Here’s a situation that once again shows us that all too often it seems that the FCC, given a chance to do something right, just has to go 180 degrees the wrong way. Continue reading “Translator Displacement SNAFU?”
Category: For What It’s Worth…
Just my opinion and a little rant and rave now and then…for what it’s worth.
“From Another Likely Site”?
“From Another Likely Site”…that’s right, if your 307(b) showing is predicated on providing first service to a community, and your proposed site is going to allow you to cover 50% or more of an urbanized area, you don’t get to pass “go”. But even if your proposal does not cover 50% or more of the urbanized area, you still don’t get to pass “go” if there’s a chance that there is some other likely site from which you could cover 50% or more of the urbanized area. And, guess what…this is retroactive. That’s right. We’ve been contacted by at least one client who has had applications pending for multiple years by which he would be able to upgrade his stations and presumably crease the value of the stations and maybe even provide more job opportunities, but forget it now. All those years of waiting, spending money, lawyers, engineers, and expecting to see some reward before the end of life are gone.
Do we live in La La Land or what?
That’s 30 for now…for what it’s worth.
Do We Need the Distinction Between Reserved and Non-Reserved Bands?
Does anybody really make a distinction between commercial and non-commercial bands these days? I don’t mean musical “bands”, I’m referring to the fact that certain FM frequencies have been “reserved” for non-commercial licenses and certain frequencies designated “commercial”. The reality is, non-commercial stations can operate in the commercial band while commercial stations can not operate in the non-commercial band. In fact, if you take a look at the total FM spectrum, you’re going to see a growing trend toward non-commercial activity in the commercial spectrum and that includes main station transmissions as well as translators. Now, we are on the verge of a LPFM explosion in the commercial band and those stations will be designated for non-commercial uses only. Get the picture? Somebody in Washington is out to get the commercial spectrum. Continue reading “Do We Need the Distinction Between Reserved and Non-Reserved Bands?”
It Starts With an Offer
Make An Offer: Here’s a point that needs to be made as well as serve as a tip for those of you are thinking about buying a radio station. Recently, we were in the middle of a conversation with a prospective purchaser for one of our listings, and the buyer made the observation that while the stations were generating $150,000 or more in annual cashflow, the sellers were just going to have to come down on their price (which by the way was only about 6 to 7 times b.c.f.) Our response was that until there’s an offer on the table and negotiations are actually underway, there’s nothing that would motivate any seller to “come down on their price”. Continue reading “It Starts With an Offer”
What Happened to “The Dream”?
The American Dream (or “I always wanted to own a radio station…what happened”): A recent study of consumer spending (the Yankelovich Multicultural Study 2010) for the Futures Company, indicates that three-quarters of African-Americans (75%) and Hispanics (76%), along with over two-thirds of Non-Hispanic Whites (68%) believe the “American Dream” is just that–more dream than reality. Continue reading “What Happened to “The Dream”?”