WASHINGTON, D.C.—During its July meeting on July 20, the FCC will vote on issues relating to FM6 stations, aka “Franken FMs” and consider a Report and Order allowing a limited group of existing channel 6 low power television stations to continue to provide analog FM radio service as an ancillary or supplementary service.
The issue has emerged as an interesting one for the rollout of NextGen TV/ATSC 3.0 services as some LPTV stations converted to ATSC 3.0 broadcasts while offering a analog FM service.
Last July, the NAB filed comments with the FCC rejecting a proposal by NPR to repurpose some unused channel 6 spectrum for use as FM radio stations because that spectrum is playing an helpful role in the rollout of NextGen TV/ATSC 3.0 services.
The FCC issued Notice of Proposed Rulemaking last year and will now vote on an Order that allows 14 LPTV stations to continue to operate on 87.7 MHzs. The full order is available here.
In announcing the agenda for the July meeting, FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel noted that: “We’re preserving established local programming for radio audiences. For years, some low-power television stations licensed on Channel 6 have provided listeners local radio programming that was picked up on the FM dial. The Commission will vote to allow these so-called FM6 stations to continue providing their existing analog radio service by authorizing them as “ancillary or supplementary.”
In the proposed Order, the FCC noted that "Although FM6 LPTV stations were required to discontinue analog television operations and convert to digital in July 2021, there were 13 FM6 LPTV stations that were able to complete their digital transition and resume their FM6 operations with an FM6 STA with limited, if any, service interruptions. We find that preserving the long-time audio programming offered by these remaining FM6 LPTV stations aligns with one of the Commission's core principles guiding the digital transition minimizing service disruptions. FM6 LPTV stations provide free, over-the-air synchronized video and audio programming using a standard-compliant ATSC 3.0 signal and supplement that programming with
additional free, over-the-air analog audio broadcast services....[T]he availability of these additional audio services has provided programmers with a platform on which to invest in programming directed to unserved or underserved audiences that may not be available on any other stations in their markets all while continuing to provide free over-the-air video programming pursuant to their television licenses. To remove this service that radio listeners have relied on for many years would contravene the
Commission's goal of preserving service."
While the FCC grandfathered those 13 stations. it did not allow new stations to offer the service in areas where it had not already been launched. Additional research by Radio World found that 14 stations, not 13, would be protected.
Extensive coverage of the issue can be found at our sister publication Radio World and at TV Tech in a series of articles on the subject by James O’Neal.
