The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has decided how to allocate $45 million allocated by Congress to help noncoms make the digital transition. Of the total, radio gets $5 million to cover costs incurred in FY 2001 and FY 2002.
Earlier this year, CPB awarded digital conversion grants in excess of $12.5 million to 26 public television stations, and $2.5 million to the Public Broadcasting Service for the first phase of a new digital distribution traffic system.
“These recommendations are the result of months of intense effort to allocate limited funds to address the very different needs of radio and television public broadcasters,” said CPB President/CEO Robert Coonrod. “They represent an industry-wide consensus that recognizes the different timelines, technologies, and costs of the television and radio conversions.”
Following adoption an IBOC (now called HD Radio) standard, expected later this year, $3.5 million would go to convert public radio stations in 13 seed markets. (The seed markets are Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, Miami, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Atlanta, Detroit, Las Vegas, and Washington.)
One million dollars would go towards engineering development, conversion, and testing of up to four public radio AM stations, to provide solutions for daytime and night-time AM operations and resolve potential AM signal propagation issues.
CPB Divvies Up Digital Dollars
CPB Divvies Up Digital Dollars
