In this week’s issue… FCC cracks down on Nexstar’s WPIX deal – Remembering WBZ’s Shaw – More new LPFMs all over
By SCOTT FYBUSH
*Let’s get something out of the way at the start of this week’s column: the FCC’s current rules on TV station ownership make no rational sense.
On paper, they at least try to prevent big TV station group owners from owning so many stations that they can become fully national players. No single owner can have more than two stations in any market (with a limit of one in smaller markets), and no single owner can have stations that collectively reach more than 39% of the nation’s TV households.
Except it doesn’t work that way in the real world, for two big reasons. That cap of one or two stations in a market? It’s largely meaningless because the FCC has long allowed big companies like Nexstar and Sinclair to operate additional stations in their markets through the use of shared-services agreements (SSAs) and joint sales agreements (JSAs). So a station that might have “Mission Broadcasting” or “Deerfield Media” on its license turns out to actually be a Nexstar or Sinclair station in every sense, becoming a second or third station in what should be a one or two station market.
And that 39% national cap? It became a de facto 78% national cap after the DTV transition, when the FCC repealed but then restored the “UHF discount.” That policy, which counts UHF stations with only half their market’s households against the national cap, made sense in the old analog days when being on the UHF band really did hinder a station’s ability to succeed.
These days, though, most DTV stations broadcast on UHF RF channels, which tend to provide superior reception quality to VHF signals. Does anyone rationally believe that New York’s CBS, Fox and NBC affiliates, which all broadcast on the UHF band, should really count only half as much toward ownership caps as WABC-TV, which got stuck on the VHF dial? Of course not.
Yet it’s not any of the networks that are in big trouble with the FCC about their NEW YORK station ownership. Instead, it’s Nexstar, which doesn’t even own a TV station in the nation’s #1 market.
Behold, the 2025 calendar!
We chose the 100,000-watt transmitter of the Voice Of America in Marathon, right in the heart of the Florida Keys. This picture has everything we like in our covers — blue skies, greenery, water, and of course, towers! The history behind this site is a draw, too.
Other months feature some of our favorite images from years past, including some Canadian stations and several stations celebrating their centennials (can you guess? you don’t have to if you buy the calendar!).
We will ship daily through Christmas Eve. Place your order now for immediate shipping!
This will be the 24th edition of the world-famous Tower Site Calendar, and your support will determine whether it will be the final edition.
It’s been a complicated few years here, and as we finish up production of the new edition, we’re considering the future of this staple of radio walls everywhere as we evaluate our workload going forward.
The proceeds from the calendar help sustain the reporting that we do on the broadcast industry here at Fybush Media, so your purchases matter a lot to us here – and if that matters to you, now’s the time to show that support with an order of the new Tower Site Calendar. (And we have the new Broadcast Historian’s Calendar for 2025 ready to ship, too. Why not order both?)
Visit the Fybush Media Store and place your order now for the next calendar, get a great discount on previous calendars, and check out our selection of books and videos, too!
In this week’s issue… WBUR backs off local talk - EMF's expansion in NY, nationally - Rochester broadcasters honored - Russell finds new PA radio home - Remembering Bruce Stevens - The new calendar's here!
In this week’s issue… Remembering WNY's Palvino, Harris - Will King sell Bangor stations? - Kay moves earlier - New signal on LI - Cumulus cuts hit PA, New England - Frizzell sells in NH
In this week’s issue… Saluting a small-town radio vet - Bell moves CP24 - Scott heads west - Burlington gets Air 1, "Experimental Radio" - Family Life heads down I-86
In this week’s issue… NY TV anchor, radio historian both retiring - XPN PD to retire - More Cumulus cuts - Rogers sells FMs as Corus makes big talent cuts By SCOTT FYBUSH Jump to: ME - NH - VT - MA...
