Looks like KZPE - Ford City - 102.1 (A), KZPO - Lindsay-Visalia - 103.3 (B1) and KNGS - Coalinga - 100.1 (B) have been re-listed with an east coast broker for sale. The former buyer - Big Radio Pro of Bakersfield lost interest in putting the 20th Spanish radio station into Bakersfield.
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Back on the market
- Thread starter MisterGort
- Start date
Curious what will happen to these stations.
Unfortunately, with the exception of KZPO that serves Visilia, there's no real population in a lot of the areas served. I guess KZPE serves Bakersfield. Curious how well KZPE does in Bakersfield in real world listening conditions.
In real world, KZPE puts a full 60 dBu contour over the entire City of Bakersfield and covers the entire west Kern County area and all of Delano. KNGS puts a very good signal over Fresno and Clovis. That is why Richard Smith was jumping up and down at the FCC to protect the KMAK signal. KZPE covers over 700,000 persons and KNGS has almost 950,000 persons, according to the nice maps provided by the broker and done by a well known Seattle engineering company.
While a 60 dbu is good for car reception, 95% of all in home and at work listening takes place inside the 65 dbu contour... because any less strength will not penetrate walls and construction.
The 65 dbu contour covers 119,000 persons. The market is 800,000 persons; the "market" as defined by Nielsen is all of Kern County, but none of nearby Santa Barbara or Ventura counties.
KNGS has a 65 dbu signal that covers 118,000 persons in a market of 985,000 persons. It's 60 dbu covers 192,000. In other words, about 10% of the market in the 60 dbu.
I have been through too many acquisitions where the non-technical management has been convinced by coverage maps that do not reflect useful coverage. The result is the purchase of rimshots that "look like" they are competitive through the use of contours that are lower than that which are listenable by average listeners with average radios.
David, if I felt like you and knew what you do, I would not even look at KZPE or KNGS. But I have listened to both KZPE and KNGS when they were first "on the air". KZPE had no problem being heard in my office in Bakersfield nor did KNGS in northwest Fresno inside my friends home. I could hear KZPE as far north as Tulare on highway 99 and I could hear KNGS just north of Bakersfield. That is in the real world. Not some sort of Market report that is just "on paper".
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Analysis of millions of diaries across markets that included Fresno show that 95% of in home and at work listening occurs inside the 65 dbu contours of FM stations. Of the selection of markets used for the study, there were ones larger and smaller than Fresno and also those with more rugged terrain and those with flatter terrain. The needed signal strength to be actually used by listeners is different than that which those who are in one way or another radio experts might consider to be listenable.
And I saw several significant mistakes... one in the $60 million range... made based on using more "impressive" contour maps. Driving a signal with a good car radio is not adequate for evaluating the places where over half of all listening takes place.
If ratings are critical to the success of a station, a very conservative contour analysis including Longly-Rice charts, is needed.
And I have worked in both of those markets.
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