WASHINGTON, D.C. — The nation’s No. 1 owner of radio stations — including a host of spoken word AMs offering everything from FOX Sports Radio and BIN: Black Information Network to Premiere Network’s roster of conservative talk hosts — has told the Federal Communications Commission that it “must do no harm to AM radio” as it is under court order to wrap up its long-overdue 2018 quadrennial review of its rules while embarking on its belated 2022 review, too.
The warning from iHeartMedia was delivered by Senior Director of Government Affairs Sara Waterbury Morris in an October 10 meeting attended by Media Bureau Chief Holly Saurer, Deputy Chief Rosemary Harold, Industry Analysis Division Chief Radhika Karmarker and Assistant Chief Ty Bream, and division attorney advisor Michael Richards.
With MD Docket 22-459 a top topic but MB Docket 18-349 — the 2018 Quadrennial Regulatory Review the FCC must complete by the end of 2023 per a D.C. federal appeals court ruling — a priority, Morris recapped with the Commission officials its submissions in each quadrennial review.
As the FCC figures out whether to retain or modify the broadcast ownership rules, the company led by CEO Bob Pittman and COO/CFO and interim CEO of the Multi-Platform Group made it clear that “any relaxation of the local FM limits would not be in the public interest.”
“Any relaxation of the local FM limits would not be in the public interest.”
Why does a company that largely benefited from the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and was created through mega-mergers between 20 and 25 years ago insist that relaxing the subcaps for FM radio isn’t a good idea?
Morris, on behalf of iHeartMedia’s C-Suite, says such a change would “undermine the integral role played by AM stations in our public safety and national security communications infrastructure.”
That speaks volumes of just how important AM radio is for iHeartMedia, not to mention a host of politicians on Capitol Hill intend on keeping kHz-band talk stations they can benefit from come election time viable. In contrast, iHeartMedia’s peers continue their quest to shift listeners away from AM to FM. This week, Cumulus Media opted to simulcast KCMO-AM 710 in Kansas City on KCHZ-FM 95.7, greatly expanding its MHz-band coverage from a preexisting FM translator that will continue to operate. Then, there is Audacy Corp., which has been simulcasting all-News stations such as KCBS-AM in San Francisco and WBBM-AM in Chicago for years but most recently took a similar approach with its KNX-AM in Los Angeles and WINS-AM in New York.
In contrast, iHeartMedia in several of these markets has AM radio stations with no FM component, thus relying on accessibility to AM when data use for an app such as iHeartRadio or TuneIn can’t be had. Among them: WOR-AM in New York, and both KEIB-AM and KFI-AM in Los Angeles.
Then, there is WLW-AM in Cincinnati, a stalwart spoken word AM with a nighttime signal audible in Florida’s Panhandle that remains one of the highest-rated radio stations in North America.
Without AM, these and many other key radio properties become threatened for iHeartMedia, potentially impacting its revenue in future quarters. This may be the stronger argument iHeartMedia has, as opposed to its public safety and national security reasoning. Morris’ second reason offered on behalf of iHeartMedia as to why the subcaps on local FM radio rules shouldn’t be loosened also touches on this theme, as she stated it would harm “the outsized place of AM stations as trusted sources of local news and information, especially in emergencies.”
Lastly, Morris pointed to AM radio’s “availability as an entry point for women and minority broadcast entrepreneurs and their their diverse and innovative services to the public.”
Discussion was also had about AM radio’s presence in electric/hybrid vehicles, and how cost and complexity “is belied by the fact that many major EV manufacturers include free, over-the-air AM radio.”
Key AM Radio Stations Owned by iHeartMedia
The majority of these stations air News/Talk programming. Among the most important markets are Houston and Cincinnati, where iHeartMedia owns four AM radio stations. In Cincinnati, these stations include WLW, one of the nation’s most-listened-to stations regardless of broadcast band.
Alabama:
WNTM-AM 710 in Mobile
Alaska:
KENI-AM 650 in Anchorage
KFBX-AM 970 in Fairbanks
Arizona:
KFYI-AM 550 in Phoenix
KNST-AM 790 in Tucson
Arkansas:
KWHN-AM 1320 in Fort Smith
California:
KEIB-AM 1150 and KFI-AM 640 in Los Angeles
KFIV-AM 1360 in Modesto
KSTE-AM 650 in Sacramento
KGB-AM 760 in San Diego (Sports Talk)
KKSF-AM 910 in San Francisco (BIN: Black Information Network)
Colorado:
KHOW-AM 630 in Denver
KCOL-AM 600 in Fort Collins-Greeley
KCSJ-AM 590 in Pueblo
Delaware:
WILM-AM 1450 in Wilmington
District of Columbia:
WUST-AM 1120 (BIN: Black Information Network)
Florida:
WIOD-AM 610 and WINZ-AM 940 in Miami
WXBN-AM 880 in Miami (BIN: Black Information Network)
WFLA-AM 970 in Tampa*
WJNO-AM 1290 in West Palm Beach
Georgia:
WBIN-AM 640 in Atlanta (BIN: Black Information Network)
WYNF-AM 1340 in Augusta (BIN: Black Information Network)
WDAK-AM 540 in Columbus
WGST-AM 720 and WMGE-AM 1670 (BIN: Black Information Network) in Macon
Hawaii:
KHVH-AM 830 and KIKI-AM 990 (FOX Sports) in Honolulu
Indiana:
WNDE-AM 1260 in Indianapolis
Iowa:
WMT-AM 600 in Cedar Rapids-Iowa city
WHO-AM 1040 in Des Moines
WOC-AM 1260 in Quad Cities, Ia.-Ill.
Kentucky:
WLAP-AM 630 in Lexington
WHAS-AM 840, WKJK-AM 1080 and WKRD-AM 790 (Sports Talk) in Louisville
Maryland:
WCAO-AM 600 in Baltimore (Black Gospel)
WJDY-AM 1470 in Salisbury
Massachusetts:
WBZ-AM 1030, WXKS-AM 1200 and WRKO-AM 680 in Boston
Michigan:
WDFN-AM 1130 (BIN: Black Information Network) in Detroit
WKBZ-AM 1090 in Muskegon
Mississippi:
WJDX-AM 620 in Jackson
Nebraska:
KFAB-AM 1110 in Omaha
New Hampshire:
WGIR-AM 610 in Manchester
New York:
WOR-AM 710 and WWRL-AM 1600 (BIN: Black Information Network) in the City of New York
WKIP-AM 1450* in Poughkeepsie
WHTK-AM 1280 (Sports Talk) in Rochester
North Carolina:
WWNC-AM 570 in Asheville
North Dakota:
KXMR-AM 710 (FOX Sports Radio) in Bismarck
KCJB-AM 910 and KRRZ-AM 1390 in Minot
Ohio:
WHLD-AM 640 in Akron
WCHI-AM 1350 and WCHO-AM 1250 in Chillicothe
WKRC-AM 550, WLW-AM 700*, WSAI-AM 1360 and WCKY-AM 1530 (Sports) in Cincinnati
WTVN-AM 610 and WYTS-AM 1230 (BIN: Black Information Network) in Columbus
WONW-AM 1280 in Defiance
WIMA-AM 1150 in Lima
WMRN-AM 1490 in Marion
WKBN-AM 570 in Youngstown
Oklahoma:
KTOK-AM 1000 in Oklahoma City
KAKC-AM 1300 in Tulsa
Oregon:
KEX-AM 1190 in Portland
Pennsylvania:
WAEB-AM 790 and WSAN-AM 1470 in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton
WRAW-AM 1340 in Reading
WRAK-AM 1400 in Williamsport
South Carolina:
WGVL-AM 1440 (BIN: Black Information Network) in Greenville
Tennessee:
WDIA-AM 1070 (R&B Oldies) in Memphis
Texas:
KLVI-AM 560 in Beaumont-Port Arthur
KKTX-AM 1360 in Corpus Christi
KFXR-AM 1190 and KKGM-AM 1630 (BIN: Black Information Network) in Dallas-Fort Worth
KTSM-AM 690 in El Paso
KTRH-AM 740, KPRC-AM 950, KBME-AM 790 and KXYZ-AM 1230 (BIN: Black Information Network) in Houston
WOAI-AM 1200 in San Antonio (the flagship radio station of what had been Clear Channel Communications)
KWTX-AM 1230 in Waco
Utah:
KRNS-AM 570 in Salt Lake City
Washington:
KHHO-AM 850 (BIN: Black Information Network), KJR-AM 950 and KPTR-AM 1090 in Seattle
KQNT-AM 590 in Spokane
West Virginia:
WVHU-AM 800 in Huntington
WLTP-AM 910 in Parkersburg
WWVA-AM 1170 in Wheeling
Wisconsin:
WIBA-AM 1310 in Madison
WISN-AM 1130 in Milwaukee
- These stations maintain FM translators that reach only a small percentage of the AM station’s coverage areas.
