• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

107.9 bidders ID'd for auction 106

Clipped from Radio Insight:

Going for the 107.9 requiring a minimum bid of $100,000 for the Class B allocation for 107.9 Sacramento are Bonneville, Entravision, iHeartMedia, Thomas Beihl’s Software Compositions LLC (VP of 88.1 WSJL Bessemer AL), Rahul Walia’s Touchdown Ventures Inc, and Results Radio (owns 101.5 KCCL in Sacramento market) plus potentially some of those who selected all.
 
Far too late in the game for this auction to have credits or restrictions due to race or sex. That’d probably be announced when the bidders register or before.

However, historically the FCC has had an iffy track record on pushes for women/minority ownership. Last big push they had in the early-late 80’s resulted in a lot of women/minority stations getting sold while in deep the red or simply going dark because of poor business plans and an FCC who kept its head in the sand.

. The best case scenario (like in the case of the WCJX license in Miami in 85), is the women/minority owned company gets the CP, builds it out, maybe signs it on for a month or two, then cashes in a handsome return on their investment. End result? About as many minorities and women owning stations as before.

I may be a bit shortsighted, but if woman/minority ownership of the airwaves is what the FCC desires, let’s hope they (and the potential applicants) have stepped their game up. In today’s much more cut-throat, instant access world, it has to be that way.
 
Regardless, this is a rare opportunity for the Commission to address the ownership disparity presented in their own report:
.

Of course, one of the issues is "who would want a brand new radio station today?"

Bidding for this type of costly auction will be limited to either big players already in the game, or local broadcasters wanting another station. I doubt any first-timers will participate as the ability to get financing for radio today is nearly zero.
 
I think 98 rock could use some competition. I stream KBRE Merced and I think they have a harder edge. Perhaps that could work here.
 
Classic Country encompassing power gold from the 70’s and 80’s with a good dose of 90’s would pair nicely KNCI. Maybe a few shared titles for flanking sakes.

Sadly, Triple-A has run it’s course.

Classic Hits as a final option. KCCL is programmed challenged as well as signal challenged. AOR (All Over the Road).

Hopefully this signal will once again be serving the market with healthy competition sooner than later.
 
Classic Country encompassing power gold from the 70’s and 80’s with a good dose of 90’s would pair nicely KNCI. Maybe a few shared titles for flanking sakes.

That would get an unsalable demographic core.

Mid 80's to early 2000's would be a viable country alternative. It would target 35-54 (remembering that country listeners in the 90's heard those 80's songs a lot as gold... that was the era when country stations generally had over 500 songs in the library, and younger listeners were well exposed to the earlier songs).
 
Classic Country encompassing power gold from the 70’s and 80’s with a good dose of 90’s would pair nicely KNCI. Maybe a few shared titles for flanking sakes.

Sadly, Triple-A has run it’s course.

Classic Hits as a final option. KCCL is programmed challenged as well as signal challenged. AOR (All Over the Road).

Hopefully this signal will once again be serving the market with healthy competition sooner than later.


as i said in the other thread, KCCL is signal challenged but is there money to be had in classic hits?

or... defend your country station, KNCI and create a flanker classic country station? 80s 90s 2000s..... protect a station and fill a need.. there has been a real resurgence in desire for classic country in the last few years that ive seen as a country radio dj
 
I brought this idea up as there seemed to be a surge of these popping up on the air recently. Made me wonder if there was an overlooked programming segment. The concept I had in mind was Kenny Rogers, Merle, both Georges’, Hanks Williams, Jr., Reba, Tim McGraw, Alan Jackson etc. As usual, David, you ground us back to reality! :)

That would get an unsalable demographic core.

Mid 80's to early 2000's would be a viable country alternative. It would target 35-54 (remembering that country listeners in the 90's heard those 80's songs a lot as gold... that was the era when country stations generally had over 500 songs in the library, and younger listeners were well exposed to the earlier songs).
 
Definitely a valid question, Some Radio Guy! Classic Hits is a hit or miss format nowadays. Without seeing some actual income data, hard to say honestly. Kinda fun to brain storm with the geeks here and then see what rolls out in reality.
 
I brought this idea up as there seemed to be a surge of these popping up on the air recently. Made me wonder if there was an overlooked programming segment. The concept I had in mind was Kenny Rogers, Merle, both Georges’, Hanks Williams, Jr., Reba, Tim McGraw, Alan Jackson etc. As usual, David, you ground us back to reality! :)

Reba, Strait, McGraw and Jackson fit nicely into today's classic country formats, as do Hank Jr.'s later hits. Hank Sr., Kenny, Merle and Jones, not so much. But what you describe actually resembles the format Saga is using in several markets, mixing in a little Americana as well. Of course, Saga isn't iHeart or Entercom or even Bonneville, and 92.3 in the Greenfield, MA, market, or 93.7 HD2 in Des Moines, isn't 107.9 in Sacramento.
 
This is a situation where the Commission chooses among competing applicants. It's harder to insert the FCC into free market sales of properties.

As I understand it, though, the FCC has to select the highest bidder. Granted, new entrants and small businesses can get credits, but, if iHeartMedia, EMF, or Bonneville offers $5,000,000, the new entrant minority broadcaster has to match that bid before applying its 35% credit. That's still north of $3,000,000 in cash. I'm not sure if $5,000,000 is a reasonable price for that allotment today, but you get my point. I don't see how anyone but a current large or medium operator ends up with it, even with bidding credits. I believe, if two bids are equal, the FCC has to choose based on a formula that benefits smaller operators and minorities, but the upfront cost is still prohibitive for all but the big guys.
 
As I understand it, though, the FCC has to select the highest bidder.

That's what makes this so ridiculous. They fund all these studies and task forces to examine why minority ownership is so low.

Meanwhile the answer simply is that they have less money. It's not really that hard to understand.

If they want to empower minorities, make the competition over something other than money. Problem solved.
 
That's what makes this so ridiculous. They fund all these studies and task forces to examine why minority ownership is so low.

Meanwhile the answer simply is that they have less money. It's not really that hard to understand.

If they want to empower minorities, make the competition over something other than money. Problem solved.

AUCTION 106 POSTPONED
DELAY OF AUCTION OF FM BROADCAST CONSTRUCTION PERMITS INITIALLY
SCHEDULED TO BEGIN ON APRIL 28, 2020

https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-20-327A1.pdf
 
I believe, if two bids are equal, the FCC has to choose based on a formula that benefits smaller operators and minorities, but the upfront cost is still prohibitive for all but the big guys.

It's an auction (or will be, if it ever happens)... and as with any auction, there's no tie. It keeps going until someone outbids everyone else. The FCC doesn't stop and select a winner.

(The new entrant credit does apply, but after the fact - if a big company bids $5 million and a small company outbids with $5.1 million and wins, the small company doesn't actually pay $5 million. It's adjusted for the credits after the fact.)
 
Are any of the bidders minority owners? I'm expecting that having a plan to assist minority ownership will be a factor in awarding the license.
This was (will be) a general auction. They offer bidding discounts to first time paticipants (35%), and those who own less than two stations (25%).

With Covid and FCC transisition. No reschedule date has been announced. It looks like the non-com window scheduled for Q1 might be first.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom