This came to my attention because a station filed an application because they can’t afford to buy programming after 6PM…
§ 73.1740 Minimum operating schedule.
(a) All commercial broadcast stations are required to operate not less than the following minimum hours:
(1) AM and FM stations. Two-thirds of the total hours they are authorized to operate between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. local time and two-thirds of the total hours they are authorized to operate between 6 p.m. and midnight, local time, each day of the week except Sunday.
(i) Class D stations which have been authorized nighttime operations need comply only with the minimum requirements for operation between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., local time.
Nuances to the above language:
- These are the rules for commerical AM/FM stations, not non-commercial
- Class “D” are very small weak stations that few people care about
- “Licensed Hours” refers to daytime-only AM stations – the number of hours per day they are licensed for changes each month based on the length of the day
So the day is split into 3 parts – 6 AM to 6 PM, 6PM to Midnight, and Midnight to 6AM.
- You aren’t required to be on at all from Midnight to 6 AM
- You aren’t required to be on the air on Sunday (See that proves the Constiution says this is a Christian nation!!!!)
- Assuming you aren’t an AM daytimer, you have to be on 9 hours a day between 6 AM and 6 PM
- You have to be on the air 4 hours a day between 6 PM and midnight – so you can turn off the transmitter at 10 PM if you want