The Federal Communications Commission released its latest batch of tentative winners of FM noncom educational construction permits.
These are the apparent winners from 10 mutually exclusive groups of applications filed in the NCE FM window of 2021. In most of these cases the FCC staff had already named tentative selectees but the findings were contested by other applicants. In many cases the appeals challenged the inclusion of claimed “points” that can alter the outcome of an MX group.
The results of the FCC’s review and recalculations are listed by group below. The release of this list triggers a 30-day period for the filing of petitions to deny.
(If you are interested in how the FCC conducts the MX process, assigns points and breaks ties, you should read the document because the commission chose to explain these outcomes by topic, saying it wants to provide guidance on how it applies NCE comparative criteria. For instance, in four cases the initial tentative selectees did not timely or sufficiently document their claims as established local applicants, so localism points were later rescinded, potentially changing the outcome.)
Group 59A — This group consists of seven applications to serve communities in Florida. Big Bend Heritage Music Association Inc. has two applications, one for Perry and the other for Cross City. The other applicants are Elijah Radio and Learning Avenue Inc., both for Live Oak; Florida Educational Radio Inc. for Lee; DND Ministries for Mayo; and Central Baptist Church of Ocala Inc. for West Lake. The original selectee was Elijah Radio but now the nod goes to Central Baptist Church of Ocala. In this case, after the release of the initial finding, Elijah was granted an additional authorization and was obligated to update its number of authorizations in its application, but failed to do so.
Group 59B — Six applicants sought to serve communities in Florida and Georgia. In Florida, Faith and Action Community Outreach Inc. proposes to serve Madison, and Big Bend Heritage Music Association Inc. proposes to serve Perry. In Georgia, Elijah Radio proposes to serve Dasher; Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission proposes to serve Pelham; Church Planters of America proposes to serve Quitman; and Bemiss Road Baptist Church and Lowndes County Christian Academy Inc. proposes to serve Valdosta. This group originally included two additional applicants, one of which had been named the tentative selectee, but now Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission gets the tentative nod to serve Pelham, Ga.
Group 76 — Two groups want to serve Burlington, Iowa: Heritage Baptist Church and Sound in Spirit Broadcasting Inc. Heritage Baptist originally was named tentative winner, but Sound in Spirit challenged the points assessment and now has been named the new tentative selectee.
Group 104 — Applications were filed by Johnson County Board of Education and Paintsville Church of Christ to serve Paintsville, Ky. Earlier, a series of tie-breakers didn’t produce a winner, so both were chosen and told to submit a voluntary time-sharing agreement. But the school board challenged the points calculations and now has been named the tentative selectee.
Group 106 — Radio Sharon Foundation and Horizon Christian Fellowship both want to serve Narragansett Pier, R.I. Originally Radio Sharon had been named, but Horizon Christian challenged and now has been named tentative selectee.
Group 114 — In Michigan, Evangelistic Knights of Our Lady Inc. wants to serve Escanaba, while Full Potential wants to serve Wells. Originally Evangelistic was named tentative winner, but Full Potential now has been named instead.
Group 122 — Bible Broadcasting Network Inc. and Grand Forks Bible Study Group sought to serve the community of Grand Forks, N.D. Originally Grand Forks Bible was chosen, but now Bible Broadcasting Network gets the nod.
Group 158 — Eight applicants seek to serve communities in New Mexico and Texas. New Mexico Junior College, New Hope Baptist Church–Hobbs, the City of Hobbs, Christian Ministries of the Valley Inc. and Eastern New Mexico University each proposes to serve Hobbs, N.M. In Texas, Christian Television Radio Ministry proposes to serve Andrews; Teleamerica Communications West Palm Beach Corp. proposes to serve Kermit; and Hispanic American Christian Network Inc. proposes to serve Wink. The City of Hobbs had been named earlier and after the review it remains the tentative selectee.
Group 196 — Two entities want to serve communities in Texas. Texas Public Radio proposes to serve Gonzales, while Centro Cristiano de Vida Eterna San Antonio proposes to serve Runge. The group originally included another applicant that was selected but later rejected because of lack of reasonable site assurance. Texas Public Radio is the new tentative selectee for a station in Gonzales.
Group 215 — Two applicants seek to serve communities in the Virgin Islands. Crucian Educational Non Profit Group Inc. proposes to serve Charlotte Amalie while Evangelical Megaphone Ministries Inc. wants to serve Frederiksted. Crucian Educational prevailed in a tiebreaker.
