RELIGIOUS BROADCASTERS DOMINATE LPFM OWNERSHIP

Who has the most shelf space in LPFM?  Evangelical Christian and Catholic broadcasters. I’m not saying this is bad or good.  It’s just the way things really are.

My curiosity came from a post I read a post on the REC BROADCAST SERVICES blog about the different types of LPFM stations [link]. REC sells equipment to broadcasters and provides engineer services such as frequency searches and FCC application technical data.  I don’t know these folks but I see them quoted a bit in trade publications.

(Scroll down to see the REC LPFM definition chart.)

REAL WORLD LPFM OWNERSHIP

I decided to quantify actual LPFM applicants based loosely on the REC template. I used a list of LPFM applicants in 2013 for the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa and the Dakotas I obtained from Northpine.com [LINK]. 

I counted 130 applicants.  Then I classified them based on the organization’s name. I was unable to define 26 applicants, so the in-tab number was 104.

Keep in mind this study is based on applicants in six Midwestern states during calendar year 2013. So, it may or may not reflect the entire country.  But I bet it does.

CHART ONE • LPFM APPLICANTS BY TYPE OF ORGRANIZATION

TYPE	APPLICATIONS	PERCENTAGE
RELIGIOUS	63	60.6
COMMUNITY	16	15.4
MINORITY & TRIBAL	11	10.6
GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC SERVICE	9	8.7
COLLEGE	5	4.8

“Community” are applicants who appear to be NFCB-ish; “Minority & Tribal” are many for non-English speaking communities; Government and Public Service” are for weather, traffic or public safety.”

CHART TWO • LPFM RELIGIOUS APPLICANTS BY TYPE

RELIGIOUS TYPE	APPLICATIONS	PERCENTAGE
EVANGELICAL CHRISTIAN	43	68.3%
CATHOLIC	14	22.2%
TRADITIONAL CHRISTIAN	4	6.3%
JEWISH	2	3.2%

“Evangelical Christian” are applicants who appear to be NRB-ish; “Traditional Christian” are mainline Christian denominations such as Lutherans and Unitatarian.

WHY THIS IS HAPPENING

Evangelical Christian and Catholic broadcasters showed up and applied for LPFM licenses. Others didn’t.  Religious broadcasters are hungry for ways to communicate. Secular noncom organizations seem to be less motivated.

Again, I’m not saying this is bad or good.  It’s just the way things really are.

REC’s LPFM DEFINITION CHART

According to REC there are six different types of LPFM station owners: