According to The NY Post, dozens of unlicensed shows operate in New York City on an average evening and the state is home to 25 percent of the nation’s pirate transmissions, according to the FCC.
But many radio amateurs aren’t forced to walk the plank. Instead, they find new hideaways for their equipment as FCC budget cuts decrease enforcement.
There were 46 FCC field actions in New York City in 2013, compared to just 20 through July 31 of this year, government data show.
Ike Hull of Sunset Park launched Brooklyn Pirate Watch, a Twitter feed — @BkPirateWatch — to track rogue radio transmissions.
“I’m fascinated by the pirates,” Hull said. “Especially . . . their ability to get support from advertisers who . . . don’t care that they’re advertising on illegal stations.”
Hall has clocked one pirate at 94.3 FM, where a host shouted for female listeners to tune in while wearing lingerie. There’s also Radyo Independans, a Haitian Creole station squatting on 90.9 FM, according to Jersey City indie station WFMU — which claims its legal broadcasts at 91.1 FM are often interrupted by its illicit rival.
Pirates are going strong because the radio tools are cheap and their audiences are often “way less wired,” WFMU general manager Ken Freedman said.
All a pirate needs are an FM radio transmitter, an antenna, a programming source — usually a computer — and cables. Pirates can evade the FCC by moving the transmitter from one building to another.
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