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Radio station weathers complaint, to go on air
By By Jill Meier
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EmailSeptember 01. 2010 6:00AM
Despite a complaint from a Sioux Falls radio station company, Sunny Radio will begin broadcasting this week on FM 92.1.
Brandon station owner John Small said that after a four-month delay, local listeners can begin tuning into the station Wednesday. Owners of Cup O'Dirt LLC went on the air with an AM station this year.
"It's ours right now," Small said last week from the station's tower in Sioux Falls, where he was dealing with an antenna issue.
The delay was the result of an informal complaint filed earlier this year with the Federal Communications Commission by Backyard Broadcasting, which owns seven Sioux Falls radio stations.
"They filed an informal complaint, but we did nothing wrong," Small said. "But it did do what they wanted it to. They knew it wouldn't stop us but that it would slow us down."
According to Small, the complaint claimed Sunny's position on the dial is too close to that of Backyard Broadcasting's KELO-FM station at 92.5.
Barry Drake, president and CEO of Backyard Broadcasting, said that was primarily the reason the informal complaint was filed. Drake did say that it wasn't his company's intent to silence Sunny Radio on the FM frequency. Instead, he said the company mostly was concerned about the potential for interference between the two stations.
"As with any station, (the FCC says) if you are three channels away, that's fine," Drake said. "The FCC's become more relaxed and allows some stations to move around in that framework."
Drake said Sunny Radio's antenna is about one block from the Backyard Broadcasting tower in Sioux Falls. "So we certainly feel there is great potential for interference," he said.
Last week, the FCC cleared Sunny Radio to begin broadcasting at 92.1 FM.
"What has happened just over the past few days is the FCC has said, 'We hear you, but we're going to allow the move to take place from 99.1 to 92.1, but at the same time we want to be kept informed,' " Drake said.
Sunny Radio initially had filed to operate at 99.1 but was moved to 92.1 because of a license still held by the Educational Media Foundation.
"What has happened just over the past few days is the FCC has said, 'We hear you, but we're going to allow the move to take place from 99.1 to 92.1, but at the same time we want to be kept informed,' " Drake said.
Sunny Radio initially had filed to operate at 99.1 but was moved to 92.1 because of a license still held by the Educational Media Foundation.
Sunny Radio's presence on the FM dial is through a translator. Translators are set up to rebroadcast other radio stations, whether they are AM or FM, Drake said.
"If anything happens that affects an FM station, the translator goes away," he said.
That has occurred in recent months in a Backyard Broadcasting market in New York state, Drake said. He said interference occurred between a translator on the air at 95.7 and an FM station operating at 95.1.
"The FM station wanted to improve its frequency, so the FCC approved the application and told the translator to sign off," Drake said.
"These things happen all the time, and we do what we do based on how we feel we can best execute our license."
Small said his FM station can be heard within about a 25-mile radius of Sioux Falls. And once the FM station is on the air, he said Cup O'Dirt will invest in a new transmitter to improve the quality and sound of its AM station.
While Backyard Broadcasting opposed Sunny Radio's position on the FM dial, it did sell Cup O'Dirt the rights to the AM station in February.
Brandon station owner John Small said that after a four-month delay, local listeners can begin tuning into the station Wednesday. Owners of Cup O'Dirt LLC went on the air with an AM station this year.
"It's ours right now," Small said last week from the station's tower in Sioux Falls, where he was dealing with an antenna issue.
The delay was the result of an informal complaint filed earlier this year with the Federal Communications Commission by Backyard Broadcasting, which owns seven Sioux Falls radio stations.
"They filed an informal complaint, but we did nothing wrong," Small said. "But it did do what they wanted it to. They knew it wouldn't stop us but that it would slow us down."
According to Small, the complaint claimed Sunny's position on the dial is too close to that of Backyard Broadcasting's KELO-FM station at 92.5.
Barry Drake, president and CEO of Backyard Broadcasting, said that was primarily the reason the informal complaint was filed. Drake did say that it wasn't his company's intent to silence Sunny Radio on the FM frequency. Instead, he said the company mostly was concerned about the potential for interference between the two stations.
"As with any station, (the FCC says) if you are three channels away, that's fine," Drake said. "The FCC's become more relaxed and allows some stations to move around in that framework."
Drake said Sunny Radio's antenna is about one block from the Backyard Broadcasting tower in Sioux Falls. "So we certainly feel there is great potential for interference," he said.
Last week, the FCC cleared Sunny Radio to begin broadcasting at 92.1 FM.
"What has happened just over the past few days is the FCC has said, 'We hear you, but we're going to allow the move to take place from 99.1 to 92.1, but at the same time we want to be kept informed,' " Drake said.
Sunny Radio initially had filed to operate at 99.1 but was moved to 92.1 because of a license still held by the Educational Media Foundation.
"What has happened just over the past few days is the FCC has said, 'We hear you, but we're going to allow the move to take place from 99.1 to 92.1, but at the same time we want to be kept informed,' " Drake said.
Sunny Radio initially had filed to operate at 99.1 but was moved to 92.1 because of a license still held by the Educational Media Foundation.
Sunny Radio's presence on the FM dial is through a translator. Translators are set up to rebroadcast other radio stations, whether they are AM or FM, Drake said.
"If anything happens that affects an FM station, the translator goes away," he said.
That has occurred in recent months in a Backyard Broadcasting market in New York state, Drake said. He said interference occurred between a translator on the air at 95.7 and an FM station operating at 95.1.
"The FM station wanted to improve its frequency, so the FCC approved the application and told the translator to sign off," Drake said.
"These things happen all the time, and we do what we do based on how we feel we can best execute our license."
Small said his FM station can be heard within about a 25-mile radius of Sioux Falls. And once the FM station is on the air, he said Cup O'Dirt will invest in a new transmitter to improve the quality and sound of its AM station.
While Backyard Broadcasting opposed Sunny Radio's position on the FM dial, it did sell Cup O'Dirt the rights to the AM station in February.
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After months of delays, Sunny Radio will begin airing on 92.1 FM today. Station owners Heidi and John Small launched their AM station, 1520, earlier this year. Photo by Jill Meier |  |
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