February ratings are out

[Mediafrog+]

February numbers: https://ratings.****************/cgi-bin/rol.exe/arb033

Whatever Entercom is doing with 100.3 The Bull, it is working. They are now well ahead of 93Q. I haven't paid any attention to Country radio in recent years, so perhaps a Country fan can provide some insight as to the reversal of fortunes.

I'm starting to wonder about 94.5 The Buzz. Numbers are still decent, but down quite a bit from what they used to be. I have a feeling that the "Rock and Alternative" mishmash is causing Rock fans to defect to streaming options, as they have no other options on terrestrial radio here.

El Norte 107.9 showing some strength! Far ahead of Liberman sibling La Raza.

SportsRadio 610 and ESPN 97.5 are tied. SportsTalk 790 is collapsing, but we'll wait to see how they do once the Astros regular season starts. February is a blah sports month outside of the Super Bowl.

And our favorite dumpster fire, KROI, shows a slight uptick but is still stuck in the zeroes. We still await news of a station sale.

As an aside, when looking over the DFW numbers I was quite surprised to see KAWA "Way-FM" beating Air1 on KYDA as well as Christian CHR on KCBI. Could Way-FM eventually make its way into the Houston market?

 

[tb_]

Their audio chain is still extremely fatiguing to listen to, and I spend much more time listening to their HD3 subchannel... but KILT seems to have expanded their playlist quite a bit recently, and they have been giving away a large quantity of rodeo tickets. I'm thinking that one of those two things, if not both, may be a cause for the uptick.

 

[2Speakers]

And our favorite dumpster fire, KROI, shows a slight uptick but is still stuck in the zeroes. We still await news of a station sale.

Format flip? Possibly.

Sale? Not likely.

Radio One drastically overpaid for that frequency. They would have to take a serious write-down to unload it. As a publicly traded company, it would be a bad look for Wall St.

 

[davideduardo]

Format flip? Possibly.

Sale? Not likely.

Radio One drastically overpaid for that frequency. They would have to take a serious write-down to unload it. As a publicly traded company, it would be a bad look for Wall St.

It appears that they have already taken an impairment charge on this one. Urban One just a few weeks ago talked about the sale of non-strategic assets, one of several companies to do this.

 

[davideduardo]

Whatever Entercom is doing with 100.3 The Bull, it is working. They are now well ahead of 93Q. I haven't paid any attention to Country radio in recent years, so perhaps a Country fan can provide some insight as to the reversal of fortunes.

It appears that the cume for The Bull is now the highest of any station in thee country (and, of course, in the world) in the February book. The numbers look solid in each week of the last 8, so both January and February do not appear to be wobbles or aberrations.

 

[2Speakers]

It appears that they have already taken an impairment charge on this one. Urban One just a few weeks ago talked about the sale of non-strategic assets, one of several companies to do this.

Interesting! Hadn't heard that, but it would seem to make a sale more likely.

I wonder what the billing was like with the gospel format? I remember it pulling decent numbers for the niche. Significantly better than news or CHR if I remember correctly.

 

[davideduardo]

Interesting! Hadn't heard that, but it would seem to make a sale more likely.

I wonder what the billing was like with the gospel format? I remember it pulling decent numbers for the niche. Significantly better than news or CHR if I remember correctly.

Billing was horrible, which is why they went the news route first and then the CHR direction.

 

[Mediafrog+]

Interesting! Hadn't heard that, but it would seem to make a sale more likely.

Speculation about a sale of KROI seemed to pick up a bit after Urban One sold one of its Detroit stations to EMF. UO seemed ready to jettison underperforming assets.

I wonder what the billing was like with the gospel format? I remember it pulling decent numbers for the niche. Significantly better than news or CHR if I remember correctly.

I recall Praise 92.1 making it into the threes on a number of occasions. But as has been pointed out, the audience was too old, and not salable. The Boom 92 Classic Hip Hop format also made it into the threes in its early days, but burned out quickly. The current CHR format has been a dog from the beginning...deficient signal and too may competitors for the core demos.

However the times the station reached into the threes would seem to indicate it might again do respectable numbers for the signal with the correct format. But such a format remains elusive for now.

I still think there are two viable scenarios for KROI, neither involving the current ownership: Sell it to either Entercom or iHeart so an existing AM SportsTalker can be moved to FM, or have it wind up with EMF for either K-Love or K-Love Classics, or perhaps Air1 goes to 92.1 while one of the K-Loves goes to 103.7.

The fate of the Cox Houston cluster might have an effect on possible buyers for KROI if the Cox stations are sold individually.

 

[TheBigA]

The fate of the Cox Houston cluster might have an effect on possible buyers for KROI if the Cox stations are sold individually.

I would be shocked if the Cox stations were sold individually.

 

[ThatVoice22]

The KROI tower is located well-south of Alvin, so even a 22 KW signal will fall short in North Houston-Spring-Woodlands --- https://www.fcc.gov/media/radio/map...SEABROOK&state=TX&fileno=BLH-20050912AAL&.map
> What's next?

 

[Mediafrog+]

I would be shocked if the Cox stations were sold individually.

The odds seem to be that the Houston cluster would stay intact. But just imagine things like Entercom owning both 100.3 The Bull as well as 93Q Country. Or iHeart owning The Eagle simulcast (or perhaps splitting it.) And EMF getting 97.1, which could be combined with a newly acquired 92.1 for a northside/southside simulcast.

The KROI tower is located well-south of Alvin, so even a 22 KW signal will fall short in North Houston-Spring-Woodlands ---

True, but as I mentioned before, the current 92.1 transmitter (which was launched in the mid 00's) has pulled numbers in the low threes at times, so it is possible for it to get some audience...but it needs a sales friendly format which hasn't been discovered yet. That's why reestablishing the north/south simulcast with 97.1 (that existed 1992-95) might be a possibility under new ownership for both signals.

 

[TheBigA]

The odds seem to be that the Houston cluster would stay intact. But just imagine things like Entercom owning both 100.3 The Bull as well as 93Q Country.

Based on their history in Seattle, they don't tend to keep two country stations. One would likely flip.

But having said that, I don't see Entercom as a buyer, given what Cox wants.

 

[stan]

I hope Beasley buys the cluster.

 

[TheBigA]

I hope Beasley buys the cluster.

Their stock is really struggling, and spending 30 million for radio stations probably would not be a positive thing for them right now.

 

[Mrtejano]

What about SBS? How are they doing financially?

 

[davideduardo]

What about SBS? How are they doing financially?

They are not in a position to make acquisitions.

 

[JustinT]

True, but as I mentioned before, the current 92.1 transmitter (which was launched in the mid 00's) has pulled numbers in the low threes at times, so it is possible for it to get some audience...but it needs a sales friendly format which hasn't been discovered yet. That's why reestablishing the north/south simulcast with 97.1 (that existed 1992-95) might be a possibility under new ownership for both signals.

When 92.1 and 97.1 simulcast, was 92.1 using the same facilities they are today? Thought 92.1 was more signal-limited at that time.

 

[BamaTX]

When 92.1 and 97.1 simulcast, was 92.1 using the same facilities they are today? Thought 92.1 was more signal-limited at that time.

Different facilities. After K-Arts was sold, Radio One (their name at the time) traded power for height. It's almost the same footprint on paper, but IMO the signal took a slight hit.

 

[Mediafrog+]

When 92.1 and 97.1 simulcast, was 92.1 using the same facilities they are today? Thought 92.1 was more signal-limited at that time.

Different facilities. After K-Arts was sold, Radio One (their name at the time) traded power for height. It's almost the same footprint on paper, but IMO the signal took a slight hit.

During the 1992-95 simulcast 92.1 was a Class C2 equivalent, running 32kw. The upgrade to a C1 with 100kw came some years later. Meanwhile 97.1 was on a shorter tower than it is now; I think their upgrade came during the 97 Talk days in the late 90’s.

97.1 was also part of another simulcast in the 1998-2000 time span, paired with 107.5: First for the original Buzz, then the old KLDE after those two formats swapped frequencies. That simulcast ended with the launch of Hot 97-1 in the fall of 2000.

 

[davideduardo]

During the 1992-95 simulcast 92.1 was a Class C2 equivalent, running 32kw. The upgrade to a C1 with 100kw came some years later. Meanwhile 97.1 was on a shorter tower than it is now; I think their upgrade came during the 97 Talk days in the late 90’s.

You can look at the history of the station, with maps for each granted application, at

https://fccdata.org/?call=KROI&facid=&city=&state=&ccode=1&country=US

They have tried small moves, different power and tower heights but it is still a rimshot.