Content area
Abstract
Commercial radio broadcasting via frequency modulation (FM) was authorized by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1940. In the early years, licensees of AM-FM station combinations frequently duplicated AM programming over the FM signal to minimize operational expenses. Listener and advertiser interest in FM simulcasting languished in the absence of original programming.
The imposition of the Program Nonduplication Rule in 1964 marked the first of several regulatory attempts by the commission to end what it considered to be a wasteful and inefficient practice. This study, a descriptive history of the rule and its revisions, traces more than 40 years of efforts by the FCC to promote economic parity between the AM and FM services.
The examination of financial data and audience measurement reports suggests that the FM service began to demonstrate almost immediate improvement after rule implementation. In 1976, the FCC modified the rule to further limit duplication. As FCC regulatory philosophy shifted away from the public-interest standard and toward a marketplace-based approach, the commission eliminated the nonduplication rule in 1986.
The rapid decline of the AM service and the concomitant rise in FM duplication by AM stations led the FCC just four years later to consider rule reimposition. The study relates how adverse industry reaction persuaded the commission to indefinitely postpone consideration of the proposal.
Additionally, the dissertation attributes the imposition of the rule to the increased utilization of automated program-execution equipment by broadcasters in the 1960s and 1970s. Automation technology provided financially depressed FM stations a cost-efficient alternative to live talent as a means of complying with FCC requirements. A discussion of this infrequently examined subject serves to illustrate how the appeal of programming produced especially for automated stations and targeted to young adults assisted the FM service in improving its demographic reach.
In preparing this history, the researcher relied principally upon published FCC documents, including decisions, annual reports, and memoranda. Other primary sources consulted include materials obtained directly from this agency, personal interviews, and published court decisions in which the legality of the rule was challenged. Secondary sources consulted included books, periodicals, trade publications, and newspapers.
