The FCC has ordered Tim Martz to immediately shut down the station he's been operating on a translator in Detroit. Clear Channel had been complaining that the station was interfering with its rock station in Toledo and filed several complaints from listeners with the FCC. The commission took issue with Martz publicizing the names of the listeners who complained on his website and also gave Martz grief for trying to resolve the issue by offering Clear Channel listeners cell phones.
Clear Channel supplied the FCC with 28 listener complaints from Ypsilanti, Belleville and Taylor, Michigan. Listeners complained of difficulties receiving WIOT-FM at their homes and while driving. On July 27, 2011, the FCC told Martz he had one month to resolve the issue. One of Martz' resolution's was to offer Clear Channel listeners a new smartphone so they could listen to WIOT-FM on iHeartradio. Martz argued that if they can listen to the station on the Internet, problem solved. You do run into a situation where listening to the station in your home or car is free and on a phone you need a data plan. Martz told Radio Ink last night, "the bottom line is that they didn't agree with our smart phone solution. We are working on finding another frequency."
The commission went on to say that "we believe that there is a considerable likelihood that the Commission will face a never-ending series of potential complaints. Moreover, RPI's decision to publicize the names of complainants an action that will necessarily serve to discourage the filing of future bona fide complaints raises significant concerns about whether a fair and prompt complaint resolution process could operate without Commission intervention. Finally, RPI's approach will inevitably lead the Commission into a quagmire of novel issues, including whether the commercial service is programmatically "equivalent"; whether the service provides comparable signal quality and reliability; whether a listener or RPI is responsible for equipment repairs and losses; whether RPI and its successors are required to purchase equipment and pay subscription fees in perpetuity; and how the Commission could effectively monitor and enforce compliance with such requirements. The Commission cannot and need not expend such significant resources to keep a translator station on the air. In this case, the interference from W284BQ is actual and foreseeable. RPI has failed to properly eliminate such interference. Accordingly, RPI must suspend W284BQ operations immediately."Add a Comment Send This Story To A Friend
