Changing the city of license of an AM or FM station is getting more difficult, based on recent FCC decisions. As we have written before, the FCC's Rural Radio order changed the manner in which the FCC reviews city of license changes. In connection with any proposed city of license change, the FCC reviews the proposal to make sure that the change will result in a favorable arrangement of allotments, making sure that the distribution of radio channels is in the public interest. In making that decision, the FCC has relied on a series of priorities - first insuring that all areas of the country get at least two radio reception services (Priority 1 was to provide service to "white areas" that currently receive no radio service at all, Priority 2 was to provide a second reception service to all areas). The next priority was to provide as many communities as possible with their first "transmission service", i.e. a station licensed to that community that would have a primary responsibility to address its needs and interests. Finally, if there was no proposal to provide a first or second reception service or a first local transmission service, the FCC looked at Priority 4 factors, i.e. other public interest matters. In the past, service to a greater number of people itself was a Priority 4 consideration. Based on a case released last week, service to a greater population apparently is no longer be viewed as justification for the change in the city of license of a radio station - even if the proposed move is from a rural community that already has a significant amount of service to a similarly well served urbanized area and results in a significant increase in the population served by the station.