In broadcasting, program test authority (PTA) is an authorization to conduct on-air testing of broadcast station facilities authorized to be built under a construction permit. Once this testing is successfully completed, and all measured parameters match what was authorized in the permit, the permittee can apply to the broadcasting authority for a broadcast license to cover the permit. PTA lasts until the license is issued (or, rarely, denied).
"Program" refers to the permission to broadcast regular radio programming or TV programming, instead of just a test transmission such as a test card or bars and tone (TV only), broadcast callsign or other required station identification, or dead air (which may not be permissible). Otherwise, only brief tests are allowed without PTA, in order to verify proper installation and functioning of all transmission equipment, such as the transmitter components (exciter and amplifier), feedline, antenna, and any diplexers that may be used.
In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) gives most stations automatic program test authority if they are using an omnidirectional antenna. For stations with a directional antenna, PTA is only for half of regular power, and is not granted until the permittee's broadcast engineer certifies that the antenna is installed properly so that the station's radiation pattern is correct. Stations must apply for a license within 30 days of starting broadcasts under program test authority. Upon issuance of the license, directional stations then commence full-power operation.
A clear-channel station is a North American AM radio station that has the highest level of protection from interference from other stations, particularly from nighttime skywave signals. This classification exists to ensure the viability of cross-country or cross-continent radio service enforced through a series of treaties and statutory laws. Known as Class A stations since the 1983 adoption of the Regional Agreement for the Medium Frequency Broadcasting Service in Region 2, they are occasionally still referred to by their former classifications of Class I-A, Class I-B, or Class I-N. The term "clear-channel" is used most often in the context of North America and the Caribbean, where the concept originated.
WHA is a non-commercial radio station, licensed since 1922 to the University of Wisconsin and located in Madison, Wisconsin. It serves as the flagship for the Wisconsin Public Radio "WPR News Network". WHA's programming is also broadcast by FM station WERN in Madison. The station airs a schedule of news and talk programs from Wisconsin Public Radio, NPR, American Public Media, Public Radio International, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and the BBC.
WHSG-TV is a religious television station licensed to Monroe, Georgia, United States, serving the Atlanta area as an owned-and-operated station of the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). The station's transmitter is located in Atlanta's Cabbagetown section.
A travelers' information station (TIS), also called highway advisory radio (HAR) by the United States Department of Transportation, is a licensed low-powered non-commercial radio station, used to broadcast information to the general public, including for motorists regarding travel, destinations of interest, and situations of imminent danger and emergencies. They are commonly operated by transportation departments, national and local parks departments and historic sites, airport authorities, local governments, federal agencies, colleges and universities, hospitals and health agencies, and for special events and destinations.
A broadcast license is a type of spectrum license granting the licensee permission to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes. The licenses generally include restrictions, which vary from band to band.
WKOI-TV is a television station licensed to Richmond, Indiana, United States, broadcasting the Ion Television network to the Dayton, Ohio, area. The station is owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. Transmission facilities are provided by unrelated NBC affiliate WDTN, which shares its digital channel with WKOI-TV through a channel sharing agreement, along with WDTN's sister station, Springfield, Ohio–licensed CW affiliate WBDT ; the transmitter is located on Frytown Road in southwest Dayton. For the purposes of its FCC correspondence, WKOI's official 'studio' facility is located at Scripps Center in downtown Cincinnati.
WILL is a public broadcasting station owned by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and licensed to Urbana, Illinois, United States. It is operated by Illinois Public Media, with studios located at Campbell Hall for Public Telecommunication on the university campus.
WEW (770 AM) is a commercial radio station in St. Louis, Missouri. Owned by Birach Broadcasting Corporation, its studios are on Hampton Avenue in St. Louis. First licensed in March 1922, WEW is one of the oldest radio stations in the United States.
WSUI is a public radio station in Iowa City, Iowa. It is owned by Iowa Public Radio, Inc. and is a member of Iowa Public Radio's news network. Its signal serves most of eastern Iowa. WSUI is one of two National Public Radio member stations in the region, along with 90.9 KUNI in Cedar Falls. WSUI's sister station is classical music outlet 91.7 KSUI.
A coupon-eligible converter box (CECB) was a digital television adapter that met eligibility specifications for subsidy "coupons" from the United States government. The subsidy program was enacted to provide terrestrial television viewers with an affordable way to continue receiving free digital terrestrial television services after the nation's television service transitioned to digital transmission and analog transmissions ceased. The specification was developed by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), with input from the broadcast and consumer electronics industries as well as public interest groups.
KMJ is a commercial AM radio station in Fresno, California. It airs a news/talk radio format, and simulcasts with sister station KMJ-FM. Owned by Cumulus Media, the studios and offices are located at the Radio City building on Shaw Avenue in North Fresno.
A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats the signal of a radio or television station to an area not covered by the originating station.
WHBY is a commercial radio station licensed to Kimberly, Wisconsin, that serves the Green Bay and Appleton-Oshkosh areas. The station is owned by Woodward Communications and it airs a news/talk radio format. WHBY's studios and microwave transmitter are located on East College Avenue in Appleton.
WSUN was the call sign used from 1927 until 1999 by a St. Petersburg, Florida radio station that broadcasts to Tampa Bay Area, Florida. After 1999 the station continued to operate under different call letters.
Special Temporary Authority (STA) 74 CFR 73.1635 in U.S. broadcast law is a type of broadcast license which temporarily allows a broadcast station to operate outside of its normal technical or legal parameters. In the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) station database (CDBS), broadcast STA applications have a prefix of BSTA (general), BLSTA (legal), BESTA (engineering), or BLESTA (both). STAs can also be issued for other telecommunication services under FCC regulation. Often an STA is necessary due to an unforeseen event. A station operator must exhibit why the STA is necessary and serves the public good.
KKXA is a commercial radio station licensed to Snohomish, Washington and serving the Seattle metropolitan area. The station's broadcast license is held by CAAM Partnership, LLC., an entity controlled by the Skotdal family, which also publishes the Everett Post newspaper. The KKXA studios are shared with sister station AM 1380 KRKO at the Key Tower building in downtown Everett, Washington. The transmitter is off Short School Road in Snohomish. KKXA airs a classic country radio format.
KBUU-LP is a radio station broadcasting in Malibu, California. It transmits a modern rock format during the daytime, and community disc jockeys play their choices of music in the evenings. Licensed by the Federal Communications Commission as a low-power FM radio station, it went on-air on February 26, 2015. The station calls itself 99.1 KBU and uses the slogan "On The Air, On The Web, On The Beach"
WDNZ-LD is a low-power television station licensed to Glasgow, Kentucky, United States, serving the Bowling Green area as an affiliate of The Country Network. It is owned by Marquee Broadcasting alongside dual NBC/CBS affiliate WNKY and Ion Television affiliate WNKY-LD. The three stations share studios on Chestnut Street in downtown Bowling Green; WDNZ-LD's transmitter is located near Polkville, Kentucky.
WETV was a television station that operated on channel 13 at Key West, Florida, from 1989 to 1990. It was owned by Palmetto Broadcasters Associated for Communities, associated with Palm Beach Atlantic College, and aired programming from the Trinity Broadcasting Network in its short time on air. WETV's existence was cut short when an act of Congress ordered the channel's reservation for TV Martí, the new United States government television service for Cuba, and the government paid the owner to surrender the license.