The FCC has made some initial choices among groups of applicants vying for 18 new or modified non-commercial educational FM station CPs.
The agency reviewed the applications and has released “tentative selectees” (Excel spreadsheet).
It made the initial decisions based on criteria such as whether applicants would be a first or second NCE station in a market.
The commission earlier selected applicants for non-contested frequencies or in cases where the groups wanting the same frequency were not large. Applicants also had a chance to resolve conflicts among themselves with settlements and technical amendments.
Now it’s down to the harder decisions. Most of the applications were filed in October of 2007. The agency uses a point system to break up what it calls “mutually exclusive” groups, in which multiple applicants apply for the same frequency. Points are awarded for being locally based or having diversity in ownership.
Among those tentatively selected are Archangel Communications for a CP in Mount Vernon, Ala.; Emmaus Christian Healing Ministries, which has proposed serving Barrington, N.H.; Eastern New Mexico University for a CP in Eagle Tail, N.M.; and Living Bread Radio, which proposes to serve Boardman, Ohio.
Other tentative selections include Tillicum Foundation for a CP in Cannon Beach, Ore.; Muncy Hills Broadcasting, which proposes to serve Loganville, Pa.; and University of Wyoming for Torrington, Wyo.
In one case the FCC used its “tie-breaker of last resort,” mandatory timesharing. Eschaton Foundation and Calvary Chapel Santa Cruz are both tentative selectees in Group 25 on a timesharing basis. Each proposes to serve different communities in California: Santa Cruz and Scotts Valley, respectively.
The commission also reworked its calculations for a CP that would serve Ouray, Colo., and rescinded a February 2010 tentative decision to award it to San Miguel Educational Fund; now it has chosen Academy Media instead.
Petitions to deny applications for any of those selected are due within 30 days.
