RadioBanter - QUESTION ABOUT SIGN-ON/OFF ANNOUNCEMENTS

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QUESTION ABOUT SIGN-ON/OFF ANNOUNCEMENTS

I am curious if station sign-on and sign-off announcements are required by
the FCC ?
I ask this, because I have noticed several daytime only stations recently
that do not make any type of announcement at sign-off
They just kill the carrier afer the last commercial. And they begin the
next broadcast day with programming, sometimes not even a legal ID.

Just curious about this.

George Thurman

In article ,
George S. Thurman wrote:
I am curious if station sign-on and sign-off announcements are required by
the FCC ?

Yes. 47 CFR 73.1201(a)(1).

-GAWollman

--
Garrett A. Wollman | As the Constitution endures, persons in every
| generation can invoke its principles in their own
Opinions not those of| search for greater freedom.
MIT, LCS, CRS, or NSA| - A. Kennedy, Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. ___ (2003)

"George S. Thurman" wrote in message
...
I am curious if station sign-on and sign-off announcements are required by
the FCC ?
I ask this, because I have noticed several daytime only stations recently
that do not make any type of announcement at sign-off
They just kill the carrier afer the last commercial. And they begin the
next broadcast day with programming, sometimes not even a legal ID.

Just curious about this.

The rules, as I understood them when I cared (73.1202) was that the station ID was
to be aired at the beginning and end of transmission, as well as "as close to the
hour as possible in a natural break in programming." I think this is by
international treaty, not that it's observed by many North American stations. The
station address, contact information and national anthem, therefore, are entirely
optional, abeit customary, for most stations that actually sign off. And your
experience is typical.

This rule, or a variant thereof, also applies for auxiliary (Part 74) operations,
such as studio-transmitter links. There, the hourly ID for the main programming
serves to ID the auxiliary STL, but once programming ceases on the main programming,
the STL needs to be ID'ed every hour with its own calls if it remains on. And the
form for those, by the way, are quite explicit in their delivery. STL WAP-470 in
Thistown is, like the requirement for the main channel's calls, to be ID'ed
double-you-ay-pea-four-seven-zero thistown, not "WAP-four-seventy" or other cute
variants. Keep in mind, too, that the location is the political entity of the
station's STL transmitter, so that a station licensed to Thattownoverthere with
studios in Thistown would ID the STL as I've described. For Remote Pickup links, the
facility is to be ID'ed in exactly the same manner.
--
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For direct replies, take out the contents between the hyphens. -Really!-

I am curious if station sign-on and sign-off announcements are required by the
FCC ?

A legal ID is required at the beginning and the end of "each period of
operation." (See 47 CFR §73.1201.) Otherwise, no announcement (such as the
old statement of ownership) is required.

"Bob Haberkost" wrote in message ...
Remember that the only "legal" requirement is the calls and city of license. And, in
my (non-professional) opinion, a non-legal ID at the top of the hour, just before
programming, is bogus. The ID, though, needs to be as soon as practicable after
emissions start and end, as well as the aforementioned
as-near-to-the-hour-as-possible (TV having the additional option that they can ID
either or both the video or audio). But don't forget that the FCC really is pretty
slack with this rule, where the legal ID on more than a few alt-rock stations is
buried in the :50 6-minute commercial break, and then come the top of the hour
(which, to me, is still a reasonable break in programming) you'll hear something like
"Dumbbutts96 - your Rockin' Jockin' Joint for the Tri-State Area! (A Clear Channel
Station)".

It's not just modern rockers--burying the legal in the :50 stop set is
common in *every* music format (it seems that talk radio still
believes in call letters over image name). Either that or whispering
what they don't really want you to hear like this example: "LITE ROCK
97! [whisper] WXXX Morton Grove [end whisper] CHICAGO'S HOME FOR
CONTINUOUS LITE FAVORITES WITHOUT THE RAP OR HARD ROCK OR SLEEPY
ELEVATOR MUSIC!" All, of course, with the overproduced whooshes and
lazer zips in the background.

Just think--all you needed in the old days was a tymp roll, Bill Drake
saying "And now, ladies and gentlemen, the Real Don Steele--on Boss
Radio!" and the Johnny Mann Singers singing "93 KHJ--Los Angeles!"
And all of that at the top of the hour. Guess times have changed.

I always liked "WWDC, Washington is someplace special".

what you are hearing may be a case of nighttime power/pattern change where
you are outside the night coverage area.

often the nighttime power of former daytime stations is only a few watts

there is no requirement to announce anything when switching patterns/power

Nope..it is a complete shout down. Local station here. I have noticed other
stations where I have lived have done ths.

GST

The rules, as I understood them when I cared (73.1202) was that the station
ID was
to be aired at the beginning and end of transmission,

I worked with a guy who swore an old boss of his once discovered his competitor
would sell anything, absolutely anything with no regard to its content. He
declared the boss paid for, and GOT "sponsorship" of the enemy station's
signoff message.

On the order of: "Wxxx now ceases its broadcast day. This message brought to
you by Wyyy which is on the air 24 hours if you tune over to AM 000..."

I only repeat what I'm told

Stella (make up airnames?) Starr