FCC report shows 780 new stations so far in 2016!
http://www.radiomagonline.com/industry/0003/us-adds-more-than-780-broadcast-stations/37983
TIB
Surprising to see so many AM stations still there(4676), 3/4 the number of FM stations not counting the "educational" ones.....whatever that is. Why are they separate from the "regular" stations.
Notice that most of the new stations are all going on FM, so when there's no more space in any urban area like the whole eastern seaboard then what?
Even if you get more power for FM what good is it if there's no space to go if you live in the eastern half of the country?
Here in Toronto in Southern Ontario which is the most radio conjested part of the country there's still some open places to go and on 90.7 here in Toronto, with empty frequencies on each side is still good and I wonder why nothing yet has taked this place....must be a good reason and I'm likin' it.
AM for me is an absolute last resort....hope it doesn't come to that. This translator thing doesn't seem to be happening here.
Mark
Oh what a sickening feeling, Oh what a sickening day. I've got a really bad feeling part 15 FM may see its last day (If things keep going).
Is that a song lyric from the musical show called "Oklahoma"?
Yes remember that show....used to sing that song.
@ Thelegacy, Part 15 FM could see a death in the eastern half of the country at least, if the trend continues.
There are more new AMs than FMs for many good reasons.
First of all, due to the need for ground radials, a new AM station requires a good chunk of real estate. Double, triple, or even quadruple the real estate required if that station needs two or more towers for a directional array.
This makes AM much more expensive. Not only do you need the real estate, but you need to buy and bury all those radials, adding extensively to the cost again. Not to mention the potential cost of ssveral towers.
With FM it's very likely that tower space can be leased, and towers are often shared with many other entities. The FM station I work for shares it's transmitter site and tower space with the local public station (we lease from them). That one tower holds the array for two different 100,000 watt FM stations (them on 91.7 and us on 96.9) as well as STL receiving antennas for both stations, AND the ham radio clubs repeater antennas (three). This is because, of course, the FM tower is just a supporting structure, whereas the AM tower IS the antenna. AM towers very rarely are able to play host to any other devices. Although it *can* be done, it's expensive and can play havoc with the AM stations pattern. FM also eliminates the need for all those buried radials, eliminating the need tor all that real estate.
In addition an FM transmitting antenna can often be added to an existing structure, especially in the case of translators and LPFM. We have several water towers with translator and TV repeater antennas on them.
Additionally clearing the necessary enviromental hurdles is a heck of a lot easier for one FM tower than several AM towers.
Just a few reasons why the new stations are on FM. Also, it's pretty rare when the occasion comes along to get a chance to file for a construction permit for a new AM station.
TIB
Most of the gains were in FM translators and LPFMs. AM actually lost 8 stations, while commercial FM gained 13 stations and non-commercial/educational FM gained 4 stations.