Broadcasters Want More FCC Action Against Pirate Radio
Broadcasters and legislators are waiting to see if the FCC will act on recent commitments to step up enforcement against pirate radio stations, according to interviews and an exchange of letters between Chairman Tom Wheeler and 33 House members. In Wheeler's letter to the legislators and in a June roundtable with broadcasters, the FCC identified some actions to turn up the heat on unlicensed broadcasters, but it's unclear if the agency will take the simple step that broadcasters want most, said New York Broadcasters Association President David Donovan.
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“The first thing you have to do is immediately increase pirate radio enforcement,” said Donovan. He said his organization reported 34 pirate radio stations in New York City and 15 in Newark, New Jersey, to the FCC in January. Fueling legislator and broadcaster fears is that the FCC is closing many Enforcement Bureau field offices (see 1507160036). Pirate radio has been a longtime broadcaster concern, even before the field office closure announcement (see 1109280071).
The FCC's response to pirate radio has long been to send notices of unlicensed operation rather than to leverage fines, Donovan said. Though the commission has now formed an inter-bureau task force on the matter, it's not clear that a plan that isn't focused on more enforcement will be effective, broadcast officials told us. In his response to the letter from Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., signed by her and 32 other legislators, Wheeler said “monetary penalties and equipment seizures do not deter the most aggressive pirate operators, who simply refuse to pay the FCC forfeitures and obtain cheap replacement equipment online. Given these facts, it is clear that the pirate radio problem cannot be solved by enforcement alone.” An FCC spokesman said the commission has issued 100 pirate radio enforcement actions “this fiscal year alone.”
Pirate radio is a problem because it can interfere with licensed radio and emergency alert system signals, and forces legitimate radio stations to compete with illegal broadcasts that have far less overhead, Donovan said. Pirate radio stations are often broadcast from residential apartments with no radio-frequency shielding to protect their neighbors, and they don't pass emergency alerts system (EAS) alerts to their listeners or follow equal opportunity rules for political candidates, Donovan said. “Many pirates garner audience by playing music and other material that would violate the Commission's indecency rules if aired by licensed stations,” said National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters President Jim Winston in a letter to the commission. Some pirates also rake in millions of dollars in advertising, some of it for illegal products Donovan said. “The number of pirate FM radio stations throughout New York City could well outnumber the number of licensed operations,” said Clarke's letter. “My largest concern is interference with the EAS system,” Donovan said. “You have no way of knowing you're missing emergency alerts,” if you're listening to pirate radio, he said.
Although pirate radio is generally believed to be most concentrated in New York City and Miami, Donovan said stations have been found as far afield as Albany and Boston, and he believes they are spreading. Many pirate radio stations are focused on minority communities, but that shouldn't keep the FCC from clamping down on pirate radio, Winston wrote. “Although a small number of these pirates have gained recognition for providing quality service to minority communities, such pirates are by far the exception, not the rule.” Lax enforcement on pirate stations creates an unfairly competitive environment for legitimate minority programming, he said.
While broadcasters told us they’re encouraged by the formation of the task force at a June 29 roundtable discussion with Enforcement Bureau staff, they said the planned reshuffling of the bureau’s field offices is also expected to be a blow to policing pirate radio. The plan will leave the New York City field office responsible for a much larger area, spreading enforcement efforts thin, Donovan said. Though the bureau under Chief Travis LeBlanc has become known for hefty fines and strict enforcement after several high-dollar actions against wireless carriers, that reputation hasn’t been borne out against pirate radio, some said. “It would be our hope that the FCC would devote as much effort and resources to enforcement against pirate radio as it does against larger targets,” Donovan said.
Though the roundtable and the task force haven’t yielded promises of increased enforcement, Winston, Donovan and NAB said they support some of the innovative enforcement methods brought up by the roundtable. These include going after the owners of buildings used for pirate radio, working more closely with law enforcement officials and prosecutors, and legislative changes that would increase the penalties for pirate radio. Though Donovan praised the proposals, he said they're more long-term efforts, and shouldn’t take the place of fines and seizures. “We are taking a close look at the suggestions offered by NAB,” an FCC spokesman said.