Feder: Me-TV FM license owner isn't losing sleep over FCC deadline

Don't worry, Me-TV FM fans. Your favorite soft-rock oldies station won't be going away, Robert Feder writes.

At least that's the word from Venture Technologies Group, which owns the license for WRME 87.7-FM, the low-power analog station on VHF Channel 6 leased by Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting as the home of Me-TV FM.

On Monday the FCC reaffirmed July 13, 2021, as the deadline for all low-power Channel 6 TV stations operating as radio stations on 87.7 FM to cease broadcasting.

"We have a solution and [are] moving forward," Paul Koplin, CEO of Venture Technologies Group, told me. The company is in the process of converting its Channel 6 stations (including those in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose and elsewhere) to digital with an analog audio carrier imbedded in the signal. "We have submitted technical studies to the FCC to demonstrate how this works, and stations in several markets are converting right now," Koplin said.

In the latest Nielsen Audio survey, Me-TV FM posted an impressive 3.0 percent audience share, ranking 12th overall.

Get the full report, and more Chicago media news, at robertfeder.com.