XEWW (Mighty 690) Rosarito Cross Border Controversy

[davideduardo]

But I can think of plenty of instances where enforcement is essentially impossible. If I'm in Buffalo, I can watch most of the Canadian TV networks easily enough over the air. They all carry plenty of US productions, including live sports and late night shows.

The fact that there appear to be "tolerated" and uninforced instances makes the enforcement of the Chinese-affiliated instance more interesting.

I'm assuming that any significant operation trying to use Mexican stations to serve large US markets like McAllen/Brownsville, El Paso, and San Diego / LA would have a "Washington attorney" specialized in FCC issues.

 

[davideduardo]

So, after wading through this quagmire and finding Miche and Scott's responses to be highly explanatory, how did this particular instance come to the attention of "the authorities"?

Was there a formal complaint? I know many informal complaints have been ignored, while this one has gotten extremely deep coverage.

 

[sdwulfdawg]

Regulation hasn't kept up with reality.

I'd bet that however XEWW is being fed, it's not microwave. There's no reason these days to invest in frequency coordination and a studio that has line of sight across the border when you can just plug in a Barix box that blends in with all the other international traffic. As far south as the 690 site is, I don't think you could even come up with a line-of-sight path to the US.

And if you don't need to send live programming, it's even easier - just Dropbox files into automation from wherever.

For that matter, even the FCC recognizes now that you don't need a "studio" for programming.

THey are being fed by shortwave.....

 

[davideduardo]

THey are being fed by shortwave.....

To work, that would have to be below 6 MHz for consistent reception. The higher bands are notorious for poor "close in" reception.

When I lived about 30 km from the HCJB transmitters, those on higher frequencies with 100 to 500 kw did not come in or came in inconsistently.

 

[KeithE4]

THey are being fed by shortwave.....

Shortwave or microwave? Big difference, and I'd suspect the latter.

 

[davideduardo]

Shortwave or microwave? Big difference, and I'd suspect the latter.

As Scott mentioned, it would be tough to even get a good microwave path from the US side of the border to the transmitter site which is well south of Tijuana with some big mountainous hills in the way.

 

[KeithE4]

To work, that would have to be below 6 MHz for consistent reception. The higher bands are notorious for poor "close in" reception.

When I lived about 30 km from the HCJB transmitters, those on higher frequencies with 100 to 500 kw did not come in or came in inconsistently.

AFAIK, there are still STL frequencies assigned in the 11 meter broadcast band, but not anything below. It is possible to use NVIS propagation with low-height dipoles below about 8 MHz, but why bother even if it's legal?

 

[exbloguero]

690 should now serve only the Tijuana market, with local programming aimed at Tijuana and Rosarito. In addition to taking advantage of the coverage in other Mexican cities.

 

[exbloguero]

If they continue like this, the future of the XEWW will only be as a political tool, as is happening with the stations of the ex-governor Bonilla and the recent purchases of grupo cadena stations.

 

[Michi]

So how can the 1090 broadcasts from San Diego be permitted and the ones on 690 not be allowed?

When an entity files for a 325 authorization to deliver programming to a foreign country, they are evaluated for all of the eligibility and character requirements of any FCC broadcast licensee.

In the 690 case, the issue was with the structure of the applicant. Long standing FCC policy (and probably law) prohibits the FCC from granting licenses to a foreign government and agents of a foreign government. The primary issue was that there were concerns that the entity that was seeking the 325 to use 690 was connected to an entity called Phoenix TV, which was suspected to be public-private partnership with the Chinese government. The issue is the qualifications for the 690 applicant to be an FCC broadcast licensee.

This issue was originally raised by one of the organizations that is the licensee of one of the suspected New Tang Dynasty connected LPFM stations (part of the Falun Gong following). The Falun Gong organizations include New Tang Dynasty (NTD) television network, Sound of Hope radio and the conservative English publication, the Epoch Times. They are also the ones who run the "Shen Yun" dance performances. They are a staunchly anti-communist organization as the practice of Falun Gong is prohibited under Chinese communist rule.

325(c) applications are filed in the International Bureau Filing System (IBFS).

View all pending 325(c) applications.

The "GLR Southern California" applications shown involve the use of 690.

 

[louis_p]

Shortwave or microwave? Big difference, and I'd suspect the latter.

So if the studio in California changed their method of delivery from microwave to internet streaming, how would the FCC prevent them sending their content to a server based in Mexico?

In Vancouver, several religious and South Asian organizations lease time on KARI-AM, KVRI-AM, and KRPI-AM based in Blaine, WA. In the case of KVRI, the CRTC intervened and charged one of the hosts with “broadcasting without a license”. Some legal experts at the time argued that the CRTC doesn’t have the authority to regulate a civilian’s business activities beyond the borders of Canada. However, the case was settled out of court (likely due to expensive legal fees) but the leasing of airtime on these stations continues to this day.

I’m curious how the FCC and CRTC enforcement works when the infractions are occurring outside of their jurisdictions.

 

[ercjncpr]

KVMD-TV brokers out to the New Tang Dynasty’s tv network

 

[Michi]

690 should now serve only the Tijuana market, with local programming aimed at Tijuana and Rosarito. In addition to taking advantage of the coverage in other Mexican cities.

Or get someone to lease the station that does not have ties to an adversary foreign government.

 

[michael hagerty]

Someone rolled on two hours of XEWW yesterday and posted it to Archive-dot-org:

XEWW 690 AM - Enero 12, 2023 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

 

[e-dawg]

Television stations in San Diego cannot directly transmit signals from their live microwave/satellite news trucks from Tijuana (that's in Mexico, Gregg).

Then how did KUAN-LP (48) Telemundo 20 broadcast a live feed from a news reporter from Tijuana BC Mexico for their 5,6pm/11pm newscast?

Also, How did XETV back then FOX 6/San Diego CW 6 able to broadcast (back then they were an English language TV) able to broadcast their morning news and their prime time news live?

 

[louis_p]

Then how did KUAN-LP (48) Telemundo 20 broadcast a live feed from a news reporter from Tijuana BC Mexico for their 5,6pm/11pm newscast?

Also, How did XETV back then FOX 6/San Diego CW 6 able to broadcast (back then they were an English language TV) able to broadcast their morning news and their prime time news live?

There are several examples like this in border markets. Are news trucks allowed to cross the border in places like Detroit-Windsor to cover events? Are they allowed to report “live on location”?

This may be an obvious question but couldn’t Phoenix easily work around this obstacle? Why does the programming need to originate from California and relayed to Mexico over a microwave network that’s subject to FCC oversight? It seems like they could mitigate this by using some modern technologies.

 

[davideduardo]

690 should now serve only the Tijuana market, with local programming aimed at Tijuana and Rosarito. In addition to taking advantage of the coverage in other Mexican cities.

It does not cover much else that is populated except the greater Tijuana zone. The signal goes southeast over largely unpopulated areas and out over the Mar de Cortéz. It, of course, protects the 690 in Mexico City and was really designed to cover San Diego and LA back when AM had any value.

Tijuana has far to many AM stations. AM usage in Mexico (where AMs are still left) is minimal... much less than in the USA

 

[davideduardo]

When an entity files for a 325 authorization to deliver programming to a foreign country, they are evaluated for all of the eligibility and character requirements of any FCC broadcast licensee.

Thanks... I was rather confused on the system used today for what originated in the Doc Brinkley era when tubes glowed and the Grand Ole Opry got mail from Maine to Oregon!

 

[spiritof67]

690 should now serve only the Tijuana market, with local programming aimed at Tijuana and Rosarito. In addition to taking advantage of the coverage in other Mexican cities.

There are likely financial reasons for them not to get it, but the public broadcaster IMER owns XERF.

In some ways, I could see a similar analogy to CKLW, as it serves Windsor and SW Ontario now.

 

[b-turner]

I managed a station that was leased to a U.S. owned company that had China Radio International as a client. I was told by the owner of that company, they had to maintain a client base that equaled or exceeded 20% of their income for the agency in order to function in 'buying time on behalf of a China Radio International entity' (CRI was not to exceed 80% of gross income). At some point Congress started looking at the situation and my owner frequently got inquiries from the FCC regarding 'control of the station' over the years. The contract ended suddenly about the time the US Government was taking a hard look. I really don't the US government shut it down because it ended in all countries at the same time. I suspect the US company was not up to the needed 20% other clients, if it had gotten to an investigation. This company handled all the leases in North, Central and South America. All ended the same day as the US date

Lots of people think the English CRI was directly out of China. The reality was programs were created and operated by air talent mostly in the LA area, were general interest talk shows and had no connection to China. Some were even critical of how China handled certain things. Most of the time they did carry the CRI 5 minute news summary on the hour but I did notice at some point there was more USA and Canada news stories. The programming was 'consulted' by the BBC. The thinking was if China put their name on radio programming representing American interests and entertainment, then they could make better trade deals. They didn't just do this in the USA but, if I recall correctly, 68 countries.