Bud Walters Asks FCC to Ease FM Translator Rules for AM Stations

Cromwell Group President and CEO Bud Walters is asking the FCC to make it easier for AM stations to move an existing FM translator a greater distance than currently allowed to a location where it can rebroadcast the AM station. Walters has filed an application with the Commission to accomplish that, saying that regulatory change would bring relief to a number of AM stations. "This change is staring the FCC in the face as a change it can make today - with results occurring today - to revitalize AM stations." Noting FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai's expressed desire during the recent NAB Radio Show in Dallas to find ways to "revitalize" AM radio, Walters is asking Pai to support the waiver request for the FM translator for WTCJ-AM, Tell City, Indiana, which would allow it to move an FM translator a greater distance than FCC rules now permit. Current rules specify that FM translator transmitter site moves are restricted to several miles. While there are existing FM translators that could be acquired by AM station licensees, under current guidelines they can't be moved to a more optimal location where the AM's audience could be served.