[Written May 2012]
The FCC web site is a bit hostile to gather information about the things people have applied for (and sl0w).
Maybe a year ago, I started pulling a nightly data dump from the FCC and see what I could do with it. I think I mentioned this at the time, but I’ll mention it again. A lot of where I show up in Google Now (probably to the annoyance of many people) is publishing the data in a more transparent way which is what the FCC says the goal of sharing the data is and encouraging third parties to find ways to use it.
http://streamingradioguide.com/recent-apps.php
It’s still a bit arcane, since it is an electronic replication of a process that probably goes all the way back to 1934ish, when things were filed in manilla folders in filing cabinets and with tickler files – a process I learned in my brief internship at Social Security in 1973 when computers were just barely starting to be used.
Up at the top are important filters you’ll surely want to use unless you just like wading through unrelated random stuff.
The application type is a hodgepodge, but basically consistent – “B” as the first letter means it is a broadcast license application, the last letter is the type of service – none = “AM”, “H” = FM”, “T” = “FM Translator”, “CT” = Commercial Analog TV, “CDT” = Commercial Digital TV, “EDT” = Educational Digital TV – and what is in between is the type of application.
So “AL” stands for “Assignment of license” – “BAL” is the assignment of an AM license, “BALH” is the assignment of an FM license, “BALCDT” is the assignment of a Commercial Digital TV license.
The “Type” follows a general pattern:
“P” = application for a construction) permit
“MP” = Modification to a Construction Permit
“L” = License to cover (meaning the station is in full operation)
“TC” = Transfer of control – the owner hasn’t changed but who runs it has
“AL” = Assignment of license – what us non-lawyers call a “Sale”
“R” = Renewal
“O” = Ownership reports
When a license moves to a new facility, it basically starts over – it is given a construction permit to build the new station and once it is built and verified, then a new “License to Cover” is issued at the new location, replacing the existing license.