AM Radio Gears Up For Friday Translator Window
The window opens Friday for Class C and D AM stations to file applications to relocate FM translators. Most of those applications will likely be filed that day despite the window's three-month span, broadcast attorneys told us Tuesday. Since such applications are first-come, first-served, stations have every reason to try to lay claim to a chunk of the FM band they can use before another station occupies it, said Fletcher Heald broadcast lawyer Frank Montero.
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AM stations that file on the first day will be given priority over stations that file on subsequent days, said Pillsbury Winthrop broadcast lawyer Scott Flick, so applications filed on subsequent days that are mutually exclusive with applications from the first day will be rejected. That dynamic makes it likely that any eligible AM station seeking a license will try hard to file its application on Day One. The Media Bureau didn't comment.
That time pressure affects deal making for translators, said Montero. Stations are attempting to have deals for translators all wrapped up in time for Friday's window opening, Montero said. That gives sellers leverage, driving translator prices northward and causing station owners to compete for the services of consulting engineers. Montero said he was aware of deals where the transaction isn't conditional on the application to relocate the translator being granted. That could leave some AM stations stuck owning FM translators they can't use, he said.
After the three-month window for C and D stations, a three-month window for all AM stations will open, said the AM revitalization order. After that, two more windows will open in 2017, wherein AM stations will be able to apply for new translators rather than move around existing ones. But the existence of that 2017 set of windows does little to relieve pressure on Friday's window, numerous broadcast attorneys told us. By 2017, there will be less available spectrum for FM translators, and there's more chance of an application being rejected. Stations that are in a position to apply for a translator now will strive to do so, the attorneys said.
Being able to broadcast on the FM band is a huge boost to an AM station, Flick said. Nighttime power restrictions on the AM band can hurt broadcasts of local events like zoning board meetings and high school football games, and it's much easier to attract advertising and investment on the FM band. FM broadcasting is a game changer for struggling AM stations, one broadcast attorney said, noting efforts to bring radio broadcasting to smart phones have focused on an FM band only chip: "The FM dial is where you want to be."