Xperi saw a decline in overall revenue last year, from $493.7 million in 2024 to $448.1 million in 2025. Its net loss grew from $14 million in 2024 to $56.3 million in 2025.

The technology company, which is the parent of DTS, HD Radio and TiVo, has released its Q4 and full-year results.

In Q4, revenue fell from $122.4 million a year earlier to $116.5 million in 2025. But Xperi cut its quarterly net loss from $46.2 million a year earlier to $17.1 million in Q4 2025.

CEO Jon Kirchner was upbeat in his summary of the year. He said Xperi has achieved 5.3 million monthly active users on its TiVo One ad platform. He said the DTS AutoStage footprint increased 40 percent to reach 14 million vehicles. And he said Xperi expects to double media platform revenue and achieve positive free cash flow this year.

He said the company saw “meaningful year-over-year improvement in adjusted EBITDA and operating cash flow in 2025.”

“[W]e achieved key milestones which clearly demonstrate the significant progress we have made toward our growth goals,” Kirchner said.

“We believe our success in growing our large and unique global footprint over the past few years has positioned us to accelerate our monetization efforts through advertising and data solutions.”

[Read the full announcement and results.]

Of specific interest to the radio industry, the company says it has had “continued strong growth in the Connected Car platform footprint as well as new automotive OEM programs that are expected to enable acceleration in long-term monetization.”

It noted that it recently Mercedes Benz to launch DTS AutoStage video service, “making Mercedes the first car brand to offer all four of Xperi’s connected car solutions: HD Radio, DTS:X immersive sound, AutoStage audio and video powered by TiVo.”

It said the expansion of DTS AutoStage continues, “achieving over 14 million vehicles on the platform by year-end and reaching important scale to enable in-car monetization trials.”

It launched HD Radio in several new models from manufacturers including Toyota, Honda and Audi, and signed a multi-year program for HD Radio with an unnamed large U.S.-based Tier 1 supplier.

And it said it has signed a multi-year DTS audio deal with “a large Asian Tier 1 supplier, which is expected to secure the DTS decoder technology in a number of future car programs.”

The post Xperi Revenue Declined in 2025; Kirchner Is Upbeat appeared first on Radio World.

A fixed-base operator at the Billings, Mont., airport has received a notice of unlicensed operation from the Federal Communications Commission.

At the Billings-Logan International Airport, Beacon Air Group provides services such as aviation fuel, aircraft ground handling and aircraft parking as part of its Fixed-Base Operator support.

FBOs commonly operate aeronautical radios to coordinate ground services with arriving and departing aircraft.

But the Denver office of the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau received a complaint of an unlicensed station operating in the VHF aircraft band on 128.825 MHz at the airport.

(Read the FCC’s notice of unlicensed operation.)

The station was causing interference with an entity licensed at the same location, according to the Enforcement Bureau.

On Aug. 7, an agent from the Denver office spoke with a representative of Beacon and the bureau confirmed that Beacon operated radios on 128.825 MHz as part of its fixed-base operator support at the airport.

But the commission’s records showed no license issued to Beacon for operating on the frequency there.

Beacon’s website lists its ARINC frequency at Billings as 128.82 MHz. A search of the FCC’s ULS database shows no records in Montana on either frequency.

The Enforcement Bureau warned that operating radio transmitting equipment without authorization is a violation of federal law and could subject Beacon to monetary fines and seizure of the equipment.

The transmissions must cease immediately, and Beacon has 10 days to respond to the commission with any evidence that it had the authority to operate.

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The post FCC Warns Montana FBO Over Unlicensed Radio Transmissions appeared first on Radio World.

Major U.S. wireless carriers like Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile are aggressively lobbying the FCC to repurpose the entire upper C-band (3.98–4.2 GHz) for flexible-use wireless services, aiming to secure up to 180 MHz of additional spectrum for expanded capacity.

Observers say those companies want it all, top to bottom. Wireless industry association CTIA, for one, met with the FCC this month and put on the record that it wants the “maximum amount of spectrum” in the upper C-Band for full-power, licensed wireless deployments.

While carriers and other wireless service providers are anxious to grab the maximum amount of capacity, they face stiff pushback from broadcasters urging a limit of 100 MHz.

The FCC has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to repurpose the 3.98–4.2 GHz band for flexible-use terrestrial services, with an auction targeted for 2027. The commission is mandated by Congress to take at least another 100 MHz for wireless services.

The National Association of Broadcasters said taking that much spectrum for terrestrial cellular services could disrupt vital content distribution services.

(This story focuses on filing by wireless entities. Read about NAB’s latest reply comments here.)

Data usage needs

Driven by the need for more mid-band spectrum to support 5G, and eventually 6G services, major wireless carriers are continuing their push for the maximum possible amount, aiming for the full 180 MHz.

The wireless carriers emphasized the importance of “maximizing” the amount of C-band spectrum to be repurposed. AT&T cited the historic growth in data usage by Americans that underscores the importance of the commission’s efforts in the proceeding to free up additional mid-band spectrum.

AT&T, in its comments, said that for the third year in a row, U.S. mobile network data usage demand grew approximately 35%, a historic surge and a pace that would nearly double the amount of data used every two years.

“Stakeholders broadly agree that the upper C-band will play a key role in 5G and beyond,” AT&T wrote.

Moving incumbents

Verizon focused part of its recent reply comments on the feasibility of moving incumbent users, including satellite audio and video services used by broadcasters, out of the upper C-band.

The broadband giant said comments filed in the proceeding confirm there is a feasible path for transitioning incumbents out of the spectrum, while ensuring they can receive “substantially” the same service that exists today.

Some existing space station operators, Verizon said, have detailed opportunities to reorganize and compress customers into a smaller segment of upper C-band spectrum, while others could be moved to Ku-band spectrum.

It also pointed to commenters who said fiber and internet protocol distribution technologies present effective alternatives for services provided today.

Transition plan

Verizon and others said that Fixed Service Satellite providers like SES – the largest upper C-band satellite operator, responsible for over 95% of all video content in the band – have already outlined a plan to clear 180 megahertz of the band (160 Megahertz for terrestrial wireless service and 20 Megahertz for a guard band), but that full transition could take years to plan.

Therefore, several commenters suggested a plan that would take several stages to complete, with the 100 MHz mandated in the Big Beautiful Bill being the first implemented in 2027.

Once the FCC makes a final determination on how much spectrum to repurpose, wireless carriers urged the commission to follow a similar regulatory framework of the lower C-band repurposing and auction in 2020, a transition that booted broadcast services to the upper section of C-band.

T-Mobile said in its comments: “The record in the proceeding reflects near-unanimous support for such a reallocation and a regulatory framework for terrestrial mobile use that is harmonized across the C-band, including, among other things, applying the licensing and technical rules adopted for the lower C-band (3.7–3.98 GHz) to the upper C-band.”

CTIA meets with the commission

In the latest round of comments collected by the FCC this week, CTIA shared what it wished for in a meeting with FCC officials in February: making available the “maximum amount of upper C-band spectrum” for licensed, or exclusive, full-power terrestrial wireless deployments.

CTIA also requested a “clear, unwavering schedule” for wireless licensees to begin their deployments in the near term following the auction and harmonizing the lower and upper C-band technical rules, as appropriate.

CTIA said the spectrum is also needed to support AI innovation.

“The fact remains that data demand continues to grow year after year and additional spectrum will be needed to support this continued growth, particularly as AI begins to scale, with AI applications projected to drive uplink traffic 20 percent higher than it would be with existing applications,” CTIA said.

Ericsson, the multinational networking and telecommunications company, said maximizing the upper C-band for wireless helps promote national security of the United States.

“Repurposing the upper C-band,” Ericsson said, “will promote national security through the advancement of secure and trusted communications networks and equipment.

“As the commission is well aware, the dry spectrum well of the past several years created a leadership vacuum that allowed China to advance its own economic interests and security prerogatives at home and abroad through exports of its equipment to other countries,” it commented.

Meanwhile, the Competitive Carriers Association said it is very much in favor of utilizing the upper C-band for 5G and future 6G endeavors, but emphasized the need to make it fair for small and rural carriers when auctioning off the spectrum for wireless services. It questioned whether previously designated bid credits for small and rural carriers are still adequate.

“CCA agrees that mid-band auctions present unique challenges for rural providers. Mid-band spectrum offers the optimal balance of coverage and capacity for rural deployment,” the group said. “However, rural providers frequently face substantial capital constraints when competing against nationwide carriers with exponentially greater financial resources.”

Next-generation satellite

Some commenters, including Space X, suggested reserving portions of the upper C-band spectrum for next-generation satellite services (Direct-to-Device) rather than solely for terrestrial cellular services.

T-Mobile and the other wireless carriers told the commission to decline those proposals seeking to introduce mobile satellite services or shared-use mechanisms in the repurposed upper C-band.

There are also some technical challenges to overcome once spectrum for FSS earth stations is shifted elsewhere, according to multiple filers. The upper C-band is adjacent to the 4.2–4.4 GHz band used by radio altimeters in aviation, requiring careful management of interference risks, according to Boeing and several aeronautical entities.

In addition, several commenters pointed to the Federal Aviation Administration’s recent notice of proposed rulemaking concerning upgrading radio altimeters to withstand interference from adjacent wireless operations. The timeframe for implementing those upgrades is uncertain, according to observers.

CTIA in its comments hinted at a need for collaboration between government agencies to accomplish the goal of repurposing the spectrum for flexible-use wireless services.

“The coordinated FCC and FAA proceedings, buttressed by congressional action, standards development and cross-industry collaboration, have positioned all stakeholders for timely execution,” it said.

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The post When It Comes to the Upper C-Band, Wireless Carriers Want More appeared first on Radio World.

The National Association of Broadcasters knows the FCC is going to reallocate 100 MHz of the upper C-band, which it is legally mandated to do.

But the association warns that any clearing beyond that minimum threshold poses a significant risk to the nation’s critical broadcast infrastructure.

In its newly-filed reply comments, NAB contended that the upper C-band (3.98 to 4.2 GHz) is currently optimized and lacks the “headroom” for extensive clearing.

We’ve also covered NAB’s previous filings during the comment filing period tied to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking the commission opened in November.

Read one of those stories here.

The deadline to file reply comments with the commission in Docket 25-59 was on Wednesday.

“Upper C-band is mission-critical to broadcasting and is already operating at its practical limit,” NAB told the commission.

“Insatiable” wireless carriers

The upper C-band is used by earth station operators, including broadcasters, whose operations have already been curtailed by prior auctions of the lower C-band to wireless operators.

The commission is required by statute to auction a minimum of 100 MHz of the upper C-band (2.98 – 4.08 GHz) spectrum no later than July 2027, but the FCC has proposed auctioning up to 180 MHz through competitive bidding.

The spectrum auction is expected to generate billions of dollars.

But NAB contended that outside of the “insatiable nationwide wireless carriers and a small subset of proponents focused on speculative future uses,” commenters in the docket overwhelmingly caution that additional clearing would jeopardize broadcast distribution, increase systemic risk and undermine public-interest services.

Even with the loss of 100 MHz of spectrum, NAB said a repack will inevitably cause some disruption to incumbent users in part because compressing services into less spectrum creates a “Tetris-like” problem.

Keep it in the C-band

SES, the major provider of C-band services to broadcasters in the U.S., previously stated that most incumbent users can be repacked quickly into a reduced C-band if reallocation is limited to 100 MHz.

In addition, repacking all or most users within C-band will be far less disruptive than forcing incumbents out of the upper C-band into other satellite spectrum or alternative platforms, NAB told the commission.

NAB rejected claims from wireless companies that other technologies are suitable “one-for-one” replacements for C-band spectrum. Those alternative platforms include IP, fiber and Ku-band, which broadcasters and satellite operators say “are neither universally available nor functionally equivalent, particularly for point-to-multipoint distribution, rural service, and live event coverage.”

“Relocation out of C-band presents far greater uncertainty. The costs to transition may be many multiples higher,” it said.

NAB said two other major stakeholders in this proceeding – the satellite operators and the aviation industry – agree that clearing any portion of the upper C-band will require significantly longer timelines than the lower C-band transition.

The FCC proposed to clear incumbent earth station operators from the band over a five and a half-year period and, as with the prior migration to the Upper C-Band, the commission will reimburse incumbent earth station operators for their transition costs via money raised from an auction of the spectrum.

The FCC previously stated there are approximately 20,000 registered earth stations used by radio and TV broadcasters to receive satellite transmissions.

Substantially the same

NAB emphasized the FCC should follow precedent set in the order that forced incumbents to relocate from the lower C-band in 2020.

“The Lower C-band Order repeatedly stated that incumbents would be provided substantially the same service, which must again be assured,” NAB wrote in its comments.

“The commission previously rejected an all-fiber (or nearly all-fiber) deployment as carrying a bevy of challenges,” the association continued. “Ku-band, while a valuable improvement over terrestrial fiber, remains more susceptible than C-band to weather-related degradation and would require years of satellite launches and costly retrofits to approach current C-band reliability.

In fact, NAB pointed to the Communications Act, which it says does not permit the commission to substitute “theoretical alternatives for actual continuity of service,” according to NAB.

Merely accessing a different technology that performs adequately under ideal conditions is not acceptable, NAB asserted. It said the commission has long recognized that the act does not permit license modifications that affect a “fundamental change” in a licensee’s authorization.

Section 316 permits license modification, but not fundamental alteration of the essential rights conveyed by an FCC authorization, according to the recent filing.

NAB also asked the commission to implement a direct-pay or upfront reimbursement mechanism to replace the previous framework of the lower C-band transition where operators had to front costs and wait years for repayment.

“Commenters consistently warn that further upper C-band clearing beyond 100 MHz would jeopardize the reliability of the nation’s video distribution infrastructure, impose disproportionate harm on small entities, and undermine services the public relies upon for news, emergency information, and live events,” NAB concluded.

[See Our Business and Law Page]

The post NAB Urges FCC to Tamp Down Reallocation Plans for Upper C-Band appeared first on Radio World.

An LPFM operator in southern Connecticut has entered into a consent decree with the FCC after it was found to be operating above its licensed transmitting power and falsely certifying that it was in compliance.

107.5 WNHA(LP) is licensed to New Haven and operated by Alma Radio, running Spanish-language Christian programming. It has been silent under a special temporary authority since June.

The Media Bureau had launched an investigation into WNHA’s technical facilities following a petition filed by an entity called the WBLS Listeners’ Coalition.

The consent decree resulted in the commission terminating its investigation. But it admonished WNHA for falsely certifying that it was, in fact, operating with its proper transmitting power output. As a result, WNHA must revert to its previously licensed parameters and submit a full compliance report.

There is no financial forfeiture as part of the agreement.

WBLS listener coalition

The issue traces back to February 2022, when WNHA filed an application for a construction permit to relocate its antenna to a higher space on its tower, which lowered its authorized effective radiated power to 18 watts. The commission granted the application that February.

According to the Media Bureau, a few weeks later, the “WBLS Listeners’ Coalition” filed a petition for reconsideration of the grant. 107.5 WBLS(FM), the same-channel New York City R&B station, is approximately 65 miles southwest of New Haven, but it places 54 dBu coverage into much of neighboring Fairfield County.

The coalition claimed WNHA was operating at a power higher than authorized, causing interference to WBLS throughout towns such as Fairfield, Easton, Trumbull, Monroe and Milford. Its study concluded that the station was operating with approximately 975 watts of power.

(Read the details of the FCC’s consent decree with Alma Radio.)

Three years later in February 2025, WNHA responded, stating it was operating at its authorized ERP. However, according to the commission, one of its supporting documents showed the station was actually running with 50 watts of transmitter power output. Based on its documented antenna, this would have resulted in an ERP above 18 watts, according to the commission. 

That discrepancy led the Media Bureau to issue WNHA a letter of inquiry, requiring complete technical information on its transmitter and antenna.

The WBLS Listeners’ Coalition then submitted a supplement that included photos of WNHA’s transmitter and a statement from an engineer, Dave Anderson. 

The coalition provided a photo that it said showed the station was using a two-bay antenna rather than the single-bay system authorized in its 2022 license. Thus, the coalition asserted, WNHA violated both the antenna type and maximum ERP set out in its authorization. The coalition estimated that a two-bay installation with the deployed coaxial cable would result in an ERP of approximately 47 watts.

The FCC granted the coalition’s petition in June. Some back and forth resulted, eventually leading to WNHA acknowledging that the station had operated at 50 watts TPO “for a brief time” in 2022, though it denied its earlier “misstatement” was intentional.

Ultimately, the FCC agreed to end its investigation and return the station’s 2017 license to active status in exchange for Alma Radio admitting to the investigation’s factual findings.

Alma Radio is now required to relocate its antenna to the previously authorized antenna placement and adhere to a maximum permitted ERP of 66 watts at a height of approximately 65 feet.

Before broadcast resumption, the station must submit and receive approval for a comprehensive compliance report verifying the installation with photos, calculations and tower owner confirmation.

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The post Connecticut LPFM Reaches FCC Agreement Over WBLS Interference appeared first on Radio World.

A noncom FM station in central California has lost its license for sitting silent for more than a year and/or for operating from the wrong location.

The FCC Media Bureau has sent the notification of cancellation to Peace and Justice Network of San Joaquin County, licensee of KVSJ-FM in Tracy, Calif., led by Richard Blackston.

“[T]he Media Bureau gave [the] licensee several opportunities to demonstrate that the station operated with authorized parameters and without gaps of 12 months or longer, but licensee failed to do so,” the bureau wrote. It also dismissed an application to renew the license and another for minor modification.

Timetable

The circumstances of this case date back nine years.

According to the FCC’s account, Class A station KVSJ lost its licensed transmitter site in 2017, after which it filed a series of requests for special temporary authority to operate at reduced power from temporary locations.

Most recently, in 2020, it had an STA to operate from the grounds of a local nursery. It also held a construction permit to build permanent facilities there.

But the station went silent in May of 2021, according to the FCC, and the STA and CP had both expired by late 2022 without the station filing for a covering license to reflect completion of construction.

In October 2021, the licensee did file a minor modification application that specified the same transmitter site as the 2019 permit, and it requested an additional STA to operate from the site of the 2020 STA. But both eventually were dismissed.

Meanwhile after a year had elapsed since the station went silent, the FCC sent a letter of inquiry, but it said the station gave only a partial response and did not provide enough information to demonstrate that it had resumed operation with authorized facilities.

Then in March 2023, the station filed an issues/programs list in its online public inspection file in which it wrote that it “continued broadcasts under pending temporary authorization after completing major construction and program tests” under the 2019 CP.

Soon after that, the Enforcement Bureau observed a signal on the station’s 89.5 frequency from the grounds of the nursery.

In another communication in early 2024, the station told the FCC it had been operating almost continuously since November 2021. In a subsequent online public file document, it stated that it was airing broadcasts of automated programming on a regular basis.

In December 2024 the station applied for a license to cover the expired CP; it said then that it was operating under program test authority. The next month it uploaded more issues/programs lists in which it indicated that it had been broadcasting since October 2021, though at reduced power.

The Enforcement Bureau monitored the station again in February 2025 and found that the station was transmitting an unmodulated carrier signal.

In May of 2025 the Media Bureau sent another letter of inquiry. It asked for explanations and documents to determine dates of operation and silence, the use of authorized/unauthorized parameters and other information. It warned that failure to respond would result in loss of the license.

The station replied in writing, but according to the commission it did not answer the questions.

“Licensee appears to be arguing that, but for bureau delays in taking action on the 2021 STA request and its request to withdraw that minor modification application, the station’s operation from a location at the nursery would have been authorized either pursuant to STA, program test authority or a license such that the station would not have been silent or operating from an unauthorized location for 12 consecutive months at any time after that date,” the commission wrote.

The Media Bureau gave the station more time to compile and submit documentation but hasn’t heard anything since August of 2025.

Outcome

Now the Media Bureau has ruled that the station has been silent and/or operating from an unauthorized location for more than 12 consecutive months, which means its license has died.

“We have enough information before us to determine that the station was either silent or operating from an unauthorized location for years and thus its license terminated.” It added that equipment tests or “dead air” is equivalent to silence.

The bureau also rejected claims putting the onus on FCC staff for delayed processing of the minor mod and a later STA.

“Staff delays or inaction do not bear on licensee’s failure to operate without authorization. … That those applications were pending for an extended period of time does not change the fact that licensee operated from an unauthorized location for years.”

And the bureau said that even if the license had not expired for the reasons above, it would have dismissed the renewal because the licensee failed to respond properly to two letters of inquiry. The FCC said those “brief responses are patently inadequate, failing to provide any of the requested documentation and ignoring almost all of the inquiries.”

The post California Noncom Loses Its License appeared first on Radio World.

Two FCC orders issued this month provide some insight into how broadcasters should communicate with the commission if they want to take EAS equipment offline to move it.

Section 11.35 of the rules requires EAS participants to ensure that their equipment is “installed so that the monitoring and transmitting functions are available during the times the stations and systems are in operation.”

In the first order, the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau granted a waiver to Fort Myers Broadcasting in Florida for three radio stations that FMBC is relocating.

FMBC told the FCC that it would need to “to uninstall, pack, move and reinstall the EAS equipment” and that the stations would not be in compliance for up to two hours.

It said its new location “is better protected from flood risk” and said a limited EAS outage to move the equipment was unavoidable. It said the harm would be minimal because no other stations rely on its EAS signal; relocation would not occur during a scheduled test; and the company would not proceed if there appeared to be any risk of an emergency event.

The FCC granted the waiver. (You can read that order here.)

Then in a separate but related order, the FCC granted a similar waiver to Sun Broadcasting Inc. to allow it to move EAS equipment for four of its own stations from the same location.

Sun operates under a shared services agreement with FMBC in which Sun rents space and FMBC maintains Sun’s EAS gear. The FCC said OK to those four stations but declined a waiver for two more because Sun didn’t supply enough information. It said Sun could resubmit. (You can read that order here.)

As a side note: FMBC and Sun both pointed out that EAS participants are allowed to operate without alerting equipment for up to 60 days pending repair or replacement of defective equipment. But in its orders the FCC emphasized that the exemption does not apply to the relocation of functioning EAS equipment. “Simply disconnecting EAS equipment from operation does not make it defective,” the bureau wrote.

The FCC staff also noted that Sun filed only three business days before the date of its requested relief.  “While the bureau appreciates that Sun sought to conform its conduct with the rules and encourages similarly situated EAS participants to seek a waiver if circumstances require, the bureau urges parties to do so as far as possible in advance of their expected need for relief to afford the commission sufficient time to consider such requests.”

The post FCC Waivers Cover Moves of EAS Gear appeared first on Radio World.

KBest Media in Big Spring, Texas, will sell its radio stations to Ryan Media, a subsidiary of OneRyan Global.

The new owner is promising a significant local presence for the stations, which include 95.7 KBST-FM, 94.3 KBTS(FM), 1490 KBST (AM) and a translator on 103.9.

The sellers are the estate of Sheila and Mike Abusaab, along with Malinda and Danny Flenniken and Kusamakar Sooda.

The company’s five full-time and three part-time employees will transition to the new ownership. The studios will move from Johnson Street to East Third Street in Big Spring.

Terms were not disclosed. The sale is pending FCC approval.

OneRyan was founded by Amanda Ryan in 2018. It is the family office of Ryan LLC Founder, Chairman and CEO G. Brint Ryan and his family, whose business interests include real estate, hospitality, private equity and philanthropy. This is their first broadcast purchase.

In the announcement, Managing Partner Malinda Flenniken said, “Mr. Ryan and I have been envisioning KBest Studios ‘booming from downtown Big Spring’ for several years now, and even shared the idea of relocation with KBest’s President Mike Abusaab before his passing in 2021. In 2023, Sheila Abusaab and I began negotiations with Mr. Ryan for a full transfer of ownership.

“These types of transactions take time, but we are finally growing closer to the finish line. My only sadness is that Sheila passed away before seeing the groundbreaking. But we will continue the project and anticipate exciting things ahead.”

She said Brint Ryan brings “vision and commitment to Big Spring.” The company quoted Brint Ryan saying that “Local radio has always been more than music and news — it’s about community, connection and trust. …We’re especially excited to add KBest to our other Big Spring assets, including Hotel Settles and Mr. Gatti’s Pizza. It’s all part of our broader commitment to supporting and growing the businesses and institutions that make this community special.”

She described a vision for downtown Big Spring: “A ‘Rockefeller Plaza’ type of atmosphere with the energy of KBest’s live coverage visible from the street corner, right next to the magnificent Hotel Settles standing as the beacon.”

The post Ryan Media to Buy KBest Stations in Big Spring appeared first on Radio World.

This week, the FCC issued orders to pay or show cause to two radio station licensees — one in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the other in Georgia — citing unpaid regulatory fees.

In Michigan, the commission has initiated proceedings to revoke the licenses held by Sovereign Communications due to unpaid fees, interest and penalties it said total approximately $37,000 for the years 2021 through 2024.

The affected stations in northern Michigan are 1400 WKNW(AM), 1230 WSOO(AM), 101.3 WSUE(FM) and 99.5 WYSS(FM) in Sault Ste. Marie; 93.9/1450 WNBY(AM/FM) in Newberry; and 105.5 WMKD(FM) in Pickford.

The commission noted that Sovereign has approximately $9,200 available from a prior overpayment that it can apply toward this debt.

In Georgia, meanwhile, Core Communications North faces similar scrutiny regarding two stations.

North of Atlanta, 94.5 WIPK(FM) in Calhoun owes approximately $21,000 in regulatory fees dating back to 2015. It missed payments each year since then, except for 2023, according to the Media Bureau.

Its sister station, 93.5 WMRG(FM) in Morgan, which is south of Columbus near Albany, owes approximately $6,500 for fees covering 2015, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2024.

Both Sovereign Communications and Core Communications North have 60 days to file evidence of full payment with the Media Bureau or show cause why the payment should be waived or deferred. Failure to comply within this timeframe may result in license revocation, the commission said.

Under FCC rules, the annual deadline for regulatory fees is typically in late September.

Late or incomplete payments incur a mandatory penalty equal to 25 percent of the unpaid fee, along with additional interest and administrative costs that accrue until the debt is paid in full.

[Related: “Radio Station Annual Fees Decline for 3rd Straight Year”]

The post Licenses at Risk in Michigan, Georgia for Unpaid FCC Fees appeared first on Radio World.

While radio license holders should make every effort to keep their contact information registered with the FCC up to date, they are not under threat of a $1,000-per-day penalty for failing to do so.

That is according to a public notice the commission issued Friday. The confusion stems from a robocall mitigation database proceeding it released the day prior.

In that proceeding, the commission announced that it had received approval to require every holder of an FCC Registration Number (FRN) to update their contact information within 10 business days of a change or face a $1,000-per-day fine.

This announcement alarmed broadcasters, as all corporate and individual owners of station licenses in the FCC’s LMS database are tied to FRNs.

The panic led to a surge in traffic on Friday that overwhelmed the FCC’s website as licensees rushed to verify their information, according to Scott Flick of Pillsbury’s Comm Law Center, who has been following the FRN-related developments.

Some licensees even interpreted the notice to mean that if they didn’t log in to update their FRN within 10 days of the FCC’s notice, regardless of whether or not any underlying change occurred to their contact information, they would face the forfeiture.

The FCC’s late Friday public notice walked back this interpretation. The commission clarified that the new, steeper base forfeitures — $10,000 for false information and $1,000 per day for failure to update — apply only to RMD filers, such as voice service providers.

“The robocall mitigation database report and order did not address or change any forfeiture amounts that may be associated with failures to update the CORES information by non-RMD filers,” the update read.

Flick called the update a “win.”

No bouncing emails

But despite the relief, the underlying requirement is still in effect. All entities with an FRN — including radio stations — must update their CORES contact information within 10 business days of any change, such as a change in address, email or contact person.

John Broomall of Christian Community Broadcasters told us that, while he always advises for his clients to keep contact information up to date, this is the first time he can recall such a focus on it from the commission.

But for Broomall, it’s a necessary practice.

“When a consultant such as myself emails clients to ‘keep their info current,’ and the emails bounce, that is a conundrum,” he surmised.

While broadcasters are safe from the new “robocall” penalties, maintaining accurate FRN data remains a regulatory necessity. As Flick noted, if these penalties can be levied against telecom providers for data lapses, it creates a potential pathway for broadcaster fines in the future.

[Do you receive the Radio World SmartBrief newsletter each weekday morning? We invite you to sign up here.]

The post FCC Issues Clarification on FRN Update Procedures appeared first on Radio World.

The State of the Net Conference annually focuses on internet-related policy. But for FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, the potential rapid consolidation of media ownership was a topic too important to ignore.

In her speech, Gomez acknowledged the financial realities that affect broadcasters today, almost 30 years to the date of the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

But she argued that easing or removing ownership limits for broadcasters should not be considered as the only solution, and in fact, she believes it would end up exacerbating some of the same problems proponents claim it solves.

Most of the commissioner’s comments were geared toward the local TV ownership rules, but the FCC is currently reviewing all of its local ownership rules — including for radio, as we have covered. The National Association of Broadcasters, and other radio groups, support a total removal or easing of current caps, believing that such reform is needed to merely keep radio afloat against big tech.

Gomez argued that ownership concentration ends up hurting consumers the most.

“If the FCC continues down its current path, it risks repeating the same mistake that hollowed out local newspapers, only this time in broadcast television,” she warned.

Blurred lines

Speaking at the event today, the lone Democratic commissioner explained that because the lines once separating communications markets no longer exist, preserving local journalism is more important than ever.

“Even when people get their news through social media, search engines or streaming platforms, much of the original reporting still comes from local journalists,” Gomez said.

Using the newspaper industry as an example, she said there is clear evidence of what happens when local journalism weakens.

“Newspapers were not eliminated because people stopped caring about the news,” Gomez said. “They were hollowed out through consolidation, cost cutting and the loss of advertising revenue to digital platforms, as ownership decisions were increasingly made far from the communities they affected.”

Gomez worked at the FCC three decades ago when Congress passed the Telecommunications Act of 1996. She said that back then, even with the easing of limits the act allowed, part of its implementation was ensuring that no single voice, company or interest could dominate what communities see, hear and rely on for information.

She acknowledged that broadcasters today are dealing with declining revenues from advertising, digital platform competition and changing consumer habits.

But when consolidation becomes the default solution, Gomez said, it often accelerates “the very decline it is supposed to address.”

“Fewer owners does not just mean fewer balance sheets,” Gomez explained. “It means fewer independent editorial decisions and fewer local perspectives.”

Gomez cited a recent email she received from a viewer stating that a single corporate owner controls or operates most of the major broadcast TV affiliates in their local market. While it might appear that viewers in that market have more options, many of those stations share reporters, crews, anchors and often the same stories, she explained.

She also pointed to a recent poll revealing that nearly three out of four likely voters oppose large broadcast corporations buying or merging with local TV stations.

We reported on a recent poll cited by NAB, which demonstrated the opposite.

Regulatory power

The FCC itself, Gomez said, has used its power to pressure coverage in ways that are favorable to President Trump’s administration, including a recent public notice sent to ensure “equal time” for late-night TV programming. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr later clarified the notice was not geared toward talk-radio shows.

“These billion-dollar media companies have significant business before the FCC. They need regulatory approval for transactions, and they are actively seeking to reduce regulatory guardrails so they can grow even larger,” she said.

“That reality leaves local stations trapped in the middle, as corporate owners weigh regulatory risk against editorial independence and impose their will and their values on communities they may never meaningfully engage with.”

Gomez reminded the audience that Congress established a national TV ownership cap to prevent excessive concentration that threatens competition, localism and viewpoint diversity.

“It is not a suggestion,” she explained. “It is the law.”

She noted that one of the clearest examples of the agency ignoring this is its openness to transactions that would further entrench national dominance, including a potential merger between two major broadcast groups in Tegna and Nexstar that she argued would violate Congress’s restriction.

“The FCC’s responsibility is not to manage consolidation, but to steward a media ecosystem that serves consumers and communities in the real world,” Gomez concluded. “If we keep that focus, we can meet this moment without sacrificing the voices that make our democracy work.”

Comment on this or any article. Email radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post FCC’s Gomez: Fewer Owners Means Fewer Voices appeared first on Radio World.

The FCC has released the details of its proposed noncom educational band (88.1–91.9 FM) translator filing window, of which its commissioners will hold a vote to open a public notice on Feb. 18.

But are there other considerations it should make before proceeding?

Consulting engineer Edward (Ted) Schober is getting his opinion in early and he has laid out a detailed list of items he said the commission should consider that he filed in prior to a comment period that would come if the commission, as expected, approves the notice.

Schober felt his framework would enhance both the public interest and equitable distribution of authorizations.

Under the current plan the FCC has put forth, an eligible applicant for new FM translator construction permits for noncom educational stations in the reserved band would have to be a licensee or permittee of an existing NCE FM or noncommercial AM radio broadcast station or LPFM. Any proposed translator would rebroadcast the primary channel.

The FCC proposes a limit of 10 applications nationally for each applicant.

For LPFMs, however, the limits are lower. According to the proposal, a Tribal LPFM would be limited to four translator applications, while all other LPFMs would be limited to two translator applications.

Schober believes the commission’s effort is laudable in that the proposal seeks to avoid the landslide of applications for FM translators distant from the primary station.

(Read Edward Schober’s comments filed to the FCC.)

But he asked the FCC to consider other options that he felt would guarantee the public interest is served, its staff is not overwhelmed and the applications to be granted are equitably reviewed.

A fair count

Schober’s first suggestion is that if an applicant has existing FM translator licenses, either in the NCE band or the non-reserved band, the total count of existing translators should be included in the translator cap for this window. That would, naturally, render some licensees ineligible.

In addition, he said that when a licensee entity has a majority of its board or other governing body also serving as the majority of another licensee, both or all the entities should be considered as a single entity.

Schober also proposed that if an applicant wished to surrender one or more existing FM translator authorizations, conditioned on a grant of a translator authorization in this new window, the entity should be permitted one additional translator application for each translator license or LPFM license surrendered.

He told the FCC he believes applicants should be prohibited from transferring existing translators or the primary station to a different party in order to increase the number of NCE FM translator applications eligible to file in this window.

Schober, who has been providing engineering counsel for hundreds of commercial and noncommercial AM, FM and translator stations for the past 45 years, said since LPFM stations are designed to provide service to a specific local area, and not provide wide area coverage, perhaps there should be limitations to their translator ambitions.

For example, he said that a translator should be denied if its proposed 60 dBu coverage extended more than approximately 30 miles from the LPFM’s own 60 dBu contour, with the exception of Tribal and public safety entities.

Tiebreakers

Observers have wondered if the FCC might modify its existing rules to consider mutually exclusive applications, or where two or more applications can’t be granted.

Schober had several suggestions in such scenarios for NCE translator applications.

• When mutually exclusive applications are tendered, the distance from the FM translator’s 60 dBu contour to the primary station’s 60 dbBV contour (up to approximately 30 miles, with zero distance most preferable) should be the primary tiebreaker between the applications.
• If a noncom full-power station or an LPFM station F(50,50) 60 dBu or AM 2 mV/m contour serves only a portion of an urbanized area, and a proposed new NCE FM translator’s F(50,50) 60 dBu contour serves a portion, or all, of that same urbanized area, the distance between service contours should be considered zero — or given higher priority.
• Mutually exclusive applications with greater distance than 30 miles between the proposed and primary station contours should be withheld until all the more local applications are granted, then the remaining applicants given an opportunity to amend.
• Fill-in translator applications should be evaluated as having zero distance between primary and translator contours, provided that at least half of the fill in translator’s F(50,50) 60 dBu contour is shown to have primary station service of less than 70 dBu contour using the Longley-Rice model.

The commission could assign whatever weight it chooses to assign to fill in FM translators that will carry HD-2, HD-3 or HD-4 programming of the primary station, Schober wrote.

Special cases

Schober proposed that Tribal entities and public safety should be permitted any number of NCE FM translators whose 60 dBu contour remain at least 90% within their reservation or area of jurisdiction, provided they have no other NCE FM translator applications that are outside the physical area of jurisdiction or responsibility.

Applicants for new FM translators within the window should be exempt from the cap if all the applications, and the principal community of the primary station are within the same minor insular outlying area, provided the applicant has no applications outside that minor outlying area. That includes applications in the USVI, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa.

For the purpose of greatest frequency utilization and efficiency, he said that waivers should be granted to authorize NCE FM translators co-channel to the primary station, or to other co-channel NCE FM translator applications repeating the same primary station, provided that the F(50,10) 54 dBu of the new NCE FM translator remains within the F(50,10) 40 dBu contour of the primary station.

These should be conditioned that all other stations are fully protected, and proven FM synchronization methods must be used, Schober wrote.

“The nature of noncommercial educational FM stations does not entail the competitive issues that are raised with commercial broadcast stations, so there is no controversy concerning the expansion of the service contour of NCE FM stations,” he wrote in the proposal.

The commission has already said it will not accept applications for major modifications to existing NCE reserved band translators.

If the FCC adopts the proposal at its Feb. 18 meeting, a comment period will commence once the notice is printed in the Federal Register.

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The post What Should the FCC Consider in an NCE Translator Window? appeared first on Radio World.

A new petition before the FCC seeks the elimination of a section of the rules that pertains to short-spaced FM assignments.

Consulting engineer Charles Anderson wants the FCC to be able to accept applications that specify a short-spaced antenna location for which minimum distance separations are not met.

Anderson says the current language is outdated given the maturity of the band. He thinks the FCC should shift its allocations priority to improving existing facilities.

The relevant part of the rule specifies an “absolute minimum distance” for commercial FM stations, below which no amount of power reduction or signal contour overlap protection may be used to site an antenna.

The rules allow commercial FMs to request sites that are “short-spaced” to other stations by protecting existing service from interference through specific “contour protection” requirements, ensuring the new station’s predicted interfering signals don’t overlap with protected contours of other stations.

Anderson says the rules often allow transmitter site flexibility, especially in congested areas, but that the troublesome subsection prohibits the FCC from accepting applications that specify a short-spaced location for which stated minimum distance separations are not met.

It’s a “strict go/no-go limitation,” he writes. But throughout his years assisting broadcasters to improve their facilities, the “limitations in subsection (e) to §73.215 are the major impediment to existing facilities utilizing directional antennas and contour protection to move to locations that better serve their market areas.”

In many cases, he continues, broadcasters are seeking to relocate to existing towers when sites are lost, or when it is not economically viable to replace aging towers or sustain existing land and tower leasing rates inflated by wireless services.

Andreson calls it noteworthy that reserved-band stations — some 41% of FMs in the country — have never been subject to the restriction on the use of contour spacing.

“While painfully obvious to broadcast engineering professionals, it is useful to observe that there is no inherent nor even significant difference in FM propagation and reception for radio stations in the 88 to 92 MHz reserved portion of the FM band for which the subsection (e) limitation does not apply, and for radio stations in the 92 to 108 MHz non-reserved portion of the FM band for which subsection (e) does apply.”

He says broadcasters are often faced with the difficulty and expense of constructing new towers, because the restrictions frequently have blocked the use of a station’s existing tower for upgrades or the use of other towers when sites are lost or become prohibitively expensive.

Anderson cited an example of a rural Alabama broadcaster being denied a 0.44 km (1,441 feet) waiver in order to upgrade from Class A to C3 at the station’s licensed site even though there was no prohibited overlap.

“Acquisition and tower construction for a new site were financially prohibitive and the expanded 60 dBu service to an additional 58,820 listeners, a 192% increase, was thwarted. In many other cases stations have lost tower sites and the availability of alternate towers was severely limited” by the subsection rule.

The directional antenna 15 dB maximum to minimum rule and the 70 dBμ city-grade coverage rule provide adequate protection from extreme short-spacings, he told the FCC.

In his filing Anderson describes himself as a “heritage” broadcast engineering consultant, adding in a footnote that he has prepared the engineering portions of more than 1,000 FCC applications, engineering exhibits and petitions over 45 years.

The timing of his petition coincides with Chairman Brendan Carr’s “Delete, Delete, Delete” initiative seeking to do away with outdated rules and regulations.

The post Petition Would Ease a Short-Spacing Restriction appeared first on Radio World.

Two items involving foreign ownership that were adopted by the FCC last week will have an impact on broadcasters.

Attorneys Gregg Skall and Dennis Corbett of Telecommunications Law Professionals have posted details to help stations understand the implications.

First, stations will have new attestations to file and a new portal to file them in.

The commission will require broadcast licensees, among others, to file these attestations regarding whether their ownership structure involves “foreign adversary control.” That term for the FCC refers to people or organizations from, among others, China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Russia.

Skall and Corbett write that the commission is categorizing each type of license and permit into one of three schedules. Broadcasters will be required to enter certain ownership information into a new consolidated portal called the Foreign Adversary Control System. The attestations and additional disclosures will be made available to the public.

The portal has not been established yet, nor have due dates been announced.

The FCC also streamlined and clarified the foreign ownership rules for broadcasters and other FCC licensees that file petitions for declaratory ruling under Section 310(b) of the Communications Act.

These are petitions from entities with foreign ownership in excess of regular limits who want approval to hold certain regulated licenses, including broadcast licenses. In the order, the FCC codified its practices and explained how these rules affect the processing of broadcast license applications and how they apply to non-commercial, educational and low-power FM stations.

Read the Skall and Corbett blog post.

The post FCC Will Create a “Foreign Adversary Control System” appeared first on Radio World.

The legal battle between Nielsen and Cumulus Media has escalated, with the ratings giant filing a countersuit that accuses Cumulus of handing over ratings data to one of its main competitors.

In a filing Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Nielsen alleged that Cumulus engaged in an “illicit pressure campaign” designed to extract favorable contract terms.

The countersuit claims that while Cumulus was “stringing Nielsen along” during renewal negotiations for this year, it was secretly acting in bad faith by handing over what it calls “Nielsen’s crown jewels” — its radio ratings data — to Eastlan Ratings.

The filing comes as a Nielsen spokesperson told Radio World that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has granted a request to stay the preliminary injunction Cumulus had recently won, as our Randy Stine previously covered.

That injunction would have prevented Nielsen from canceling services or enforcing certain pricing policies while the lawsuit proceeded.

Email to Eastlan

The countersuit specifically names Pierre Bouvard, chief insights officer for Cumulus and Westwood One. Nielsen alleges that Bouvard sent an email to Eastlan CEO Michael Gould attaching Nielsen’s proprietary ratings data.

Gould’s testimony on Dec. 11 “attested to this fact,” Nielsen said in the filing.

According to Nielsen, this data allowed Eastlan to “benchmark” against Nielsen’s metrics and “optimize” its own products without incurring the costs of independent research.

Nielsen claimed this was an attempt to manufacture a competitor to force the ratings company to lower its prices. “Without Cumulus sharing this information with Eastlan, Eastlan would not have had access to this Nielsen Information,” the filing states.

Procompetitive

In its answer to the original antitrust complaint, Nielsen denied it is a monopolist and defended its network policy and subscriber first policy.

Nielsen argued those policies are “procompetitive” because they protect intellectual property and ensure the company is fairly compensated.

The company said that the alleged data leak to Eastlan proves exactly why such strict policies are necessary to prevent the “unauthorized use” of its data.

Nielsen is seeking monetary damages, a declaratory judgment that Cumulus breached the 2023 services agreement and a permanent injunction to stop further data sharing.

An initial pre-trial conference, according to Radio Ink, is scheduled for March 17.

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The post Nielsen Countersues, Accuses Cumulus of Leaking Data to Eastlan appeared first on Radio World.

The FCC says an LPFM hopeful failed to respond “fully and accurately” to a request for more information, so it has dismissed its application for a station in Hudson, Fla.

The commission rejected the application from Money Matters Educational Inc. (MME). The FCC found its response to be “problematic, incomplete and uncredible.”

MME had applied in the 2023 LPFM filing window, but its paperwork drew scrutiny for several errors and omissions.

The FCC questioned the location of the proposed main studio and whether its board members resided within the required distance. Board members must live within 10 miles of the proposed antenna site, according to FCC rules.

On its application, MME listed Hamon Francis Fytton as sole director. Yet Florida law requires not-for-profit corporations to have a minimum of three directors, according to the FCC. In addition, the entity’s Articles of Incorporation list three other individuals as directors: Kirby Julian, Ruben Alcoba and Luis Villa.

“None of these three individuals is included as a party to the LPFM application,” the FCC wrote in its dismissal.

In November 2024, the FCC sent a letter of inquiry seeking additional information, including confirmation of MME’s directors, notarized declarations from each individual attesting that they authorized the filing of the application and copies of each individual’s driver’s license.

The FCC says MME responded and provided some but not all of the information.

MME told the FCC it had permission to use space in an office building at the address on the application “as the main studio, headquarters and transmitter site for the proposed station.” However, it failed to provide written confirmation from the building owner, only promising to send confirmation later, which it never did, according to the FCC.

As for providing identification of the directors of the corporation, MME’s response included a copy of Fytton’s license, the FCC said, but not for the others in question.

In fact, as MME’s response explained, Kirby Julian had died nearly a month before the filing of the application.

“The LOI response further states that Luis Vila is no longer associated […] with MME, and that Ruben Alcoba was travelling out of the country and unavailable at the time of the response,” according to the FCC.

MME stated that copies of identification for “Kirby Julian and Luis Vila would not be forthcoming,” but that a driver’s license for Ruben Alcoba would be supplied “after his return from travel.”  The Audio Division said it never received a further filing.

In addition, the driver’s license for Fytton indicated he resides in Fort Pierce, Fla., about 150 miles from the proposed community of license. And in their response to the letter of inquiry, officials provided a different address for Fytton in Melbourne, outside the residential requirements.

With those strikes against MME, the FCC stated it had no option but to reject the LPFM application.

“In this case, MME has failed to respond timely to the Audio Division’s request for necessary information,” wrote Albert Shuldiner, chief of the Audio Division. “The failure to comply therefore renders the application defective.”

The FCC has dismissed several other LPFM applications recently for various reasons.

The post FCC Cites Errors in Dismissing Fla. LPFM Application appeared first on Radio World.

TuneIn’s radio stations and podcasts will now be available in some Nissan vehicles in the United States.

“Drivers will be able to access TuneIn through Nissan and Infiniti vehicles equipped with Google built-in,” it announced.

It quoted CEO Rich Stern: “Drivers want access to the audio they love the moment they start the car. By bringing the full TuneIn experience directly into Nissan’s infotainment system, we’re eliminating friction and giving listeners a safer, faster way to enjoy live sports, trusted news, music and podcasts on every drive.”

The company said listening features include live sports play by play; curated music and podcasts; access to TuneIn using voice commands via TuneIn’s App Driver Distraction Management System; and new left-side driver controls that the company says make it easier to play, pause or change audio.

TuneIn has partnerships with 14 automotive brands. In late 2025 it was acquired by Stingray, a connected streaming media company based in Canada, for up to $175 million (US) in cash.

Look for our profile of Stingray in the upcoming Feb. 11 issue of Radio World.

The post TuneIn Has New Partnership With Nissan appeared first on Radio World.

The National Association of Broadcasters says registered voters support the elimination of the national broadcast ownership cap for television — and the association says “there are clear political consequences for lawmakers” who don’t agree.

NAB commissioned a study by research firm Fabrizio Ward. It posted the findings here.

The national cap limits entities from owning or controlling broadcast television stations that, in aggregate, reach more than 39% of television audience households in the country.

“Voters say the cap is unfair and they want government to give local stations a fair chance to compete for advertising and audience against Big Tech platforms, which face no such restrictions,” NAB said in a press release.

The survey found that “58% of voters say the 39% ownership restriction is unfair, including 33% who say it is very unfair, while just 20% say it is unfair.”

NAB said the survey shows that voters “want local broadcasters to compete nationally for advertising by a 42-point margin.”

It said voters say they are more likely (36%) rather than less likely (13%) to vote for a member of Congress who “supports allowing local station owners to compete nationally for advertising.” And they are less likely (36%) rather than more likely (12%) to vote for “a member of Congress who opposes reform.”

It said 52% want government policies to “make it easier for local TV stations to compete for advertisers against Big Tech while just 9% think government should make it harder.”

And the survey found that local TV remains a trusted source of news.

Fabrizio Ward surveyed 1,000 registered voters in late January using cell, landline and SMS to web channels.

NAB President/CEO Curtis LeGeyt said voters think “the government should not impose arbitrary limits on trusted local broadcasters while Big Tech platforms face no such restrictions.”

Bob Ward of Fabrizio Ward told NAB, “Voters see this as a fairness issue, and they respond to where elected officials stand.”

The results seem to contradict a recent poll commissioned by the National Hispanic Media Coalition and Defend the Press Campaign which found that large majorities of likely voters in the upcoming mid-term elections opposed “large national broadcasters buying up or merging with local TV stations.” Read about there here.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr is seen as sympathetic to the idea of easing broadcast ownership limits. President Trump last fall expressed opposition to changing the national cap.

The post NAB Cautions Lawmakers About TV Ownership appeared first on Radio World.

The FCC is proposing the deletion of a Class C FM allocation southwest of Houston. Station KJOJ, its former occupant, has been silent since its tower collapsed several years ago.

The commission’s Audio Division is considering deleting 103.3 FM, allocated to Freeport, determining it no longer complies with minimum distance separation requirements.

KJOJ operated as a “rimshotter” into the Houston market. Its nearly 2,000-foot-tall tower stood west of the San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge, about 10 miles southwest of Freeport and about 65 miles southwest of downtown Houston.

Operating with 100,000 watts ERP, it ran in tandem with 98.5 FM in Port Arthur, a Class C FM signal about 30 miles east of Houston, since 1996.

But the station went silent in 2020 after its tower collapsed. Owner Liberman Broadcasting took it silent and it never returned.

By 2022, the license had expired and was not renewed.

Following the tower collapse, 7430 Technologies petitioned the FCC to amend the table of allotments to include a Class C2 allocation in Wharton, which is about 40 miles north of where KJOJ’s tower once stood, as Radio World reported. The commission granted that request after no counter-proposals or opposition comments were filed.

Now, since the two allocations are obviously short-spaced — well less than the required spacing of about 155 miles — the commission’s Audio Division is proposing that the Class C allocation in Freeport be deleted. 

While the commission typically reinstates vacant channels in the FM table to preserve future licensing opportunities, the Audio Division said it proposed deleting this allocation due to the spacing violation.

Comments on the deletion are being sought through March 13, with reply comments due March 30. Any party interested in retaining the allocation must provide evidence that it is technically feasible.

103.3 Freeport’s history dates back to a construction permit granted in 1985, originally as KGLF. It gained the KJOJ calls in 1990. In 1996, KJOJ began simulcasting the then-smooth jazz format of Port Arthur’s 98.5 KHYS.

[Do you receive the Radio World SmartBrief newsletter each weekday morning? We invite you to sign up here.]

The post FCC Seeks to Delete Class C Allocation for Houston Rimshot appeared first on Radio World.

A group that advocates for low-power FM stations is worried that any changes made by the FCC to current ownership rules for commercial broadcasters will have consequences on smaller community-based radio services.

In fact, it said if the commission relaxes ownership limits for primary broadcasters, it should update LPFM’s ownership limits in unison, to ensure consistency, fairness and preservation of community-based service.

The Low Power FM Advocacy Group (LPFM-AG) is among the thousands of filers who have commented during the FCC’s proceeding on broadcast ownership rules, which could result in major reforms and the elimination of AM and FM ownership caps.

“If ownership limits are relaxed, the resulting increase in local market power will have predictable downstream effects on smaller broadcasters unless complementary measures are considered,” according to the group’s filing.

The recent reply comments, signed by Dave Solomon, executive director of LPFM-AG, outline its concerns about further radio ownership consolidation and how increased local market power affects broadcasters that lack those advantages.

“Increased concentration alters the economic environment in which smaller broadcasters operate, particularly those without access to multi-station sales operations, regional branding, or capital reserves,” the group wrote.

In addition, Solomon said the FCC’s existing rules for the LPFM broadcast service create many challenges, despite the service being closely aligned with the commission’s localism objectives.

Restrictive ownership rules for LPFM

Right now, a party cannot hold an “attributable interest,” as defined by the FCC, in more than one LPFM station. Radio World has reported on repeated LPFM application rejections as a result of the ownership limit rule.

Solomon cautioned that LPFM operators are currently hampered by the most restrictive ownership, transfer and technical rules of any broadcast service.

“These constraints become more consequential as ownership consolidation increases elsewhere in the broadcast landscape,” he wrote.

(Read LPFM-AG’s reply comments, filed on Dec. 25.)

Therefore, the advocacy group is concerned that commercial broadcast ownership changes without parallel reform for LPFM would amplify existing asymmetries and increase pressure on community-based services.

If LPFM ownership rules were updated with reasonable “guardrails,” the group asserted that the service would be better assured that increased concentration does not operate “to the exclusive benefit of large clusters,” while leaving small and community broadcasters “increasingly exposed.”

The group pointed out that the commission has already determined that a rigid one station ownership limit for LPFM is not universally appropriate. Under existing FCC rules, according to the group, certain applicants are “expressly permitted to hold attributable interests in more than one LPFM station where doing so is necessary to serve their communities effectively.”

Specifically, the LPFM advocacy group noted that the commission already allows Tribal applicants and public safety or governmental entities operating within their jurisdiction to own up to two LPFM stations.

In addition, under current rules, LPFM stations may not be transferred for fair market value, according to the group.

“As a result, LPFM licenses are frequently surrendered rather than transferred,” LPFM-AG said.

AM broadcasters face similar challenges

Meanwhile, the LPFM advocate argued that small, locally-owned AM broadcasters face the same threat as LPFMs if further commercial ownership consolidation is allowed by the FCC.

They often rely on a single FM translator to remain viable. In addition, the group said, many AMs are minority owned and serve local or cultural communities.

LPFM-AG, which claimed over 500 low power FM radio stations have been killed off in the past 15 years, said noncommercial broadcasters also face comparable structural exposure.

“LPFM stations depend on local underwriting, fundraising and volunteer support. Neither service can realistically compete for local economic support against large clusters with dominant market presence,” the group wrote.

The LPFM advocacy group said commenters in the record supporting deregulation repeatedly argue “that rigid, legacy rules should give way to more flexible, service-based standards.”

Solomon argued that applying that same logic requires examining whether LPFM ownership transfer, and technical restrictions remain necessary in all circumstances.

“Absent such LPFM reforms, existing LPFM transfer and ownership restrictions will continue to force license surrender and permanently deprive communities of locally originated radio service,” Solomon wrote.

(Read our ongoing coverage of comments the FCC has been taking in its review of broadcast ownership rules.)

The post LPFM Advocate Warns FCC of Possible Side Effects of More Consolidation appeared first on Radio World.