FCC's Doyle Supports Reforming Translator Interference Complaints
AUSTIN -- A pending adjudication on a translator interfering with a full-power FM station likely will bring “more clarity” to the FCC’s process for handling such complaints, said Media Bureau Audio Division Chief Peter Doyle on a panel Thursday at Radio Show 2017. “We are working on a case right now where a number of these issues are teed up.” The case is widely believed to be between an FM translator in Greenfield, Indiana, rebroadcasting Radio One, and Reising Radio’s full-power WXCH Columbus, Indiana (see 1707280059). Doyle indicated support for reforming the way the commission handles interference complaints between translators and stations: “We’re going to have to bear down and figure out some better procedures.”
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The process for handling interference complaints can lead too quickly to translators being bumped off the air unjustly, and relies too heavily on listener complaints, Doyle said. Similar complaints were raised in petitions filed by NAB and Aztec Capital Partners asking to change the process. “Broadcasters spend considerable amounts of money on translators, and they have the expectation they’re going to stay on the air,” Doyle said. “That doesn’t fit with our rule."
The process should rely less on listener complaints, Doyle said. Though NAB’s petition asked for translators to be allowed to move to any free channel to resolve a complaint, he said his division has a policy close to this, which could be codified as part of the reform process. There was “a lot of consensus” among radio broadcasters that translators should be allowed to move anywhere on the dial, said media broker and NAB Radio Board member Ed Henson, of Henson Media.
Chairman Ajit Pai’s plan to issue a media deregulation NPRM every month (see 1709070056) will put pressure on staff to “keep the flow going” and will result in the elimination of many “silly” rules (see 1709060073), Doyle said. The “right model” for the proceeding will not be making “major changes to the regulatory scheme” but smaller ones, he said. Doyle cited notice and reporting rules and the main studio rule as ones that could be eliminated. The proceeding should get rid of equal employment opportunity midterm reports and rules requiring notice ads in newspapers, said panelist Scott Enright, Emmis Communications general counsel.
Doyle was less supportive of proposals that would relax interference protections in the FM band. The burden on supporters of proposals to loosen FM protections or create a new FM C4 class of station is to show what about the current system doesn’t work, Doyle said. As a commissioner, Pai proposed the FM C4 class last year, and Doyle previously called it “a mixed bag” (see 1610130055). Beasley Broadcast Chief Technology Officer Michael Cooney said he opposes increasing interference in the FM band.
Doyle declined to comment on the prospects for the FCC taking action on AM/FM subcaps. NAB Associate General Counsel Larry Walke said action on the subcaps would involve a relaxation of current rules, not letting broadcasters “become completely unfettered” from rules governing how many stations in one band a licensee can own.
The translator application process is proceeding smoothly, Doyle said, echoing Pai’s remarks from Wednesday. The next step is for the bureau to issue a settlement public notice to resolve mutually exclusive applications, said the staffer.