Pai Interest in Radio Seen as an Industry Boon
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's speaking about radio at a broadcast conference, as he did Thursday at a North American Broadcast Association event, is a positive sign for the industry, broadcast attorneys said in interviews. Though Pai’s speech -- his second outside the FCC as chairman -- on FM chips in smartphones and efforts to revitalize AM radio contained little new information, a sitting chairman knowledgeable about and focused on radio is a boon to broadcasters, they said. “The important thing is that he’s speaking about radio,” said Wilkinson Barker's Howard Liberman. “I don’t know any broadcaster who isn’t elated” about Pai’s interest in radio, said Womble Carlyle's John Garziglia.
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“When it comes to fighting for a vibrant broadcasting industry, I take a back seat to no one at the FCC,” Pai said Thursday, according to prepared remarks. “Under my chairmanship, radio won’t be neglected. I will work aggressively to cut unnecessary red tape, modernize our rules, and give you more flexibility to serve your audiences.”
Though he supports the activation of FM chips in smartphones, Pai said that “as a believer” in free markets he couldn’t support “a government mandate” requiring it. “I don’t believe the FCC has the power to issue a mandate like that, and more generally I believe it’s best to sort this issue out in the marketplace,” Pai said. The percentage of “ top-selling” smartphones in the U.S. that contain activated FM chips has risen from below 25 percent to 44 percent, he said. Pai’s stance against a federal rule on FM chips mirrors that of his predecessor Tom Wheeler, said broadcast attorneys.
Pai also spoke on FCC AM revitalization, including a draft item up for a commissioner vote next week on translator relocation rules (see 1702020060). “The FCC’s rules can make finding a location for these translators unnecessarily challenging,” Pai said. He also referenced two planned windows for new AM translators, created by a rule approved under Wheeler and backed by Pai: “We’ll keep working on ways to improve signal quality on the AM band and reduce AM broadcasters’ operating costs.”
One possible radio rule change that Pai didn’t mention Thursday was a plan he backed in the past to create a new class of FM license. Called Class C4 FM, the new class would be intended to fill a gap in the power levels of radio stations, but was criticized by some as a possible interference threat to FM translators (see 1702100038). Pai backed the proposal in a speech when still a commissioner, and the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council asked for a proceeding on the item to move forward last month. Though Pai didn’t discuss the proposal Thursday, the commission is expected to issue an NPRM on Class C4 FM, though the timing is unclear, said MMTC Senior Adviser David Honig.