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Will Donald Trump's wall block border blasters
- Thread starter Tomgsinger
- Start date
Sammi Brie
Star Participant
The SCT doesn't have jurisdiction here anymore and hasn't since 2006.
The two regulators that could potentially have a hand are the RTC and the IFT.
The RTC's acronym is best remembered as Radio and Television Content (it actually means Radio, Television and Film, but that's not the point). They regulate content, advertising of contests, religious broadcasts, station IDs, and those times when stations have to carry presidential addresses, PSAs and La Hora Nacional. (The RTC manages the distribution system for all of these.) They also rate films and TV shows. They've been a lighter touch regulator than usual in the last few years, but this is still their area. The RTC has no hand in the actual technical operation of stations.
The IFT is the opposite. It is the Mexican FCC. It licenses radio and TV stations, authorizes their technical parameters, and coordinates with the FCC within the framework of the various agreements that govern broadcasting along the border, such as the 1992 Querétaro agreement that governs FM broadcasting and the 1998 Washington memorandum of understanding on digital television. (Note that some of these have treaty status.*) The IFT also has duties in the telecom space, regulating in everything from cable companies to cell phone providers. It cannot, however, sanction stations for the content they carry.
Right now, the Mexican government is still trying to figure out how they are going to react and what this means for them. They're dealing with quite a bit of unrest at home as well. In a Reforma poll put out today, President Enrique Peña Nieto's approval rating is at 12 percent, and the Morena party (read: Andrés Manuel López Obrador) is leading way-too-early presidential polling with 27 percent. June 2018 isn't that far off!
*These agreements extend beyond the broadcast bands to other portions of spectrum.
I could see one or two stations sticking with the format. Mexico has its fair share of English classic hits and English AC stations, particularly in large cities, and they bill well because they reach the high socioeconomic levels.
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I'm frankly shocked that this thread is still active.
Allow me to inject a dose of reality for a moment: Would the Mexican government really even consider eliminating some programming sales agreements for a handful of south of the border AM stations (I say again) AM STATIONS, as a form of retaliation for potential Trump's symbolic border wall?
This isn't the 60's anymore, nor is The Wolfman on XPRS. To even think this is in the cards, or would have any impact, is beyond silly.
Allow me to inject a dose of reality for a moment: Would the Mexican government really even consider eliminating some programming sales agreements for a handful of south of the border AM stations (I say again) AM STATIONS, as a form of retaliation for potential Trump's symbolic border wall?
This isn't the 60's anymore, nor is The Wolfman on XPRS. To even think this is in the cards, or would have any impact, is beyond silly.
Any of those moves spites their own economy.
Making life difficult for drivers of the economy of Mexico and limiting producers of foreign exchange for Mexico simply increase unemployment and hurts the balance of trade. And anything that harms the official image of Mexico, which has an economy so dependent on tourism, won't happen.
Of course, the term "border blaster" does not apply to any Tijuana station. That term has its origins back in the 30's with Dock Brinkley's XER and its 500,000 watts. In other words, stations well over the standard power levels of the US. None of the Tijuana FMs exceeds the power levels of a conforming Class C FM in the US.
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I was speaking specifically about FM stations. An AM "blaster" in my book has to be 100 kw minimum at night.
Yes, 690 does run 77 kw in the daytime, but is really no different than, let's say, KTNQ that puts a roughly 500 kw major lobe over downtown LA. Barely any difference and with the high noise levels in LA, no longer much of a signal except right along the coast.
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Thanks! It's quite a project, but there is little of the day to day history of radio and the technology behind it on the web in an accessible format. I've been working over a decade on this, and adding about 75,000 pages a month to the collection.
I hope you find many things to enjoy on the site.
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