July ratings are here

[Mediafrog+]

July numbers: Houston/Galveston - RadioInsight

Not a lot to note, other than:

The Eagle drops almost almost one full share.

KQQK in the mid-threes. Norteña doing quite well.

Astros continue to help SportsTalk 790. Meanwhile Gow's 97.5 seems perpetually stuck around 0.3. The 92.5 translator not showing up. Would love to see the male 25-54 numbers.

And our favorite dumpster fire, KROI, is stuck at a 0.4, which means Praise is doing even worse than the previous CHR format. Wonder how much of this is 55+? When will the sale of 92.1 be announced?

 

[Ryan Williams]

KQQK in the mid-threes. Norteña doing quite well.

That was the biggest stand out to me. 107.9 seems to be over-performing their rimshot signal.

Astros continue to help SportsTalk 790. Meanwhile Gow's 97.5 seems perpetually stuck around 0.3. The 92.5 translator not showing up. Would love to see the male 25-54 numbers.

Incidentally, Gow just announced some schedule changes and retooling. KFNC (ESPN 97.5 & 92.5)/Houston Announces New Lineup

And our favorite dumpster fire, KROI, is stuck at a 0.4, which means Praise is doing even worse than the previous CHR format. Wonder how much of this is 55+? When will the sale of 92.1 be announced?

... on an improved signal no less.

If it was really being shopped around this long, word of it would have probably leaked by now, right?

 

[Mediafrog+]

That was the biggest stand out to me. 107.9 seems to be over-performing their rimshot signal.

Given David Eduardo's comments about a large percentage of Houston Hispanics being from northern Mexico, it is probable that the Norteña format is really well targeted and resonating with its intended audience.

Incidentally, Gow just announced some schedule changes and retooling.

KFNC still suffers from a poor signal, and the 92.5 translator apparently isn't helping. I recall the signal seemed much better in the facility's early days around 20 years ago (KRWP incarnation.)

Were I David Gow, I would call Alfred Liggins and see if KROI could be pried away from Radio One. Would be a significant improvement, despite still being a deficient signal.

Of course, were I Alfred Liggins in that situation I would then call iHeart and Audacy and see what they would offer for an FM outlet for their sportstalkers...

If it was really being shopped around this long, word of it would have probably leaked by now, right?

There has been so much speculation about a sale of KROI that it probably doesn't matter if word leaks or not.😲

 

[stan]

The leader of Urban One has other more pressing things on his mind.

Lignins and his casino

 

[JustinT]

Were I David Gow, I would call Alfred Liggins and see if KROI could be pried away from Radio One. Would be a significant improvement, despite still being a deficient signal.

Of course, were I Alfred Liggins in that situation I would then call iHeart and Audacy and see what they would offer for an FM outlet for their sportstalkers...

I think you're onto something here. Houston really lacks a strong voice in the all-sports/guy talk space. Houston has two AMs and one very rimshot FM, and none of them making much noise. Rarely do you see a billboard for or hear anything about the talent on any these stations. The 92.1 signal, along with a promotional push, could be the game changer to make one of these three the dominant player.

 

[Mediafrog+]

I think you're onto something here. Houston really lacks a strong voice in the all-sports/guy talk space. Houston has two AMs and one very rimshot FM, and none of them making much noise. Rarely do you see a billboard for or hear anything about the talent on any these stations. The 92.1 signal, along with a promotional push, could be the game changer to make one of these three the dominant player.

Note that Oklahoma City now has four sportstalkers on FM, three of which are on solid, full market signals. Houston's only FM sportstalk is the badly deficient Gow effort.

 

[stan]

Of course, were I Alfred Liggins in that situation I would then call iHeart and Audacy and see what they would offer for an FM outlet for their sportstalkers...

Audacy and iHeart already have FM stations that could be used for their sports stations if they thought that was a valid business model.

 

[Ryan Williams]

Audacy and iHeart already have FM stations that could be used for their sports stations if they thought that was a valid business model.

That's fair, but it should also be noted that both the iHeart and Audacy clusters are not at the the ownership cap, with only four FMs each. Neither company has an obvious struggling station to flip and they don't have pressure to at the moment as the only FM sports station is 97.5 and it just isn't very competitive. Just to show how deficient the signal is, look at the cume. In a market with ~90% listening on FM, cume on 97.5 can't even average half that of 610 and 790!

There are struggling stations on FM that would make a good home for sports, but they are not owned by one of the companies with an incumbent sports station on AM, which is why we keep talking about 92.1 to begin with.

Considering how much Gow paid for 1560 and 97.5, it seems unlikely they could come up with enough now to satisfy Liggins, but who knows. It's also hard for me to see Praise sticking around for a very long time either.

 

[TheBigA]

I don't think anybody will be motivated to blow up a music FM for sports in Houston until Texas legalizes sports betting. It will become an integral part of any sports station moving forward, and there is an unlimited amount of money waiting to be tapped.

 

[JustinT]

There are struggling stations on FM that would make a good home for sports, but they are not owned by one of the companies with an incumbent sports station on AM, which is why we keep talking about 92.1 to begin with.

It's also hard to think about an operator more serious about large market all-Sports stations than Audacy, but their cluster in Houston has no FM underperformers. A swap of 92.1 for Audacy's WPGC or WDCH in Washington might make sense for both groups. WPGC would fit with Radio One's cluster there, while WDCH would provide a stable check with no programming effort required.

 

[victorres43]

It's also hard to think about an operator more serious about large market all-Sports stations than Audacy, but their cluster in Houston has no FM underperformers. A swap of 92.1 for Audacy's WPGC or WDCH in Washington might make sense for both groups. WPGC would fit with Radio One's cluster there, while WDCH would provide a stable check with no programming effort required.

Wait a second, Urban One already owns WKYS, which, like WPGC, is urban.

But I'm not sure who else will buy KROI if not Audacy. Would the EMF brigade give it a shot? Or perhaps Houston Public Media will try to buy it in order to provide Houston with a classical format on analog FM (a major format hole in the market)? Though it's a longshot, given that Houston Public Media may not be too flush with cash to buy a rimshot signal.

 

[TheBigA]

Houston Public Media may not be too flush with cash to buy a rimshot signal.

I think that train already left the station a few years ago. The only chance would be if someone donates the station.

 

[Ryan Williams]

Or perhaps Houston Public Media will try to buy it in order to provide Houston with a classical format on analog FM (a major format hole in the market)?

If you are curious about what TheBigA is referencing, do a search for 91.7 KUHA.

Also, and this is getting into the philosophical realm, if a format gets poor ratings and is not able to financially pay its own way, does it really leave a "major format hole" when it disappears?

 

[JustinT]

Wait a second, Urban One already owns WKYS, which, like WPGC, is urban.

But I'm not sure who else will buy KROI if not Audacy. Would the EMF brigade give it a shot? Or perhaps Houston Public Media will try to buy it in order to provide Houston with a classical format on analog FM (a major format hole in the market)? Though it's a longshot, given that Houston Public Media may not be too flush with cash to buy a rimshot signal.

Oops. Thought WPGC was still a rhythmic CHR.

The opportunity to pair 92.1 with 97.1 has been mentioned on here several times. However, the Cox portfolio these days and Radio One only overlap in Houston and Atlanta, where there's no obvious swap candidate.

 

[victorres43]

If you are curious about what TheBigA is referencing, do a search for 91.7 KUHA.

Also, and this is getting into the philosophical realm, if a format gets poor ratings and is not able to financially pay its own way, does it really leave a "major format hole" when it disappears?

A lack of funding is understandable on why a radio station cannot operate.

But I can't help but notice that even San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas have classical radio stations; what's different about Houston that it can't have a classical station? Just curious.

And part of the reason why I mentioned the option is that KUHF appears to make some transmitter changes. I don't know how much of an advantage KUHF will have in terms of signal, but they are trying to go from 524m HAAT to 598m HAAT.

 

[TheBigA]

But I can't help but notice that even San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas have classical radio stations; what's different about Houston that it can't have a classical station? Just curious.

Maybe you don't know the story, but HPR spent about $10 million to buy 91.7 from Rice University so they could move the classical format there from KUHF. When they did, the debt on the purchase was more than the money raised from the format, so the frequency was sold to a Christian broadcaster. That's why I say HPR won't be taking a loss for classical again. The other colleges in Houston had a shot at buying 91.7, and none of them did. So I don't see a likely owner going classical.

 

[victorres43]

Maybe you don't know the story, but HPR spent about $10 million to buy 91.7 from Rice University so they could move the classical format there from KUHF. When they did, the debt on the purchase was more than the money raised from the format, so the frequency was sold to a Christian broadcaster. That's why I say HPR won't be taking a loss for classical again.

A lot of religious stations on FM for a major market, I must say. And EMF's K-Love hasn't even entered the market!

 

[JustinT]

A lot of religious stations on FM for a major market, I must say. And EMF's K-Love hasn't even entered the market!

If you look at the dedicated non-commercial band in the market, the spacing of stations is terrible. Compared to a market like New York or Los Angeles where you have strong signals spaced three-apart on 88.3, 89.1, 89.9, 90.7, and 91.5 and rimshots on the second adjacents; Houston has only had 88.7 as the centrally-located full-power non-commercial band signal.

Over the years, signals like 88.3, 89.3, 90.5, 90.9, and 91.7 have powered up and filled the gaps in the dial, but with towers all over the market and without the spacing to go 100kw from Missouri City. In the case of all but 90.9, the frequencies squeezed in provide the strongest signal over areas surely more drawn to religious programming than an alternative NPR or arts/culture station.

A well-programmed KPFT could fill those cultural programming gaps. But I'm surely not holding my breath on that one.

 

[victorres43]

If you look at the dedicated non-commercial band in the market, the spacing of stations is terrible. Compared to a market like New York or Los Angeles where you have strong signals spaced three-apart on 88.3, 89.1, 89.9, 90.7, and 91.5 and rimshots on the second adjacents; Houston has only had 88.7 as the centrally-located full-power non-commercial band signal.

Over the years, signals like 88.3, 89.3, 90.5, 90.9, and 91.7 have powered up and filled the gaps in the dial, but with towers all over the market and without the spacing to go 100kw from Missouri City. In the case of all but 90.9, the frequencies squeezed in provide the strongest signal over areas surely more drawn to religious programming than an alternative NPR or arts/culture station.

A well-programmed KPFT could fill those cultural programming gaps. But I'm surely not holding my breath on that one.

Yeah, I have a feeling 92.1 will go to either a religious broadcaster or someone who wants to program specifically for the Gulf Coast, though the latter is very unlikely.

FCC spacing is strange, especially for Zone II. Given that Los Angeles is in Zone I-A, several class As can operate within the boundaries of the Mount Wilson signals because of FCC spacing rules for Zone I. But Houston is in Zone II, limiting the market to rimshots instead of signals that are lower-powered but cover the areas that matter the most. Although, 88.7 and 89.3 are roughly 20 miles apart, even though they are C and C1, respectively. (Though 89.3 is almost close to a C2 signal, based on ERP and HAAT.) And Missouri City translators with signals comparable to class A stations are second-adjacent to full class Cs. (For instance, K254BZ on 98.7 -- based on CP -- and KODA on 99.1)

In addition, it is telling that KSBJ did better in the ratings when they moved their transmitter to Northwest Houston, even though they operate at 87kW at 160m HAAT as opposed to 100kW at 255m HAAT. On paper, KSBJ has less coverage, but it has a stronger signal in the more prominent areas of the metro area.

 

[Mrtejano]

A lot of religious stations on FM for a major market, I must say. And EMF's K-Love hasn't even entered the market!

It can’t use Klove since Univision has the naming rights.