Orlando stations broadcast over the area we're interested
> in.
> Do you have any recommendations for a consultant that can
> help me in that area?
>

Ron Rackley of du Treil, Lundin and Rackley, Inc. Sarasota, FL.

http://www.nab.org/conventions/radioshow/2005/participantbio.asp?id=10342

http://www.dlr.com/

He's one of the smartest guys I've ever seen, and he's in your neighborhood, so to speak.

Good Luck!

<P ID="signature">______________
--- THE Insultant ---</P>

 

[Tom_Desmond]

> The market we're considering is about 60 miles north of
> Tampa, FL (on the gulf-coast). We primarily just want to
> cover two counties that have a combined population of about
> 250,000. There are no local commercial FM stations that are
> located in either of the counties, but most of the Tampa &
> Orlando stations broadcast over the area we're interested
> in.

Be prepared to spend a lot of money and many years trying to get anywhere with this, assuming that there are any open FM frequencies to be found in your area.

The basic process:
1. Do a "frequency search" to see where (and if) a new station can be fit into the FCC's table of allotments
2. Submit a "petition for rulemaking" to the FCC to get this frequency assigned to your community
3. If you're successful, the FCC will grant your petition and assign the channel. You will not, however, be allowed to apply to actually build the station until the FCC sets its next FM spectrum auction. That could be a matter of months...or it could be a matter of years. Some of the frequencies being auctioned off this fall were originally allocated through this process in the late nineties.
4. When the spectrum auction happens, you will have to compete with anyone else who is interested in bidding for the frequency that you found.
5. If the allotment really has the potential to cover a quarter of a million people, be prepared to see the bidding in the auction go very, very high. If you don't own any other stations, you'll get a 35% credit off of whatever you bid -- but even with the discount, you may well end up shelling out a million bucks just to get the permit to build the station.
6. If you prevail at the auction and the FCC grants you the construction permit to build the station, you'll have three years to build it and get on the air.

That's the basic process...

 

[radioboy]

> > Thanks for the post. I ran across some marketing material
> > from a company called 'Sterling Communications' last
> night;
> > it looks like they're the kind of consulting firm I need
> to
> > contact.
> > The market we're considering is about 60 miles north of
> > Tampa, FL (on the gulf-coast). We primarily just want to
> > cover two counties that have a combined population of
> about
> > 250,000. There are no local commercial FM stations that
> are
> > located in either of the counties, but most of the Tampa &
>
> > Orlando stations broadcast over the area we're interested
> > in.
> > Do you have any recommendations for a consultant that can
> > help me in that area?
> >
>
> Ron Rackley of du Treil, Lundin and Rackley, Inc. Sarasota,
> FL.
>
http://www.na> b.org/conventions/radioshow/2005/participantbio.asp?id=10342
>
>
> http://www.dlr.com/
>
> He's one of the smartest guys I've ever seen, and he's in
> your neighborhood, so to speak.
>
> Good Luck!
>
We have used Ron Rackley as well, and he is one of the best.
He helped us with some engineering issues up in North Florida, and designed
a diplexed tower here to get two AM stations on one tower.<P ID="signature">______________
..broadcasting from the land of bent towers, flooded studios and wind...Florida!!</P>