It’s not often that the senior Republican on the FCC and the lone male Democratic Commissioner see eye-to-eye on matters pertaining to the future of radio broadcasting in the U.S. However, they are in unison when it comes to the opportunities, on a voluntary basis, that can come with the adoption of rules paving the way for GeoBroadcast Solutions to roll out “ZoneCasting” through the use of program origination on an FM booster.
“I am very pleased to support the FCC’s unanimous decision today that authorizes
radio broadcasters to begin offering this service on a voluntary basis,” Republican Commissioner Brendan Carr said in regard to the “ZoneCasting” report and order and further notice of proposed rulemaking.
Carr acknowledged in particular the work and leadership that Commissioner Geoffrey Starks had done “to advance this bipartisan win,” adding, “I have appreciated the chance to work with him on this important item.”
Commenting on the state of the industry for Radio, Carr said, “America’s radio broadcasters are competing hard every day in the market and delivering the innovative audio content that responds to the needs and interests of their listeners. But they are competing on a playing field that has been tilted against them by outdated and unnecessary federal
regulations—restrictions that do not apply to services offered by other businesses in the audio market, including those offered by Big Tech companies. The FCC needs to do a better job of eliminating regulations that are needlessly holding broadcasters back. We take a good step in the right direction today.”
He continued, “For years, the FCC has ensured that various technologies from cable to 5G to next-gen broadcast TV have the freedom to target their content to specific geographies. This has been a proven way to serve the needs of diverse communities while bringing in additional advertisers and revenue opportunities for providers. Except the FCC has never
allowed radio broadcasters that same opportunity. It has artificially limited broadcasters’ business models. Today, we change that.
“The FCC now gives radio broadcasters the opportunity to target content for limited portions of time. With this Order, broadcasters can move forward now with plans to deploy
technology to geotarget their audiences with hyper-local news, alerts, weather reports, and advertising.”
Carr believes the Order “definitively resolves all of the issues that had been raised from interference concerns to policy considerations” and, importantly, “does not mandate that any broadcaster embrace this technology.” Rather, he explained, “It simply eliminates a federal regulation that would have prevented broadcasters from voluntarily choosing
to offer this service. It represents an approach to unnecessary regulation that should serve as a model more broadly for how the FCC’s broadcast rules should work. Moreover, the Order immediately opens up new opportunities for all FM radio broadcasters which operate in an intensely competitive media environment.”
‘THIS IS ABOUT INNOVATION’
In his own statement stating that the item has his full support, Starks exclaimed, “It’s about time we gave these broadcasters—on a voluntary basis—the opportunity to try out their plans. What they have in mind no doubt presents a fresh way of thinking about FM. But the spirit of entrepreneurship runs deep in our communications history, and embracing the new has created pathways to opportunity for millions of Americans. The same could be true for radio.”
While the National Association of Black-Owned Broadcasters (NABOB) and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) vociferously lobbied against the implementation of “ZoneCasting,” offering a litany of reasons why it would harm the Radio industry, Starks cited “small and independent FM broadcasters, many of them minority-owned,” as “the driving force behind this change.”
Starks said, “They’ve said they want to offer tailored content that speaks to specific
communities within their listening audience, including weather and emergency alerts. They’ve told us that times are tough, and that geotargeting could help them generate new ad revenue. They’ve also expressed interest in airing geotargeted content to boost public safety and civic engagement.”
In fact, Starks noted, “No fewer than 21 civil rights organizations also urged us to make this change. They believe geotargeting has the power to diversify media ownership, while giving small businesses and community organizations more of an opportunity to get their message on the air.”
