KUHA is still off the air as of 7am Monday morning. Perhaps Houston Public Media has finally pulled the plug in advance of the station transfer. Will have to check the 91.3 translator on my commute.
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KUHA: Still in limbo
- Thread starter Mediafrog+
- Start date
Update: The 91.3 translator is still running Classical music at a 8:20am check this morning.
KUHA is back on the air for the evening commute, so the power issue was resolved.
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robertsez
Guest
Very odd discovery regarding KUHA this evening.
While in Midtown early this evening I was checking K217GB (the 91.3 translator)
Where exactly is the 91.3 translator located?
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robertsez
Guest
Just got an email from the FCC. They are not going to approve the transfer until I file a sworn statement saying I received no money or other benefit for dismissing my opposition.
So tell me, Joe. Why would you, a minister and allegedly a Christian, would file a strike against KSBJ? It seem to me you pulled an identical stunt when they tried to acquire KROY.
As for receiving money or other benefit, I noticed right after you pulled your objection, you lit up 87.9 with your pirate station, and oddly enough, Enforcement looked the other way.
KUHA had nothing but dead air during my morning commute. The Classical music is back this evening, but they are light years off their clock. TOH breaks are hitting at :25 past the hour, and Performance Today which has been running at 10am and 10pm got a start at 7:25pm. So obviously the automation is way out of whack. Looks like the final days of KUHA might be messy.
Meanwhile the 91.3 translator is running normally with the live Classical 24 feed and syndicated programming at scheduled times.
Meanwhile the 91.3 translator is running normally with the live Classical 24 feed and syndicated programming at scheduled times.
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robertsez
Guest
Over the last week or so, I've noticed they appear to be plugging their other broadcast properties where Classical can be heard (i.e. KUHT 8.5, KUHF HD2). Which makes me wonder why they were justified in plunking down 9.5 million to buy KTRU when they had KUHF HD2.
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rbrucecarter5
Guest
The audio quality on KUHF HD-2 is actually better than the audio quality on 91.7. I notice that 91.7 has some weak spots in far West Houston, too.
Over the last week or so, I've noticed they appear to be plugging their other broadcast properties where Classical can be heard (i.e. KUHT 8.5, KUHF HD2). Which makes me wonder why they were justified in plunking down 9.5 million to buy KTRU when they had KUHF HD2.
Two things to keep in mind:
1. John Proffitt was running KUHF at the time. The decisions to drop local programming and then later sell the signal came after he and the channel 8 GM were both pushed out.
2. Profitt would have wanted nothing more than putting classical on HD2 and news/talk on HD1 long before Classical 91.7 came about because switching to classical on the main channel between drive times always left underwriting money on the table. He told me as much back when they turned the HD on in the first place. Had that change been made at the time, it would have upset some influential donors. Buying KTRU, even though it doesn't cover the market, was seen as a positive in the arts community (classical gets its own station) and would give KUHF the opportunity to bill more as a news/talk and still bring in the classical revenue. So they bought the station and created Classical 91.7.
While there was a healthy amount of underwriting on Classical 91.7 at first, it dropped off over time. At some point you have to ask yourself if you should do something else.
So you have a change in management, which turns the local programming into podcasts and plugs in C-24. Streaming is better accepted today than before. Also, the oil market is soft, so there are fewer dollars out there for the arts community as a whole. Put it all together, and you don't get near the amount of blowback that you would have a few years ago by moving Classical to HD/streaming/TV subchannel only. And by putting the Houston Symphony broadcasts back on 88.7 HD1 this year, they seem to have found a way to cover their bases.
Was it a mistake to buy the station? No. I think Proffitt did the right thing for the time.
I also think Schumate did the right thing for today, too.
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robertsez
Guest
Was it a mistake to buy the station? No. I think Proffitt did the right thing for the time.
Except that the purchase wasn't necessary (as has been proven by the decision to dump it), it denied a broadcast station that was truly being used by the students (as opposed to KUHF, who is licensed to UH but is off-limits to students), HD2 was completely available if UH wanted to proceed with this pseudo-News scheme, and last but certainly not least, they paid too much (although rumor has it that some of the "profit" was pocketed).
Except that the purchase wasn't necessary (as has been proven by the decision to dump it), it denied a broadcast station that was truly being used by the students (as opposed to KUHF, who is licensed to UH but is off-limits to students), HD2 was completely available if UH wanted to proceed with this pseudo-News scheme, and last but certainly not least, they paid too much (although rumor has it that some of the "profit" was pocketed).
Hindsight is always 20/20.
KTRU when at 91.7 was student run but in reality, among the Houston stations, was mostly insignificant, a costly platform for students. Under the LPFM umbrella the station returns as student run and can be enjoyed by the vast majority that loved KTRU in the first place. Student run stations tend to do best with their own campus population although there are a few exceptions. In that respect 91.7 was an expensive student operation. As a LPFM is is much easier to absorb the cost of operation.
KTRU when at 91.7 was student run but in reality, among the Houston stations, was mostly insignificant, a costly platform for students. Under the LPFM umbrella the station returns as student run and can be enjoyed by the vast majority that loved KTRU in the first place.
The old Class D stations with their 10 watts were excellent vehicles for student-run college radio. Technically simple and inexpensive to run. Too bad they fell victim to the FM power increase arms race in the 1980's.
KUHA apparently fixed their automation problems early Wednesday morning; programming has been running on schedule all day.
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The audio quality on KUHF HD-2 is actually better than the audio quality on 91.7. I notice that 91.7 has some weak spots in far West Houston, too.
The audio on 91.7 has suffered from some muddiness since around the time the sale was announced, although currently it is not as bad as it once was.
The 91.3 translator is actually sounding better now than it ever has. It used to suffer from either tinny or low audio, and sometimes had nothing but dead air for days on end. Perhaps the HPM engineers finally cleaned things up as part of the sale process.
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