What if: No more dinky AMs

[johnbasalla]

I notice, and am occasionally frustrated by the fact, that in the area of the large market I'm in, there are only 3 local AM stations that have consistently good coverage 24/7. One of those 3 works good for me, but their nighttime pattern and lowered power is such that I know a good chunk of the market can't hear them clearly after sundown. Excluding the daytimers, there are a total of 7 AM stations.

How much better or worse would it be for AM radio listening and business if only the 50,000 watt blowtorches were allowed on their frequencies 24/7 - meaning they would all be non-directional 24/7 - and for frequencies without a 50,000 watter, they all would have strong enough signals to easily cover their total service area without, or with less chance of, nighttime interference.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

What you are proposing is something that you feel would be good for YOU.

What about those of us who live in smaller communities within rock-throwing distance of a metro market. We have all lost our FM stations that have two-stepped their way into the big city to swim in "the deep end of the pool" money-wise. Let me counter your proposal. Let's turn off all 50kw stations and sprinkle a new version of "grave-yard stations" into rural America and metro-fringe America. Instead of 1 kw like the current grave-yard stations, give them all maybe 2.5 or 5 kw.

So. Is your proposal good for America? Is your proposal good for radio? Or is your proposal good for YOU. What looks like a great idea for you.... where you live.... might look like a big peach basket full of North Georgia chicken manure to some people.

Being the FCC is not an easy task.

Long live the dinky AMs.

 

[Nostalgia]

What about those of us who live in smaller communities within rock-throwing distance of a metro market. We have all lost our FM stations that have two-stepped their way into the big city to swim in "the deep end of the pool" money-wise. Let me counter your proposal. Let's turn off all 50kw stations and sprinkle a new version of "grave-yard stations" into rural America and metro-fringe America. Instead of 1 kw like the current grave-yard stations, give them all maybe 2.5 or 5 kw.

Long live the dinky AMs.

My Hero!

 

[johnbasalla]

I brought up the question primarily for discussion purposes. There are a couple of smaller, outside market stations that I can get during the day that I wish I could hear clearly at night. I will share the opinion that the interference problems at night on the AM band are pretty serious. I wish something could be done about it. I think it would be good for AM radio and for business. However, I understand the other point of view.

 

[w9wi]

How much better or worse would it be for AM radio listening and business if only the 50,000 watt blowtorches were allowed on their frequencies 24/7 - meaning they would all be non-directional 24/7 - and for frequencies without a 50,000 watter, they all would have strong enough signals to easily cover their total service area without, or with less chance of, nighttime interference.

An enormous amount of time & money was spent on that question in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s... (there's a boxful of correspondence in our transmitter building regarding attempts to prevent the licensing of additional stations on the Class I-A clear channels in the 1960s...)

Do you run very high powers non-directional & expect people outside the largest cities to listen to 500kw out-of-town stations? Or do you limit power to something less than 50kw and try to provide a local station for everyone? IMHO in the 1960s the high-power option made more technical sense, but it was politically impossible. (many states didn't have a I-A clear. Every state has two Senators and at least one member in the House -- and dozens of daytime-only stations demanding those Congressmen find them a way to stay on at night...)

Today it's probably a wash. It takes more than 50kw to force a signal through the noise in most indoor (and too many outdoor) locations, but even with 500kw you probably can't serve an indoor listener in Springfield, Illinois from a Chicago-area transmitter. (and if you run all the I-A clears to 500kw, you're not going to be able to provide any 50kw local stations in Springfield)

I kinda wonder if the technical solution is distributed transmission -- providing multiple relatively low-powered (1-5kw) transmitters, on carefully synchronized frequencies, spread around the market? But the expense of building & maintaining those transmitters is probably impractical. (and NIMBYism would probably make it impossible regardless of cost)

I think over the next ten years or so, many of the "dinky AMs" will be going away on their own.

_________________________________________________

I will share the opinion that the interference problems at night on the AM band are pretty serious. I wish something could be done about it.

Absolutely. Unfortunately, the band simply isn't wide enough to accommodate the stations there. Really the only way to fix it is to revoke ~80% of existing licenses, and that's politically impossible.

 

[smedge2006]

This issue will probably solve itself, as mentioned above, with those "dinky AM's" going off the air.
The real issue is how 50 kW stations are allocated.

In the 1930's and 1940's, when the current system was set up, those stations were heavily concentrated in the northeast quadrant of the continental U.S. (Mississippi River to Atlantic Ocean, Ohio River to Canada). A map produced by the advocates of no locals on the Class A frequencies (as they are now known) in the early 1960's showed a block of uninterrupted nighttime groundwave service from west of St. Louis to New England, while the South and West were seas of darkness with islands of coverage.

The problem is, if you take a map of the country's AM coverage areas today, it would look very much the same. Despite population increases, many areas adjacent to metros in the South and West have no nighttime coverage on AM. Major metros such as Houston, Miami, Tampa and Phoenix have no Class A stations. Some of these markets have full-time 50 kWers, but with highly restricted signals and high interference levels. Reallocate the 50's to represent modern population distribution. 5 watts nighttime isn't serving anybody. For those stations in smaller markets that are serving their communities, work toward giving them better coverage, perhaps by silencing marginal stations in bigger markets.

 

[TheBigA]

I think over the next ten years or so, many of the "dinky AMs" will be going away on their own.

I agree with that. The over-licensing of the spectrum was done long before the advent of the internet and other media options. The goal back then was to increase the number of radio stations, thus increasing diversity of ownership and programming. Then they discovered that increasing the number of stations dilutes the advertising marketplace. You double and triple the number of stations, and it leads to station shares going down and revenues going down. That's what led to to change in ownership limits. So AM has been basically running on fumes for the past 15 years because the number of licenses was increased in a different time. The FCC doesn't want to play God and decide who gets to stay on the air and who has to go away. So they do the easy thing and let market forces make that decision. Too bad, because there are a lot of creative actions they COULD take that COULD help AM radio. But there's nothing in it for them, so they just let them run out of gas.

I also agree with what smedge says about allocations. But I really don't think anything will happen until the dinky stations run out of gas, and they can look at the spectrum in a clearer way. There is an option for a company to do what Inner City did many years ago, when it bought WOWO in Fort Wayne and shut it down for the purpose of expanding the coverage of WLIB. Not sure how many radio companies have that kind of cash to blow up. We may see it happen after the Cumulus-Citadel merger is approved. But IMO, the fact that there aren't any Class As in certain markets has a direct affect on the kind of programming that's available there.

 

[johnbasalla]

Gosh, I understand the local value of small AM's in medium and small markets, but if they can't put out a competitive signal even in their licensed area, that's not a winning scenario... for the local community, the business and for the betterment of AM radio listening. The BIG AM stations seem to be doing ok. I live in Northeast Ohio. At night, I can't pick up a clear signal on WHK 1420 AM which is in the market. There's at least one, sometimes two other signals interferring. I can, however, hear WRVA 1140AM from Virginia loud and clear, for the most part. I hear this on my little Radio Shack portable radio in the house, and on my main audio system with an AM amplified antenna.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

This issue will probably solve itself, as mentioned above, with those "dinky AM's" going off the air.
The real issue is how 50 kW stations are allocated.

I think you are on the right track, but maybe the dynamics of a cold, cruel market will play out in different ways in different markets.

I am going to propose the "Goldilocks Scenario" as a possible factor in which stations survive and which stations go dark. The station can't be too small (in coverage footprint), the station can't be too large (in capital needs and operating expenses), it has to be JUST RIGHT.

It takes a very unique market for a small, low-power A.M. to be a candidate for usefulness and survival. But there are small towns in Appalachia where 80 or 90% of the population of a "natural economic market" live inside (or just outside) a rather compact city limits. An old graveyard A.M. can fill the bill there.,,, even at night. An A.M. station with 2,500 to 5,000 watts can cover, at night, a compact economic watershed in many areas of the country.

But the beautiful, alluring 50KW stations many of us fondly remember may be too operationally expensive to function and survive, even if someone hands you the existing license for free! Only in certain unique markets is the 50KW likely to be a smart business venture. A 50KW is like buying the biggest old mansion in town. One of those things that is 80 to 100 years old and very charming. But, a real money pit!!! (One of my kids did that.... once.)

When you look at the deep pockets needed to stand behind a 50KW, many of the candidates are likely to look at other ventures on which to risk their money. Maybe a Panera Bakery franchise. Maybe some new digital age audio-on-the-web communications venture. Maybe a truck-farm and blueberry grove. A friend of mine just opened a new business teaching children to recognize danger and how to deal with bad situations dealing with bad people. He and his wife would have been great candidates to own a radio station.

Keeping an A.M. alive in the coming generation probably will have to be a "labor of love" more often than being a shrewd investment. Of course, the brain of anyone who would be a broadcaster, is somehow wired to see an opportunity that eludes the average investor. The would be broadcaster often sees life as one big romantic novel!!!

 

[amfmxm]

GRC, I don't disagree with your general premise--that AM radio is a huge risk in today's world--but there are indeed exceptions. But, although I haven't worked for/with one of those 50-kw AM blowtorches in several decades, my recollection is that aside from a higher electric bill, they're no more expensive to run than any other AM--especially the non-directional ones. A one-stick AM is a one-stick AM.

FWIW, I'd like to suggest that the FCC provide an incentive to licensees of AM stations, many/most of which are just tag-alongs in FM clusters anyway, to take them dark are send back the licenses--perhaps by enlisting the help of the IRS by providing a tax break similar to that extended back in the eighties for licensees selling to minorities. Give it a window of several years duration to "clean up" the AM band--then reallocate with nothing but what you call graveyard licenses--perhaps beefed-up as you suggest--but limited only to communities with no local FM service... and only to communities outside OMB-defined metropolitan areas. Strictly rural community radio.

No, the big guys aren't going to retire WLW, WBBM, KFI, WCBS, WSB and the like. But I'll betcha $10 that we'd see/hear a much clearer and more useful AM band in the end.

 

[TheBigA]

FWIW, I'd like to suggest that the FCC provide an incentive to licensees of AM stations, many/most of which are just tag-alongs in FM clusters anyway, to take them dark are send back the licenses--perhaps by enlisting the help of the IRS by providing a tax break similar to that extended back in the eighties for licensees selling to minorities.

Exactly. I've been saying that for years. For ten years, Michael Copps has been bemoaning the lack of minority radio ownership, and he hasn't done a thing to help. All he'd need to do is propose what you suggest, and I promise he'd get a lot of takers. A lot of big radio companies would gladly take a tax break in exchange for their boat anchor AMs. It's better than nothing, and it would remove the costs they're facing now.

 

[Nostalgia]

How about another idea likely to have me tarred and feathered by the LPFM crowd. LPFMers claim to want to super serve their communities, what says community radio more than a 1kw AM station? They swap their 100 watt FM for a 1000 watt AM, and have more coverage area. They can talk, play ethic or religious programming, polka music, whatever they want. Now for the good part. The AM that gives up their freq gets the LPFM's freq with a new class, say 1kw FM, or even make it a class A if it fits. The AM guy now has a viable FM to sell on and make money, the the FM guy has a greater coverage area to spread their dogma. Both are still serving their local community. I doubt this would be financially interesting to the big boys so you should have more locally owned and operated stations, both AM and FM, perhaps with women and minority owners. This clearly is targeted to rural, small markets.

This frees up all the FM translator freqs in use by AM stations which should go dark and back into the pool for future use once this plan is implemented and the interference issues have been studied. And it stops the incursion of non-comm LPFM stations into the commercial FM band which is really my only beef with LPFM stations.
Let the feathers start to fly ;D

 

[bossbill]

Sure, we need more FM stations; not eveyone owns one yet.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

Sure, we need more FM stations; not eveyone owns one yet.

Your comment reminded me of a joke making the rounds in farm country... oh, maybe 40 years ago. A couple of employees in the Department of Agriculture return from lunch to find a co-worker a couple of desks over uncontrollably crying. They discretely inquired as to what the problem might be.

"My farmer died".

Yes, if we look at the last 30 years in particular, it looks like we won't rest in this country until EVERY citizen owns at least one radio station, preferably an FM.

NOSTALGIA: I think your proposal would have to be shaped and hammered a bit, but your basic concept should be part of the input to be considered in trying to forge a new scene in broadcasting. Even if you concept is never adopted, it could be a catalyst which would cause the decision makers to say: "We can't do exactly THAT, but maybe we could do THIS instead. Thanks for the thought starter."

 

[Nostalgia]

Sure, we need more FM stations; not eveyone owns one yet.

Bill,
Everyone wants one now, be it a LPFM, translator, full power, whatever. This just shifts things around a little.

GRC,
Yep, that was something that just flowed out of my head! Definately a very basic outline but food for thought!

 

[amfmxm]

Although I guess the recent commission ruling on LPFM may have been a glimpse at the limits of NAB influence, the notion of swapping a killowatt FM for an LPFM-upgrade to commercial Class A FM would seem to be a jam-the-FM-band nightmare, and therefore an idea that The Establishment (both commercial and non-commercial licensees of existing FMs) would fight.

We're already in a world where crafty commercial operators in over-radioed markets have found ways to eliminate FM competition (sell them to the religious) or warehouse sticks (create shell companies)--just to keep from dividing the pie into too many pieces. Too many existing players are already carrying extra FM sticks that can't generate any billing. The last thing they want is another transmitter to suck electricity. (Witness Emmis's unfortunate LA experience--and they're good)! And if a licensee is already at the market FM cap, they certainly don't want to welcome another company.

Then again, if the feds were to grab the tax-break idea to delete AMs and reassign LPFMs exclusively to a cleaned-up AM band for community broadcasting, that might work. Sure, you'd hear the LPFM folks screaming bloody murder, but if it came with a commercial license...

 

[PTBoardOp94]

Let me assume that all class C and class D AM stations within 50 miles of my location have been deleted. I've removed 17 stations from 17 frequencies. I've taken the only local service from 3 communities. It looks like stations in Davenport, IA, Princeton, KY and Quincy, IL would be able to upgrade to class B if they were willing to build directional antennas. And even the class B AMs are in trouble in most markets.

 

[TVradioguru]

The Grim Reaper's watch is ticking for AM stations anyway. Sure some stations over the next ten years will still serve the 50+ talk and sports listeners, but days of the medium are clearly numbered.

Having run groups with AM stations, the cost of construction and operation exceeds that of an FM station mainly because of the amount of land for the antennas. In many cases, the land value of an AM station has become much greater than the valuation of the station itself. This case is especially true with comparing LPFM to AM stations. LPFM stations are basically set up in a bedroom with an antenna on the roof. AM stations take acres of property for their antennas. If LPFM stations are going under on a all too frequent basis, how would owning an AM station make it easier? Answer: It wouldn't.

Combine that with small AM stations who's night power levels are in the single and double digits, and it's easy to see that owning or operating a small AM station without an FM is akin to flushing money down a latrine.

 

[amfmxm]

PT and Guru, I'm suggesting that DA rigs should be off the table. One-stick AMs, only. In a cleaned-up and largely cleared-off AM band, that would seem a possibility. With only a few notable exceptions, directional AMs constitute a huge portion of the troubled AM properties.

Taking one of the earlier suggestions, swapping a non-commercial LPFM for a commercially-licensed AM would give the community broadcaster a much more realistic funding source. Generating money is never easy, but selling spots might be more practical than developing reliable donations and contribution sources in small communities. The corner bar or local restaurant is much more likely to buy spots than make a donation, IMHO.

The Grim Reaper may indeed by hovering over AM, generally speaking--but the Big Ones are going to keep it alive much longer than any of us think. More to the point, it will remain AVAILABLE to the general public long past our own personal deaths, and ACCESS is the key to community broadcasting.

I would personally take a 1-kw non-directional commercial AM over a 100-watt non-comm FM any day if the goal was to provide viable community radio in small-town America.

 

[TVradioguru]

But that's the point I'm trying to make. Even if one could sell advertising on a 1,000 watt AM station, I doubt the station would be appealing to advertisers if the owner wanted to play music or other typically popular programming that appeal to demos that advertisers are looking to reach. Just being an AM is a huge disadvantage including poor night signal, poor quality, noise, plus much higher operating expense.

An engineer friend of mine once confirmed that even for a single tower, one needs around an acre of suitable land and a tower which is potentially well over 150 feet in height. Don't forget all the regional and FAA permitting and consultants and maintenance of the land and tower. Other than religious broadcasters, an individual within a community likely wouldn't have the resources to operate an AM station, small, medium or large.

I agree with what someone else suggested. Allow for some sort of incentive to turn in an AM license, then don't allow that assignment to ever be filled again. Call it thinning of the herd, if you will. That way interference will be decreased for the remaining AM stations and for listeners those still willing to tune in the diminishing format choices on AM.