Transmitter/tower ownership in the US
 

In article , DrJoe wrote:

Questions for the group:


1. What are the potential financial rewards for owning and operating a
short wave radio transmitter/tower?

There are none. Getting licensed is next to impossible even for a
high-power broadcaster in the US. Talk to the guy from NDXE for an
example of a potential disaster.

2. How does an owner go about establishing a revenue stream from
potential purchasers of air time.

Oh, for play-for-pay stuff? For the most part, play-for-pay sells to
religious programming folks and not much else. This means you basically
need connections with the programming people beforehand, and it means you
need to identify your listener base for them.

3. Who would the primary customer base be?

That's a good question. Listener base is declining precipitously even
in the Caribbean and South America. I think there may still be some market
for a shortwave station that repeats local paid programming from AM and
FM broadcasters (a la CFRB or the late-lamented WRNO Worldwide), but
for shortwave-only programming you're in trouble.

Comments or suggestions?

If you really do want to start a shortwave broadcaster, do it offshore.
Start with a couple kilowatts and see what sort of coverage and listener
base you can build up. The problem is that the FCC won't license small
SW stations; you have to start with a considerably-sized installation
before you can play the game, and it's hard to find yourself a market
without some serious capital behind you.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."