On May 15, iHeartMedia met with the FCC Media Bureau to discuss the current plan to revitalize AM Radio and to discuss an ex parte letter describing possible changes to AM radio stations. The plan in place will reduce skywave interference protection which make it easier for AM radio stations to operate and give users more flexibility.
Jeff Littlejohn of EVP/Engineering and Systems Integration told FCC Media Bureau Chiefs present at the meeting that reducing the skywave interference protection could potentially cause more than 600,000 listeners to lose service.
“Class A stations drive listening with quality and expensive full service programming content, such as significant news production and sports programming combined with reliable coverage and that loss of listeners beyond their local metros would “undercut” their ability to provide that programming,” Littlejohn said.
Littlejohn also noted trial runs are showcasing an increase in interference and that less than 3 percent of all radios are capable of receiving digital signals that the new AM revitalization plan requires.
“The potential impact of increasing signal interference on listening, noting that AM has already lost listeners to FM due to electronic interference and that reducing Class A coverage would expose more listeners to interference like the bass-tone “beat” frequency hum experienced when Class D stations do not sign off at night,” Littlejohn added.
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Ellis says
The FCC has already destroyed the AM band for us who live and work in remote areas (central Nevada) The clear channel stations are gone and about all we can get are the Mexican stations. remember American Airlines Music till dawn? Today there is nothing comparable.The AM concept needs redone but not in digital – go to SSB reduced carrier and let us have our skywave receotion. The Govt. is screwing up EVERYTHING!
ChuckL says
Ellis is correct. However, I would go a step farther and go to full single sideband with a bandwidth selector and a tunable Beat Frequency Oscillator. This would prevent existing AM radios from reception until you added a very low power Beat Frequency Oscillator to replace the missing carrier wave. This could be an external oscillator placed on or next to the AM radio.