73.872

Part 73, Subpart G, Section 73.872 is a core regulation for the Low Power FM (LPFM) broadcast service that addresses the selection process of mutually exclusive (competing) applications filed during a filing window.

Point System and local establishment date

Main article: Point system.

Local establishment date

During the filing window, the applicant will need to designate the date that the organization was first locally established in the community and remained local ever since. In order to be considered local, the applicant must have their headquarters, a campus or have at least 75 percent of the organization's board members reside within 10 miles (16.1 km) of the proposed LPFM transmitting antenna if the transmitting antenna is inside the Top 50 media markets or within 20 miles (32.2 km) if the station is outside of the top 50 markets.

Point system

The application will ask five questions regarding the point system. This will determine the number of points the applicant will be credited for. Some points require additional documentation or information on the application. The article about the Point System has more information on those requirements.

Points can be claimed for:

• Established Local Applicant - (1 point) - The applicant meets the above definition for being local and that the organization has existed for at least two years prior to the filing date of the application.
• Local Programming - (1 point) - The applicant pledges to provide at least 8 hours of locally originated programming per day.
• Main Studio - (1 point) - The applicant pledges to establish a main studio location that is accessible to the public at least 20 hours per week.
• Broadcast Diversity - (1 point) - The applicant has no other attributable interests in any other broadcast station, including those permitted under §73.860.
• Tribal Priority - (1 point) - The applicant is considered a tribal applicant pursuant to §73.853 and the proposed station is on tribal lands.
• An additional 1 point bonus will be awarded if the applicant claims both the Local Programming and Main Studio Points.

Local establishment date myth

There has been a common misunderstanding that in order to file in the LPFM window, the organization has to have been established for a minimum of two years. This is not correct. The age of the local organization does not matter, however, being locally established for at least two years allows the applicant to claim the Established Local Applicant point, which would give the applicant an advantage if the application is considered mutually exclusive.