Broadcasters continue to heavily lobby the FCC to open an AM-only window to apply for an FM translator.
NAB supports both the window and the 250-mile one-time hop being floated by the agency, according to NAB President/CEO Gordon Smith.
The approaches “are not mutually exclusive,” Smith tells RBR-TVBR in an interview.
The AM revitalization initiative is important and “it’s significant that the entire leadership of the Congressional Black Caucus has weighed in on this,” he says.
“We think there’s momentum for this and we’re very anxious for this to move forward,” says Smith.
RBR+TVBR observation: Some are worried that the Media Bureau floating the 250-mile hop could mean that’s the only way the commission would support AMs getting an FM translator, meaning the agency would not approve a special AM-only application window. The fears are no matter what happens, FM translator prices will continue to rise. Some supporters of the window have been speculating the agency could release its AM revitalization order before or even during the radio show. Smith, however, doesn’t believe it will move quite that fast. Indeed, the effort to give relief to AM owners began in 2013.
