https://news.****************/articles/n40106/Salem-Media-Group-Launches-La-Patrona-1680-in-Seattle
-
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
Salem Media Group Launches La Patrona 1680 in Seattle
- Thread starter Y2kTheNewOldies
- Start date
SLIGHTLY related to this...what is game plan for 1220 (KMIA) ... I believe still owned by Bustos?
I would like to know as well. I know that AM facilities are becoming more and more irrelevant as time passes, but if KMIA 1210 had one thing going for it, their facility in Auburn put out a decent signal in the south sound and Kent Valley (during the daytime at least.) Looking at population and demographics, having a strong signal in a region where 99.3 and 102.9 don't serve as well could be considered a positive. Given how the broadcasting landscape has changed over the past year, it still might not make any sense to bring it back. It looks like 1210 has been completely removed from the Bustos website, so they might have thrown in the towel.
Last edited:
Looking into the future, GM has pledged to eliminate internal combustion propulsion in all their vehicles by 2035, going instead, all electric. If history shows anything, it's that other manufacturers will either follow suit, or are already working to beat GM to the deadline. For AM radio, that means all those new vehicles will be devoid of AM tuners, because the electronics, in particular vehicle speed controls, emit too much noise in the AM band to allow the reception of AM anymore. Something else to consider, is the proliferation of more electric vehicles will raise the overall atmospheric noise floor in that band, further reducing the chance for reception at home or work. (Sorry DX'ers)
The point being; that owners of AM stations now have a better idea of when the end of times are. If not started already, they can start making plans now, one way or the other.
We've definitely reached the point where most of the AM dial is not useable. I personally love dxing as a hobby, but I will be the first to admit that there are only a handful of AM signals that appear to be viable (in the Seattle area, that is.) Of course, the stronger signals (like KIRO-AM, KOMO-AM, KJR-AM which all show up in the ratings) will probably be able to stick around for while longer, but there are many other facilities that are already irrelevant.
KMIA are prophetic call letters, if nothing else...M.I.A. indeed.
To Kelly's point, most Teslas. all electric BMW models and the Chevy Bolt all come without an AM radio. Toyota engineers are "working on" a solution to the issue, it is said. But market forces will determine whether they can find a solution that pencils out. By the time they solve this, it may become one of those cases of a solution in search of a problem.
Where I live (Whatcom county) we have 6 local AM signals, 5 of which have an FM translator and the 6th is a border blaster serving Vancouver/Surrey. Gotta figure 90%+ of the listening to those stations is on the FM band, maybe closer to 95%. If you were to give the local operators here an option to shut off the AM signals, keep the FMs going, and sell the land, I suspect they would jump on it.
Where I live (Whatcom county) we have 6 local AM signals, 5 of which have an FM translator and the 6th is a border blaster serving Vancouver/Surrey. Gotta figure 90%+ of the listening to those stations is on the FM band, maybe closer to 95%. If you were to give the local operators here an option to shut off the AM signals, keep the FMs going, and sell the land, I suspect they would jump on it.
Most of the Saga AM sites are located near the Barkley Village, and probably are worth more for their land than for their transmissions site. On the subject of AM in electric vehicles, I don't think I would be all that happy without having an AM radio in my car. I like listening to sports talk programming, but I'm sure the vast majority of people wouldn't notice or care. I suppose you could get around the lack of AM with streaming, but I personally think it's more convenient just to punch in 710 or 950 and not worry about dropouts.
To the New Chico's point, an operator in Arizona tried that and was shot down by the FCC. It wouldn't surprise me if more stations try that in the future though. Notallent, how many people actually use HD radio? I've been in several ubers with HD radio, but only two were actually listening to subchannels. If stations see that as a viable solution to their problems with AM, then how can we get more people to use it? To the question about noise from electric vehicles, is this any worse than with a hybrid vehicle? If not, then I don't think there's that much of an issue, as I've been in at least one Prius with the AM radio on and noticed no noise. We now have a Camry hybrid, so I'm sure I will hear AM at some point in it and I'd expect the same result. That being said though, I did also have a Hyundai Sanada once that got a lot of noise on AM, so it might have to do with the way the system is designed.
AM has skewed 'old' for many years. You have those that still listen to sports play-by-play, like the Mariners, but even that audience is dwindling. And why bother listening to Steve Raible and the Seahawks on AM when 97.3 is a clear FM signal that airs the same game? Even KTTH has an FM translator now, and KTTH has been the top-rated conservative talk station in Seattle for years. During the last election, they were beating several commercial FMs.
1210 will likely be another of the many that have gone silent for good. I would expect stations like 1490 KBRO, 1480 KNTB, 1540 KXPA, 1180 KLAY, and probably 1-2 others in the Seattle area to leave the air for good by 2025. I bet KXPA gets listeners in the few hundreds if that. And KNTB probably gets a few dozen, especially with 93.7 in full stereo with the same Spanish Christian music and preaching.
Even KIXI's audience is dying off. Most of the Sinatra audience is over 80 years old.
1210 will likely be another of the many that have gone silent for good. I would expect stations like 1490 KBRO, 1480 KNTB, 1540 KXPA, 1180 KLAY, and probably 1-2 others in the Seattle area to leave the air for good by 2025. I bet KXPA gets listeners in the few hundreds if that. And KNTB probably gets a few dozen, especially with 93.7 in full stereo with the same Spanish Christian music and preaching.
Even KIXI's audience is dying off. Most of the Sinatra audience is over 80 years old.
On the topic of HD radio, I am assuming that most of these newer luxury electric vehicles offer HD radio as standard equipment. If that is the case, the problem is basically solved, as the major players left on the AM dial have somewhere else to go for the service. Perhaps there are still a few listeners of 1680 (just for the sake of example) who would be left without any service, but these individuals would be far and few in between. As the experts have noted, HD radio has experienced lackluster success due to the fact that most people don't actually have access to HD radio. The receivers are expensive on their own, and it doesn't seem like HD radio is standard in ALL new vehicles. To make a long story short, it's great that KIRO and KJR AM are broadcast on HD subchannels, but there is still a lot of room for improvement.
Auto manufacturers don't design their vehicles around AM radio reception. Full electric vehicles are different than hybrids, in that the electric motors are located at the wheels, eliminating things like transmissions. The individual speed controllers for each electric motor are switched on and off to regulate the speed and amount of torque required to move the vehicle. The switching controllers make a lot of electrical noise.
I don't think the issue is how many vehicles HD radio is in, it's getting consumers to use it in the vehicles they already have. Those two Ubers I mentioned in my last post are only a fraction of the vehicles I've had that have HD. All the others are simply listening to the analog, with the radio having picked up the digital signal with the driver completely unaware anything has changed.
Wasn't KLAY sold to Sacred Heart a few years ago? If so I don't think they're leaving the air anytime soon, unless they decide to sign off all their stations in the area, which would also include 1050 KBLE and 1240 KBUP formerly KGY.
How long did Radio Luz stay on 1680 before the format flip? Last time I checked 1680, Spanish Christian was the format and I never checked again till I saw this thread....
The station comes in better at my home than the Z-Twins station on 1620, I'll give them that. I'm with the AM skeptics in that there's no reason to prefer this AM to the Bustos FM stations, which have pretty much the same music and can be received just as well.
The station comes in better at my home than the Z-Twins station on 1620, I'll give them that. I'm with the AM skeptics in that there's no reason to prefer this AM to the Bustos FM stations, which have pretty much the same music and can be received just as well.
How so? How could it be any different anywhere else on the band? Their 1680 signal is pretty strong throughout the metro, day and night, especially in South King County, where probably the majority of Latinos live.
As for KMIA, I don't foresee them returning in this economy. Radio overall is hurting, and smaller stations are undoubtedly hurting more than the bigger, corporate owned players. Also, KMIA is a South King County signal -- which, considering demos, is a plus, but one can also hear the two Latino FM ranchero / regional Mexican stations in South King (99.3 and 102.9). At night KMIA's signal was marginal in many parts of South King (unless they forgot to cut power).
As for HD radios, they are no more expensive than other standalone radios (aside from the clock radios you see for sale in drugstores, which have differing quality even on FM -- the Sony P26 being the exception). I got mine for 80$ at Frys, and the prices are similar online.
- Status