Long-Silent AM Stations Targeted in Hearing Designation Order
The full FCC issued a hearing designation order for the license renewal applications of two commonly owned and located AM stations in Virginia with a history of long periods of silence, the HDO said. Birach Broadcasting’s stations WBVA(AM) Bayside and…
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WVAB(AM) Virginia Beach were silent for the vast bulk of time between 2008 and 2017, operating for a few days each year to avoid breaking commission rules against staying silent for a year, the HDO said. WBVA was operating for less than 200 days in that span, WVAB just under 400, the HDO said. The policy against allowing extended periods of silence by licensees “is to ensure that scarce broadcast spectrum does not lie fallow and unavailable,” the order said. The hearing on Birach’s stations will use an expedited process (see 1708030026) approved last year for stations that have long been silent, the HDO said. The proceeding will be a “paper hearing” because the FCC has “found no substantial issues of material fact or any credibility issues regarding this renewal application,” the HDO said. The hearing won’t involve discovery, though the FCC requested copies from Birach of program logs and emergency alert system records. The company has 30 days after the HDO is published in the Federal Register to turn over the records, and 60 days to file a response, the order said.