XEWW (Mighty 690) Rosarito Cross Border Controversy

[b-turner]

As told to me about 1980 or so, there is an FCC Rule that it is illegal to produce or cause to be produced any program for a foreign radio station without FCC approval. While they cannot enforce it because they must be able to prove it is happening if done manually as we were doing (recording commercials here and taking the carts to Mexico to the studio) the FCC would simply not renew the 3rd class license I needed to work radio. Such a rule may no longer be in place or changed to fit current times.

The FCC can act over any form of communication they license. In this case, the way the signal gets from the USA to Mexico. Likewise, in Eagle Pass, Texas a Piedras Negras FM decided to go English Top 40 with studios in the USA. They used the Cable TV system to get the signal across the river. When the GM at my station complained to the FCC, the cable TV company dropped the Piedras Negras station.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

One of the rubs with the t ransmission across the border is it uses an FCC regulated thing.. wether its a phone line, or... in this case of XEWW, a microwave frequency licensed by the FCC.

Someone needs to find what frequency XEWW was using for the microwave link and where they told the FCC it was going to.

 

[davideduardo]

Listened to XEWW this evening and now late at night. They are running an English-language pop based format, but these are either unknown songs, or recent hits but not sung by the original artists. For example, (confirmed by Shazam) "Beautiful Mistakes" (Maroon 5) sung by Juwon Grey, "Save Your Tears" (The Weeknd) sung by DJ Pop Romantic, and "Leave the Door Open" (Silk Sonic f/Bruno Mars) sung by Kid Travis... they must be playing these to save on licensing...

Licensing in Mexico is not dependent on the artist.

Remember, in other countries it's not always the same artists that make the hits.

and yes, they are running f-bombs and such if they appear in the music. That can't be good, running a 50kW AM with that. I think even the Mexican government has issues with that.

They never have objected to anything on the border stations in English.

 

[davideduardo]

As told to me about 1980 or so, there is an FCC Rule that it is illegal to produce or cause to be produced any program for a foreign radio station without FCC approval.

A little more specific: use of FCC licensed radio signals to transmit programs to a Mexican station for rebroadcast back to the US is restricted.

While they cannot enforce it because they must be able to prove it is happening if done manually as we were doing (recording commercials here and taking the carts to Mexico to the studio) the FCC would simply not renew the 3rd class license I needed to work radio. Such a rule may no longer be in place or changed to fit current times.

That is urban legend.

The FCC can act over any form of communication they license. In this case, the way the signal gets from the USA to Mexico. Likewise, in Eagle Pass, Texas a Piedras Negras FM decided to go English Top 40 with studios in the USA. They used the Cable TV system to get the signal across the river. When the GM at my station complained to the FCC, the cable TV company dropped the Piedras Negras station.

Yet cable is not restricted by the FCC.

 

[davideduardo]

That regulation is why Wolfman Jack recorded shows in real-time in Los Angeles and had them bussed across the border to the XERB transmitter for playback the following day,

And why, before it went all-Spanish, XERB / XEPRS did its Spanish programming the same way. The DJs would record one day in advance and the tapes would be driven to Rosarito to be broadcast. My SO did this for many years on that station.

So, David, when live studios were established for Mexican stations in San Diego in the 80s , was that ISDN? Is microwave the issue here?

Apparently. I have never dealt with a border station.

And why in the world would the Chinese send a microwave signal from L.A. to Tijuana when they could use whatever computer technology broadcasters use for remote broadcasting today?

Good question. And microwave can't cover that great a distance. It would need at least a couple of hops.

 

[fybush]

One of the rubs with the t ransmission across the border is it uses an FCC regulated thing.. wether its a phone line, or... in this case of XEWW, a microwave frequency licensed by the FCC.

Someone needs to find what frequency XEWW was using for the microwave link and where they told the FCC it was going to.

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.

 

[fybush]

Full disclosure - I'm actually working right now on a cross-border connectivity project, though not *that* border.

 

[davideduardo]

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.

To leave the LA metro, they would have to have some height. So from South Central up to the hills overlooking northern OC, then to northern SD Country to near the border and then across. Sounds too complicated to even find open channels today. And very subject to inversion layers requiring multiple antennas at different heights, such as 740 did to get its signal from LA to Santa Catalina.

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

Which makes me wonder what they were doing that got the fear of the FCC into this.

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

And there must be more to this story: large black SUVs pulling up in the night and all that.

 

[KeithE4]

Dumb question: Why not use a private VoIP/streaming link? Those aren't regulated by the FCC.

 

[Michi]

The law in question here, 47 USC §325(c) (section 325(c) of the Communications Act) specifically states:
No person shall be permitted to locate, use, or maintain a radio broadcast studio or other place or apparatus from which or whereby sound waves are converted into electrical energy, or mechanical or physical reproduction of sound waves produced, and caused to be transmitted or delivered to a radio station in a foreign country for the purpose of being broadcast from any radio station there having a power output of sufficient intensity and/or being so located geographically that its emissions may be received consistently in the United States, without first obtaining a permit from the Commission upon proper application therefor.

The law does not state anything about the delivery method being RF (i.e. Microwave). It even suggests sending recorded programming (to Mexico), even on transcription discs would be a violation of the law.

 

[b-turner]

The FCC told me that when I was doing commercials for XHPL in Acuna. He said he knew what we were doing but he needed to prove it. Since he was not going to Mexico he said my 3rd class might not be renewed. Then he asked us to just stop it.

Cable was interesting. Our cable system was owned by Lady Bird Johnson. I believe things started with a call to a congressman. My boss said the FCC was involved. Pulling my leg? Sure I was a young jock then, so I would believe it.

 

[michael hagerty]

The law in question here, 47 USC §325(c) (section 325(c) of the Communications Act) specifically states:
No person shall be permitted to locate, use, or maintain a radio broadcast studio or other place or apparatus from which or whereby sound waves are converted into electrical energy, or mechanical or physical reproduction of sound waves produced, and caused to be transmitted or delivered to a radio station in a foreign country for the purpose of being broadcast from any radio station there having a power output of sufficient intensity and/or being so located geographically that its emissions may be received consistently in the United States, without first obtaining a permit from the Commission upon proper application therefor.

The law does not state anything about the delivery method being RF (i.e. Microwave). It even suggests sending recorded programming (to Mexico), even on transcription discs would be a violation of the law.

...without first obtaining a permit from the Commission.

 

[KeithE4]

The law in question here, 47 USC §325(c) (section 325(c) of the Communications Act) specifically states:
No person shall be permitted to locate, use, or maintain a radio broadcast studio or other place or apparatus from which or whereby sound waves are converted into electrical energy, or mechanical or physical reproduction of sound waves produced, and caused to be transmitted or delivered to a radio station in a foreign country for the purpose of being broadcast from any radio station there having a power output of sufficient intensity and/or being so located geographically that its emissions may be received consistently in the United States, without first obtaining a permit from the Commission upon proper application therefor.

The law does not state anything about the delivery method being RF (i.e. Microwave). It even suggests sending recorded programming (to Mexico), even on transcription discs would be a violation of the law.

How, then, did XETV in Tijuana maintain affiliations with ABC and Fox for all those years?

 

[KeithE4]

How, then, did XETV in Tijuana maintain affiliations with ABC and Fox for all those years?

Since Michael and I posted at the same time, I have to go by what he said and they got FCC approval.

 

[michael hagerty]

Since Michael and I posted at the same time, I have to go by what he said and they got FCC approval.

It's the last half-sentence in the law Michi posted. Gotta be the answer.

 

[davideduardo]

The law in question here, 47 USC §325(c) (section 325(c) of the Communications Act) specifically states:
No person shall be permitted to locate, use, or maintain a radio broadcast studio or other place or apparatus from which or whereby sound waves are converted into electrical energy, or mechanical or physical reproduction of sound waves produced, and caused to be transmitted or delivered to a radio station in a foreign country for the purpose of being broadcast from any radio station there having a power output of sufficient intensity and/or being so located geographically that its emissions may be received consistently in the United States, without first obtaining a permit from the Commission upon proper application therefor.

The law does not state anything about the delivery method being RF (i.e. Microwave). It even suggests sending recorded programming (to Mexico), even on transcription discs would be a violation of the law.

Thanks for finding this. I always thought the issue was about RF transmission. But obviously, the FCC moved into an area that is highly questionable by regulating something that is not broadcast in the US but, instead, "delivered".

Yet, as you mention, for decades a number of stations such as XERB/XEPRS sent tapes across the border in seeming violation of the rule. Further, Gordon McLendon did live news on XETRA beginning in 1959 from facilities in the US (I don't know the delivery method). And I understand that, for at least part of its life as a Top 40 station, X-Rock 80 broadcast "live" from El Paso on a Mexican clear channel.

More recently, the period during which XEWW broadcast a news / talk format from LA studios in Burbank, it ran live via some kind of dedicated landline service, as did / does even today the sports format now on 1090.

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

Has anyone seen permits for any of these?

 

[davideduardo]

Since Michael and I posted at the same time, I have to go by what he said and they got FCC approval.

I'd love to know the procedure and criteria for such a permit.

 

[spiritof67]

The FCC told me that when I was doing commercials for XHPL in Acuna. He said he knew what we were doing but he needed to prove it. Since he was not going to Mexico he said my 3rd class might not be renewed. Then he asked us to just stop it.

Cable was interesting. Our cable system was owned by Lady Bird Johnson. I believe things started with a call to a congressman. My boss said the FCC was involved. Pulling my leg? Sure I was a young jock then, so I would believe it.

In what you described earlier--especially regarding the cable system feeding programming to Mexico, it was less likely the FCC. Other leverage/pressure points may have been used to accomplish the same goals. Nothing sinister--more like not doing business with said cable company, or similar carrot and stick approaches.

 

[spiritof67]

Other posts have me wondering how stations like XEROK Juarez/El Paso managed to operate by tape delivery, and later live broadcasts from the station itself. Waivers to existing rules?

I worked with Mike Wall, and he and Guy Phillips drove to the station (outside of Juarez) to do their morning show once those rules were ironed out.

It is my understanding that XEROK has been off the air since March 2022.

 

[fybush]

If you read the FCC Daily Digest, you'll see entities applying for those "Section 325c" permits to comply with the law.

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.

Does the NFL have a 325c permit to send games to CTV? I doubt it.

For that matter, the phone I'm writing this on meets all the definitions in the first paragraphs of the law - it converts sounds into electrical energy for transmission. If I'm in Buffalo and call in to one of the big Toronto stations for a contest, it's being "delivered" for broadcast to a signal that's consistently listenable in the US.

Do I need a 325c permit for that call?