A music industry trade association representing Christian and Gospel labels is asking the FCC to treat FM and AM as two separate regulatory problems in its still-pending 2022 Quadrennial Review, holding the line on local commercial FM ownership caps while eliminating limits on how many AM stations a single entity may own within a given market.
In his filing, Christian Music Trade Association President Ed Leonard framed the dual ask as two sides of the same coin: protecting independent operators where they remain most active while giving struggling AM licensees the flexibility needed to survive a band where technical disadvantages and revenue erosion have already thinned the field.
The filing puts CMTA alongside the National Religious Broadcasters, which staked out similar ground in January. NRB argued then that FM consolidation would marginalize independent voices while AM deregulation would provide a financial lifeline to mission-driven operators whose continued presence in local markets has little to do with market efficiency.
On FM, CMTA leaned on iHeartMedia’s earlier comments, citing iHeart’s warning that loosening those caps would trigger mass AM divestiture as owners redirected capital toward FM acquisitions. iHeart cautioned that reshift would hollow out the financial underpinnings of AM station assets and fall hardest on women and minority owners.
Christian radio’s loyalty factor also played a role in the filing. Jacobs Media’s Techsurvey 2025 found 82% of Christian and Gospel radio listeners would recommend their favorite station to others, ahead of public radio at 66%, Contemporary Hits Radio at 55%, and Country at 52%. A separate 2025 Finney Media survey of nearly 12,000 Christian radio listeners found 93% cited liking worshipful Christian music as their primary reason for tuning in, 91% said the format helped them worship throughout the day, and 82% said they listened for encouragement.
CMTA also pointed to reporting by RBR+TVBR partner publication Radio Ink, detailing a survey of Liberty University students showing 41% of Gen Z respondents already tune in to Christian radio, offered as evidence that the format’s audience is not eroding at the pace broader terrestrial radio trends might suggest.
That matters, the filing argues, because independent commercial Christian and Gospel stations are already competing on multiple fronts at once: non-commercial religious clusters, large commercial FM clusters carrying up to five signals in major markets, and global streaming and satellite platforms. Further FM consolidation, CMTA contends, would only widen the competitive gap those independents face for local advertising dollars with no corresponding benefit to show for it.
The 2022 Quadrennial Review remains before the Commission with no apparent timeline for resolution.
