The list of nearly 2800 applicants for a new LPFM license has been released by the FCC.
While many of the applications will end up in mutually-exclusive groups that will eventually be resolved via time sharing agreements or a points system. The FCC ranks the applicants by granting points for the applicant’s presence in the community for at least two years, commitment to broadcast at least twelve hours per day, and commitment to provide at least eight hours of locally originated programming each day. The applicant with the most points will be awarded the construction permit.
The biggest entanglement will be in Los Angeles where fifteen organizations applied for a station on 101.5, not counting applicants in nearby cities such as Compton, Conoga Park, Glendale, Long Beach and Pasadena.
Applicants came from municipalities ranging from Tafuna, American Samoa to each of the big cities. Many applicants came from the expected array of religious organizations, universities, and schools to animal welfare groups, film viewers, and state departments of transportation.
We’ve teamed with Garrett Wollman of the Boston Radio Archives and Scott Fybush of Northeast Radio Watch to produce the linked list of all the new applications sorted by state.
Looking at the list and comparing all the applications that propose cities of license within the Los Angeles market, there isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that any of them will get on the air within the next several years. Even the applications that would appear, at first glance, to be clear are mutually exclusive with others for the same frequency within 15 miles or so.
I see a lot of wasted effort on the part of “wannabe” community broadcasters here, and I wonder how many will endure the long process to get a grant. I suspect a lot of these will be decided on the basis of “last applicant standing”.
“Next couple of years” is quick by FCC standards. For some commercial allotments, the process can take as long as a decade and a half from petition to amend the table to actually having a CP in hand. So even with lots of MX applications, the process will be relatively fast by FCC standards.
As for wasted efforts, you can’t win if you don’t play. As far as “enduring,” it’s just a matter of negotiating a settlement and then waiting. And I certainly wouldn’t use the pejorative term “wannabe” broadcasters. Most of these applicants sincerely believe they can make a difference in their community, which is about 180 degrees from a lot of commercial broadcasting operations whose goal is to cashflow as much as they can for their shareholders.