The FCC is listening — and three Texas FM translators have been put on notice after agency field agents found they were not rebroadcasting the primary stations they were authorized to carry.
The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau issued separate Notices of Violation Wednesday to the operators of two translators in Houston and one in Fort Worth, with each cited for allegedly violating the same Commission rule governing translator programming. All three inspections followed complaints.
In the Houston markets, agents from the FCC’s Dallas office inspected the Houston, TX-licensed K291CE at 106.1 FM on May 4 and found that the translator operated by Primera Iglesia Evangelica de Apostoles y Profetas was not retransmitting Spanish religious “Radio Vida Visa” KJOZ (880), the primary station listed on its license.
The FCC says K291CE was also not retransmitting TelevisaUnivision’s Spanish CHR “104.9 FM Latino Mix” KAMA-FM, which is listed as its primary station on a construction permit granted July 13.
Agents were listening to another Houston translator that same day. The Commission says the Houston-licensed K283CH at 104.5 FM, licensed to Centro Cristiano De Vida Eterna, also was not retransmitting KJOZ, the primary station specified on its license.
A month later, the FCC found a similar situation in the Dallas market. An Enforcement Bureau agent inspected the Fort Worth, TX-licensed K225BR at 92.9 FM on June 1 following a complaint and found the Hispanic Family Christian Network-owned translator was not retransmitting TelevisaUnivision’s regional Mexican “Que Buena 94.1” KLNO, as specified on its license.
All three broadcasters are cited for alleged violations of the FCC’s rules, which generally limits FM translators to retransmitting the signals of their authorized primary AM, FM or translator stations, except for originating programming allowed under specific circumstances.
The notices do not impose fines. Instead, each licensee has 20 days to provide a written explanation of the violation, detail the steps taken to correct it and prevent a recurrence, and provide a timeline for any corrective action that remains outstanding. But the FCC makes clear the cases may not end there. Each notice says the Enforcement Bureau remains free to take additional action if warranted, including issuing a fine.
The translators are not the only Texas radio facilities to draw the Enforcement Bureau’s attention. The FCC also issued a violation notice to a Houston market low-power FM operator Bread of Life. It says agents inspecting gospel “Amazing 102.5” KMAZ-LP on May 4 found it operating well above its authorized transmitter power.
KMAZ-LP is licensed for a transmitter power output of four watts. But FCC agents measured its transmitter at 19 watts — or 475% of the station’s maximum authorized power. Bread of Life likewise has 20 days to explain what happened, outline its corrective measures and provide a timeline for completing any remaining fixes.