FCC Announces Translator Window, as Broadcasters Seek Interference Reforms
The FCC will open a window for AM stations to obtain FM translators on June 26, said a public notice Thursday. That's days after the deadline for broadcasters to comment on NAB proposals for handling rising instances of translators coming into interference conflict with full-power FM (FPFM) stations.
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“Any increase in the number of new translators has the potential to create more interference,” said Womble Carlyle radio attorney John Garziglia, expecting the window to lead to roughly 800 applications for new translators. An FM translator nearly guarantees a revenue increase for an AM station, and many broadcasters own both FPFM stations and AM stations using translators, making the interference issue thorny for broadcasters and the FCC, industry lawyers said (see 1611040051). Commissioners voted unanimously to open the new window, the PN said.
The new translator window will, as expected (see 1705150066), be divided into two parts, with Class C and D AM broadcasters able to apply for new translators first, and all AM stations later, the PN said. Only AM stations that didn't file for a translator relying on the 250-mile waivers available last year are eligible to apply for translators in these windows. Unlike the pre-auction translator window, the applications here are for new translators rather than to relocate existing ones, so they don’t require broadcasters to pay high purchase prices, attorneys said. “Over a thousand AM broadcasters took advantage” of previous AM revitalization opportunities, the PN said.
All those new translators will increase the importance of working out reforms to the processes for translators interfering with full-power stations, Garziglia said. Commenters this week focused on the complaint process, and on how it should be changed.
A full-service station complaint of interference should be supported by complaints from at least six listeners, said Beasley Media, iHeartMedia, Alpha Media and KMMY in a joint filing that echoes NAB’s proposal. The radio filers supported measures to verify the location of the interference and the identity of the listeners. The National Translator Association agreed listeners should have to submit information that makes their identity and location clear, but said the minimum number of such complaints should vary between four and eight based on the relative population of the area served. Wilkins Parent Corp., an owner of both translators and radio stations, said the number should be much higher, at least 10. Broadcasters said the current standard allows as few as two.
Several commenters also endorsed a strict timeline for the FCC to act on complaints, also advanced by NAB. Though NAB recommended 15 days after sending a letter of inquiry to a translator, Wilkins said 30 days was more reasonable, and other broadcasters said they approved of having a specific time frame. “Timelines for action by the parties to resolve the complaint, and by Commission Staff, will also help expedite the resolution of such complaints,” said Hubbard Broadcasting.
Commenters also backed relaxing FCC rules to allow interference complaints to be resolved. Hubbard and other broadcasters said a translator seeking to resolve an interference complaint should be able to move to any available channel as a minor change. The FCC “must place at the disposal of the translator station all possible technical solutions,” said Gabrielle Broadcasting.