Industry News

GeoBroadcast Solutions is welcoming news that the Federal Communications Commission is taking a close look at its geo-targeting proposal.

Commissioner Geoffrey Starks this week announced that Chairman Ajit Pai is circulating a draft of a notice of proposed rulemaking.

Bill Hieatt, CTO of GeoBroadcast Solutions, called this encouraging news.

“We look forward to working closely with the commission and other stakeholders during the upcoming comment period on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to provide any additional information or modeling on the effectiveness and implementation of this technology.”

The National Association of Broadcasters and Xperi have backed the idea of an NPRM. But four of the most prominent radio groups in the United States said earlier this year that more research is necessary before the FCC can seriously consider allowing zoned FM broadcasting.

GBS argues that radio is the only medium that lacks the ability to geo-target content. “This rule change would put radio on par with television, which now has that ability due to the 2017 FCC decision that allowed television broadcasters to use the Next Generation TV standard (also known as ATSC 3.0), one of the many features of which is geo-targeted programming.”

[Read more stories about the GBS ZoneCasting proposal.]

The post GBS Welcomes FCC Progress appeared first on Radio World.

The author is assistant director of integrated broadcast systems for WAMU 88.5.

WAMU is an NPR public news/talk station that services the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

I came here a little over three and a half years ago from an all-Axia plant in Atlanta. When I arrived, they already had Telos Alliance gear and legacy Pathfinder, which made my transition smooth.

Over time, as I settled into the organization and assessed its workflows, we began to look at its Pathfinder system, which was a bit out of date and needed some love. We put together a grand plan to build a whole new Axia network with Pathfinder Core PRO to freshen everything up, clean everything out and get all the systems nice and neat.

Just as we were about to begin our switchover and start making changes — in fact, only about a week before — the pandemic shutdowns began across the country. This, of course, blew all of our plans out of the water.

Ambitious remote operations

Our station decided very early on to transition to a full remote workflow, and having Pathfinder Core was a big part of reacting accordingly.

We run a national talk show for two hours every day of the week and a local talk show for an hour after that. During these shows, we run through codecs quickly, and in the studio, we had a dedicated person to get people on, connected and checked. We realized that our remote codec position needed some custom help.

For that we turned to Pathfinder Core to build what are called “panels.” A panel is a graphical and functional representation of equipment, signal flows and other functions such as monitoring and internal communication.

We built a panel that allows our codec manager to work remotely and test all 30 to 40 codecs we’ve got, doing line checks and making sure everyone is good to go before show time, and to troubleshoot issues. This was a large panel that I built, and it was a massive help to our operations.

We also built panels for our producers to remotely produce their shows, giving them a real-time feed of the show over a telephone hybrid and the ability to talk to the host, engineer or codec manager as they need to. The fact that Pathfinder Core allows you to do this with web panels makes distributing them to a ton of producers very easy.

We had 35 people “pitching” during our week of remote fundraising, and web panels allowed our pitch producers to speak to the pitchers to coordinate and cue their segments quickly. We turned our panels pages into a series of short links that make onboarding easier than before.

New way of thinking

The most powerful new feature in Pathfinder Core PRO is the relay combiner in Logic Flow events.

With the codec panel I built, we needed to update Logic Flows with new codec sources and destinations actively. When the codec manager opens a panel, they can choose their current codec, which gets written to the “Talk” button’s logic.

I could have accomplished this flow in the old system but with many more steps. When I started using the new system, it took me a little while to get used to the new way of thinking about Logic Flows, but once I got up and running, I was amazed at how much I enjoy using the system.

Right now, we are running a hybrid system of legacy Pathfinder and Pathfinder Core. Any new panels we need are built on Pathfinder Core, while the legacy system is still handling all of our studio switching and air chain events. We are getting close to the point where we will begin migrating over the rest of the systems, and I’m looking forward to having it all up to date.

Radio World User Reports are testimonial articles intended to help readers understand why a colleague chose a particular product to solve a technical situation.

For information, contact Cam Eicher at The Telos Alliance in Ohio at 1-216-241-7225 or visit http://www.telosalliance.com.

The post User Report: Web Panels Make Virtual Studios a Breeze appeared first on Radio World.

It looks like the efforts of GeoBroadcast Solutions at the FCC are producing some movement.

According to Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, Chairman Ajit Pai has circulated a draft notice of proposed rulemaking to revise the FM booster rules to allow geo-targeting of content via FM booster stations.

Starks is emphasizing the potential benefit to small, women and minority broadcasters. He put out a statement this week saying the proposal would allow the practice on a limited basis.

“The use of geo-targeted content could provide a way for minority-owned stations to better serve their communities by offering hyper-localized content including alternative language news, weather, emergency alerts and advertising periodically during the broadcast day,” Starks wrote.

“For small businesses, this option could enable them to more cost-effectively advertise to a targeted audience while enabling minority-owned FM stations to increase advertising revenue.”

[Read what the chief technology officer of GBS has said about the idea in his commentary “ZoneCasting Would Level the Playing Field for Radio.”]

Starks noted the support of this idea from 21 civil rights advocacy organizations including MMTC, the National Urban League, the Hispanic Federation, the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters and the National Asian American Coalition.

“I am pleased to support this innovative proposal, which could offer a potential lifeline to small, women and minority broadcasters that are struggling to retain their listening audiences and earn advertising revenue at a time when consumers have multiple options for access to information, entertainment, education, and civic engagement.”

Some broadcasters have told the FCC that if it were to allow this practice, it should also allow translators to original content. 

The post GeoBroadcast Proposal Likely to Get a Look at FCC appeared first on Radio World.

Your latest issue of Radio World features a special report about remote control systems — how their designs and features have changed plus tips from the experts about maximizing this important component of your on-air infrastructure.

Also: Radio leaders look beyond the pandemic; John Bisset has tips for getting the best value out of your next tower re-lamping project; and we talk to the organizers of NRB 2021, which is slated to be held in person this winter.

Read it here.

Prefer to do your reading offline? No problem! Simply click on the digital edition, go to the left corner and choose the download button to get a PDF version.

The post Inside the Oct. 28 Issue of Radio World appeared first on Radio World.

The author is with the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Although today’s listening experience tends to be dominated by streaming services, radio remains a critical foundation for disseminating sound. Radio has evolved over the past century to expand its reach and its offerings. The portable transistor radio may exist more as a relic than as an everyday item, but in its place are options like satellite radio and smartphone-enabled apps that will still play your favorite stations.

Historically, there was a major boom in demand for radio access following World War I and then during and after World War II. In addition to newspapers, radio played a leading role as a source of trusted information for the public. As radios became more common among households, more family-oriented programming also developed and became a popular form of entertainment.

[Visit Radio World’s Radio@100 Page for Related Articles]

In the 1950s, radio stations were competing with the emergence of television and began expanding their musical broadcasts to include varieties like rock ‘n’ roll. Disc jockeys, or DJs, became a go-to source for many young people, leading to the rise of new music and genres that reached listeners everywhere.

While many of us are accustomed to radio as a common fixture, it took the creativity of people like National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) Inductees Edwin Howard Armstrong and William Lear to help us reach this point.

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the invention of the radio this November, we invite you to read more about the lives of these remarkable innovators.

Edwin Howard Armstrong — FM Radio

From a young age, Armstrong often tinkered with inventions and quickly developed a strong interest in studying circuits. By his third year of college at Columbia University, he had invented the regenerative circuit. During World War I, Armstrong served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps laboratories in Paris, where he invented the superheterodyne circuit to amplify weak, high-frequency electromagnetic waves.

By 1933, Armstrong had developed a solution to the problem of eliminating radio static. His new system varied radio wave frequency over a wide band of frequency rather than a narrow band. This wide-band frequency modulation (FM) improved radio signals and allowed for newly static-free broadcasting.

William Lear — Car Radio

William “Bill” Lear had a prolific invention career. Though he only completed formal education until the eighth grade, Lear went on to join the U.S. Navy at age 16, where he would learn radio electronics. Following World War I, he used his training to launch his own company that sold and repaired radios. With his company he developed the first practical automobile radio, which included a non-battery home radio receiver with a built-in speaker.

In 1924, he sold the rights to the radio so that it could be produced on a larger scale. Galvin Manufacturing Corp., later called Motorola Inc., purchased the rights and the car radio became the company’s first major product. Lear continued to invent throughout his life, most notably founding Learjet, which became the leading supplier of corporate jets in the 1960s.

Thanks to the radio innovations developed by Armstrong and Lear, people everywhere have gained better access to information and entertainment.

The post Radio Pioneers: Edwin Howard Armstrong and William Lear appeared first on Radio World.

Digital Radio Mondiale was hoping that the Federal Communications Commission would consider allowing its technology as an all-digital option for AM stations in the United States, along with HD Radio. But the FCC disappointed it.

In its order allowing AM stations the option to turn off their analog and broadcast the MA-3 mode of HD Radio, the commission noted the interest in “alternative technologies.”

“Many commenters agree that all-digital AM broadcasting should be allowed but object to HD Radio as the sole authorized transmission technology,” it wrote.

“Specifically, commenters urge us to consider the Digital Radio Mondiale all-digital transmission technology on the grounds that it: (1) offers equal or better sound quality to HD Radio at lower bitrates; (2) can transmit metadata as well as emergency alerts, multicast subchannels, and a data channel; (3) is energy- and spectrum-efficient; (4) uses a superior audio codec; (5) is not susceptible to interference; (6) is not owned or controlled by a single company; and (7) has been used successfully in other countries and is the approved technology for shortwave broadcasting in the United States.”

But the FCC said the request was “beyond the scope of this proceeding.”

It said it needed to move expeditiously on this all-digital proposal; and that if parties believe that it should re-evaluate HD Radio and consider alternative technologies, “we would need to evaluate a fully developed proposal including data such as laboratory and field testing, similar to the petition for rulemaking that formed the basis of this proceeding.”

In the absence of data regarding DRM performance in the U.S. AM band, the FCC said it cannot evaluate its merits based just on assertions of its proponents.

“In the present proceeding, we authorize all-digital HD Radio operations now for the same reasons the commission authorized hybrid HD Radio operations in 2002: it is currently the only ‘feasible, near-term digital technology option’ before us and the adoption will ‘provide regulatory clarity and … compress the timeframe for finalizing the rules and policies that will affect the ultimate success of this service.”

However the commission said this does not foreclose future consideration of alternative transmission technologies.

[Related: “Takeaways From the AM Digital Order”]

The post No Luck for DRM in the AM Digital Order appeared first on Radio World.

The author is chief engineer at Minnesota Public Radio.

Minnesota Public Radio and American Public Media are headquartered in downtown St. Paul, Minn. within sight of the state capitol.

It operates 49 public radio stations and 42 translators serving listeners in eight states. MPR delivers three services for broadcast via satellite. The APM program portfolio reaches nearly 20 million listeners each week. Notable programs delivered live include BBC World service, “C24” and “Marketplace.”

During my 10 years with the company I have seen the Gentner/Burk GSC system migrated entirely to Burk ARC Plus Touch, ARC Plus SL and ARC Solo at 37 sites.

Flying on AutoPilot

The decision to continue with Burk for a complete remote control system update was not automatic but made sense. The GSC-to-ARC transition was aided by using the Plus-X GSC Adapter which made transition at many of our sites plug-and-play.

While most of our sites are transmitting facilities, we also have a Burk system installed at our Network Operation Center in St. Paul, which monitors codecs, satellite uplink and downlink, building temperatures and UPS status, and at the Public Radio Satellite Systems (PRSS) NOC in Washington, where our live streamed network contribution is nominally uplinked.

Our St. Paul NOC uses AutoPilot to watch over sites on multiple computers. This gives our NOC operator a machine to use while a member of the radio network team is on another machine remotely. Sites I need to see regularly are best viewed with AutoPilot from my PC. ARC units reliably report to multiple AutoPilot instances. Additionally, the Warp Engine Polling feature minimizes processor load and IP bandwidth on computers running AutoPilot. I am aware of the smartphone options that Burk has but so far have not added that to my device. While we have the relative luxury of a full-time NOC operator, I will probably avoid that.

Transmitter sites require a primary and backup remote control connection, so most sites still have a POTS line to provide a modem connection in the event of an IP failure. We have recently seen situations where the POTS line will not work reliably with the modem and there are a couple of sites that use the Burk RSI voice interface for backup. Burk works well at sites that use wireless internet as well.

I am a big fan of Custom Views in AutoPilot. One red spot on a screen will stand out even among hundreds of statuses and meters. I have created small custom views for specific purposes, like switching between two transmitters sites or keeping a close eye on equipment experiencing issues.

We are getting more versed at employing SNMP, which is taking over transmitter M and C. Our GatesAir FAX transmitters and Intraplex IP Link codecs get along well with Burk SNMP Plus. Our XDS/ATX-Networks satellite receivers display lock status and Eb/No using SNMP on multiple AutoPilot Custom Views.

In conclusion I can say we are pleased with Burk Technology products and are consistently imagining new ways to use this system.

Radio World User Reports are testimonial articles intended to help readers understand why a colleague chose a particular product to solve a technical situation.

For information about this product contact Matt Leland at Burk Technology in Massachusetts at 1-978-486-0086 or visit www.burk.com.

The post User Report: MPR/APM Build Links With Burk appeared first on Radio World.

Here’s some immediate reaction and followup to the announcement that the FCC will allow AM radio stations to use all-digital transmission if they wish.

THE CHAIRMAN LOVES AM

Ajit Pai hasn’t lost his lifeline affection for radio. In an official statement after the vote, Pai wrote: “Freddie Mercury memorably sang in Queen’s 1984 hit Radio Ga Ga, ‘Radio, someone still loves you.’ Thirty six years later, that remains true; I love radio, as do millions of my fellow Americans. And that love extends to the AM band.”

Pai repeated his frequent praise for stations that cover local events and sports, provide a forum for discourse, offer foreign-language programming and provide information in emergencies. He reminded us that in the AM revitalization initiative, more than 2,100 FM translators are on the air rebroadcasting AM signals, with another 700 pending. “Countless AM broadcasters have told me that their FM translators have given their stations a new lease on life.”

APai said that a transition to all-digital service “presents a singular opportunity to preserve the AM service for future listeners.” He also thanked Ben Downs of Bryan Broadcasting, the proponent of this proposal who hosted Pai at his stations in Texas years ago “and planted a bug in my ear about this idea.”

WHAT WILL BEN DOWNS DO?

Radio World reached Ben Downs this morning as the FCC was set to vote. “I’m glad we had a chance to be a part of this proceeding,” he told us. “David Layer at NAB conducted tests on the system over a period of years and Hubbard’s WWFD was the proof of concept.

“To me it just seemed we needed a slight push to take us to the next step. The FCC staff apparently agreed that this was a well-tested and proven system.  Regulator changes never happen as fast as you might like, especially with the burden of Covid, but the FCC staff moved really quickly to get this to today’s vote. The fact it was unanimous shows that the work done was based in solid engineering.”

I asked Downs if he will convert his own stations. “I have two of four that makes sense to convert,” he replied. “My decision tree says that if it’s a full-time station with a backup cross-band translator, then it’s an easy decision to choose to convert. Especially if you’re playing music.

“Two of my AMs have a very good sized footprint and would benefit from being able to broadcast without that noise and narrow bandwidth that defines today’s AM radio,” he said. “And, to the best I can determine, their RF facilities will require only minor adjustments.”

Just how many others will get on board is uncertain. The FCC sounded optimistic, writing that “AM broadcasters overwhelmingly support the proposal to allow all-digital AM broadcasting, as do broadcast engineers; technology companies, and some individual listeners.”

It said that “commenters believe that all-digital operation will increase the format choices that AM broadcasters can offer to their audiences, including the option of music programming (in full stereo if using enhanced mode). Hubbard asserts that all-digital operation will also allow AM broadcasters to provide program and station information along with the main audio stream more reliably than in hybrid mode. Finally, commenters note that the all-digital mode is designed to potentially support an HD-2 second programming stream.”

But Radio World is eager to hear from stations that are planning to make this move anytime soon. Anecdotal evidence has suggested to me that there may not be many stations ready to jump. I certainly have sensed no wave of pressing interest. And comments I have received personally have been doubting or downright negative. Now that the window is actually open, advocates can put their money where their mouths have been.

Email me at radioworld@futurenet.com.

MIKE RAIDE ON THE INVESTMENT

On the topic of what adjustments stations will need to make, Radio World also checked in with Mike Raide of Xperi. We asked him: If an AM station has HD Radio equipment installed, what technical changes and further investments will they need to make now in order to go all digital?

“They will need to make sure their antenna system is capable of handling an HD signal,” Raide said. “The antenna system will need to meet the required bandwidth to properly transmit an MA3 signal. This may require some additional components to properly increase the bandwidth, and some consulting work done by some familiar with AM antenna systems.”

What about stations that do not yet have any HD Radio gear? “They will need to reach out to the equipment manufacturers for the necessary equipment,” Raide replied.

“The required equipment at least would be an exciter or exporter and a transmitter capable of transmitting an MA3 signal. An MA3 signal places greater demands on a transmitter, even more so than an MA1 hybrid signal. A station would have to reach out to an equipment manufacturer to see if their solid-state transmitter is capable. A vacuum tube transmitter is not capable of any digital signal and would have to be replaced.”

On the subject of costs, the FCC wrote this in its order: “We note that all-digital broadcasting places fewer new demands on the transmission system than hybrid operation, therefore minimizing the technical and equipment costs of conversion. Kintronics sets out in detail the system parameters that would be needed for all-digital conversion, concluding that ‘the measures required on the antenna system for many sites will be minor, and the majority of antenna systems should be capable of digital transmission.’ The cost of conversion for AM stations that are already broadcasting in hybrid mode is likely to be minimal. For facilities requiring a major overhaul to accommodate all-digital transmissions, however, the costs will be considerably more.”

The commission noted that Xperi currently offers AM stations a perpetual license to use HD Radio technology with no initial or recurring costs, as we’ve reported.

FURTHER NOTABLE DETAILS

There are extensive technical discussions in the order under headings for nominal power, digital spectrum emission limits, power measurements, use of digital subcarriers, carrier frequency tolerance standard, prohibited interference and remediation procedures, night operation, EAS and other facets.

You can read the order here.

But here are a few notable takeaways:

-All-digital operation will be allowed both day and night.

-There’s a 30-day waiting period before converting to all-digital “so that transitioning AM stations can provide adequate notice to the commission, consumers and other potentially affected stations.”

-The order requires each all-digital station to “provide at least one free over-the-air digital programming stream that is comparable to or better in audio quality than a standard analog broadcast.” Beyond that though, digital subcarriers can be used for broadcast or non-broadcast services, including song and title information.

-Stations will be able to use their additional digital bitrate capacity for broadcast or non-broadcast services, with the capacity varying depending upon the mode of operation. “WWFD initially operated in core-only (reduced bandwidth) configuration while it modified its facility to enable transmission in enhanced mode (greater bandwidth),” the FCC noted. It will permit each broadcaster to select either mode as their situation dictates. (It opted not to require that additional digital data capacity be used only to enhance audio fidelity, particularly stereo audio, as some had requested.)

-Each digital station still must participate in the national Emergency Alert System. The station must ensure that any others that monitor it can still receive and decode an all-digital EAS alert, or adjust their monitoring assignments to receive EAS alerts from another station.

-The commission declined requests to consider Digital Radio Mondiale for AM digital operation, saying there has been no fully developed proposal or testing. “We approve the HD Radio MA3 mode, but do not foreclose the future consideration of alternative transmission technologies.”

-The FCC agreed to use average power of the all-digital signal (including the unmodulated analog carrier power and all of the digital sidebands) to determine whether the station is complying with the nominal power limits set out in the rules. This was a change from its original plan. “We find that this nominal power limit is technically feasible, as demonstrated in the NAB Labs experiments and WWFD’s experimental operation.”

-About interference, it wrote: “Although testing indicates that the digital signals may cause some increased degradation to analog signals, in most cases this will be masked by the noise floor, and in any case there is no evidence that interference will occur within service areas that are currently protected under our rules.”

-The FCC did not impose stricter spectral emissions limits as had been proposed in the NPRM. It said the consensus was that existing emissions limits will adequately protect stations on adjacent channels. Also, “the record indicates that these stricter HD Radio emissions limits may not be set at technically feasible levels and may need to be revisited in light of field data from all-digital experimental operation.” The FCC said stricter limits could hamper deployment of all-digital service but said it could revisit that later.

-The FCC declined to incorporate the NRSC-5D Standard by reference into its rules, for several reasons. Among them: “If we were to consider incorporating by reference the NRSC-5-D standard in the future, we would likely aim for consistency across services, and thus would consider AM all-digital, AM hybrid, and FM hybrid technical standards at the same time.” But it emphasized that it was not trying to undermine confidence in it as a voluntary standard.

-And the FCC declined to take certain other actions that had been urged upon it, saying these were beyond the scope of the proceeding. These ideas included increased enforcement to reduce noise floor levels; the sunset of AM translators; establishing a Low Power AM service; waiving regulatory fees for all-digital AM stations; allocating television spectrum for FM replacement facilities for AM broadcast stations on a primary basis; allowing translator rebroadcasting from an all-digital AM primary station to originate programming; disallowing use of HD Radio hybrid mode; authorizing AM programming on audio-only channels in ATSC 3.0 TV broadcasts; widening the FM band; other AM revitalization-related proposals, such as eliminating third-adjacent channel protections; and receiver standards.

The post Takeaways From the AM Digital Order appeared first on Radio World.

A low-power FM station in Jupiter, Fla., is facing a whomping $25,000 fine from the Federal Communications Commission — whomping, at least, for most LPFM stations.

The Enforcement Bureau issued a notice of apparent liability against Jupiter Community Radio and its station WJUP(LP).

It said Jupiter operated the station at the wrong power level, with the wrong antenna and from the wrong location; that it failed to make the station available for timely inspection as required; and that it didn’t have EAS equipment in place.

Agents from the Miami bureau found that WJUP was broadcasting from the roof of a multi-unit residential building more than a quarter mile from its licensed site and that it was using a two-bay antenna rather than its authorized one-bay model.

After some problems reaching Jupiter President Wayne Manning, the agents eventually were able to do an inspection and reported that the station also had a transmitter power output of 100 Watts and effective radiated power of approximately 177 Watts, compared to the licensed TPO of 45 Watts and ERP of 20 Watts.

They also said the station did not appear to have any EAS equipment. Manning told them that the EAS equipment was at the studio, which is on the premises of a local church that has its own LPFM station, WOIB; but despite several requests the agents said Manning provided only logs for WOIB, none for WJUP.

The bureau noted in its summary of the case that Manning had sent them e-mails and letters to advise that Jupiter had “turned down” the station’s transmitter, replaced the antenna with the correct model and “taken care of the violations.” But the FCC said none of these included a declaration attesting to the accuracy of its responses, as required by its earlier notice of violation.

Thus it says the station violated four sections of FCC rules. “These types of violations make it difficult for the commission to manage the radio spectrum, to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the technical data in its licensing databases, to fully investigate violations and to ensure compliance with the commission’s rules by entities subject to the commission’s oversight,” it wrote.

“At any time, Jupiter could have cured these violations or could have sought authority from the commission, such as through an application for special temporary authority or an application to modify the station’s license; yet it did not.”

The licensee has 30 days to reply or to pay the fine.

Read about the case here. DA-20-1248A1.docx

The post LPFM Station Faces $25,000 FCC Penalty appeared first on Radio World.

The Federal Communications Commission will allow U.S. AM radio station owners to convert their stations to all-digital HD Radio transmissions if they choose to do so.

The commission voted unanimously in favor today at its October open meeting.

Industry observers will be watching to see if any owners large or small take this step. All HD Radio receivers in the market are capable of receiving the MA3 signals; but making this switch would end analog listening on the given frequency.

[Related: Special Report: AM Advocates Watch & Worry]

The order establishes technical rules to protect existing stations from interference. Stations that want to convert will be required to notify the FCC and the public 30 days in advance.

“These stations must provide at least one free over-the-air digital programming stream that is comparable to or better in audio quality than a standard analog broadcast,” the FCC wrote in a summary. “They also must continue to participate in the Emergency Alert System. The order envisions that AM broadcasters will decide whether to convert to all-digital operation based on the conditions in their respective markets.”

The Texas broadcaster who pushed the FCC to allow voluntary all-digital transmission on the AM band has said this would be a “uniquely positive” one in AM revitalization.

Ben Downs, VP/GM of Bryan Broadcasting in Texas, petitioned the FCC in March 2019 to make this move. “The option to convert to all-digital isn’t a magic wand for an AM station, but it is a tool we can use to compete,” he told Radio World today in expectation of the vote to approve. “Those of us with AM stations have been limited to spoken word and niche formats because AM is just not suitable for mass appeal music formats. This changes that fact, and gives us many more options.”

He said there are 70 million radios in the marketplace that will receive AM digital now.

“I’m certainly happy about this. For AM stations that couldn’t find spectrum for a cross-band translator, this is a great option. It will probably benefit large markets with a crowded radio dial that still have the need to compete using an AM signal.”

This change is the latest in a series of “revitalization” steps that the commission has taken to help broadcasters that operate in the AM band, which is troubled by declining listenership, noise and changing consumer habits.

As we’ve reported, three AM stations have received experimental authority to operate in all-digital. Hubbard’s WWFD in Frederick, Md., has actively promoted the format and made presentations about its experiences. Another, WIOE in Ft. Wayne, Ind., experimented but ended its digital transmissions. A third, WTLC in Indianapolis, owned by Urban One, wanted to rebroadcast multicast channels of the AM test signal over FM translators, but the commission didn’t allow that.

The National Association of Broadcasters praised the decision. “Radio broadcasters are grateful to Chairman Pai for championing AM radio during his tenure at the FCC and thank him for successfully implementing policies to help revitalize AM stations.”

The post FCC Approves All-Digital Option for AM appeared first on Radio World.