WFAN 660 AM HD Is Off

[davideduardo]

In the PPM world, you can't be counted as a simulcast unless you're 100% simulcast, but unless there's some local statute against it in NYC, I don't see why you couldn't do a 100% simulcast.

In the diary world, to be counted as a simulcast and eligible for Single Line Reporting, you also had to be 100% simulcast. Single line reporting was expanded about 8 years ago to include trimulcasts and beyond, too.

The FCC prohibited fulltime AMs from simulcasting on FMs effective the start of 1967; there were a number of waivers. I really don't know when it became OK to simulcast in the same market or, even, to do the kind of FM/FM or FM/FM/FM such as Big City did.

 

[davideduardo]

WFAN is not simulcasting their audio on a NY analog. It isn't allowed in a city the size of NY for commercial stations to simulcast AM & FM programing.

KTNQ, a 50 kw AM, simulcast with same-market FMs KRCD and KRCV in the Los Angeles MSA in the 2001-2003 period. That's market #2.

Mr. Fybush's observation that the issues is economics, not regulations, is the correct reason.

 

[blackgold]

Why don't we just shut off all the AM HD signals and put them on the HD3 channels on FM? They're much better than on AM HD.

 

[tomservo]

Why don't we just shut off all the AM HD signals and put them on the HD3 channels on FM? They're much better than on AM HD.

I think that's a fantastic (ha) idea.

Most of the AM HD operations are run by a few major radio corporations, who also have FM properties who are also running HD. I doubt there are more than a handful of AM's currently running HD that have no FM counterpart to latch on to.

 

[radiogooroo]

In the diary world, to be counted as a simulcast and eligible for Single Line Reporting, you also had to be 100% simulcast.

True, but I know of at least one AM/FM simulcast that had single line reporting and broke the simulcast regularly to carry different sports events on each station.

Like with a lot of situations, there's the right way, the wrong way and the way it actually happened. They were never busted as far as I know when the market was on diaries, and since going PPM they haven't broken the simulcast.

 

[davideduardo]

In the diary world, to be counted as a simulcast and eligible for Single Line Reporting, you also had to be 100% simulcast.

True, but I know of at least one AM/FM simulcast that had single line reporting and broke the simulcast regularly to carry different sports events on each station.

Arbitron pretty much depends on stations to report any infractions in diary markets. The purpose of single line reporting only allowing 100% simulcasts is to avoid liability for falsely reporting audience levels which might be used to determine rates on spots that might not be heard on one of the "simulcast" stations.

Like with a lot of situations, there's the right way, the wrong way and the way it actually happened. They were never busted as far as I know when the market was on diaries, and since going PPM they haven't broken the simulcast.

The PPM, of course, can tell what specific station or source it is detecting, and Arbitron cliams it verifies that the right code is on every signal / stream / subchannel. I don't know why, but I suddenly formed a mental picture of airborne porcine entities...