Austin Urban Question

[truernb]

Why is Hot 95.9 in Austin is listed as Urban ? The Beat is CHR what is 102.7 Vibe ?

 

[Gregg.]

Hot 95.9 K240EL, a translator fed by Audacy AC station KKMJ's HD3 subchannel, is listed as "Classic Hip Hop." I don't think it's considered Urban. I'm sure like most translators running their own format, it's all automated. The African-American community in Austin is not large enough to have a full power Urban station. So it gets an automated Classic Hip Hop translator.

And with a large Latino community in Austin, iHeart's 102.3 KPEZ is Rhythmic Contemporary. In some markets, Rhythmic Contemporary is a way for an owner to avoid calling his station Urban. But in the Southwest and other markets with a large Hispanic population, it's a format that's more rhythmic than conventional Top 40 but is aimed more at English-fluent Latino listeners, not necessarily African-Americans.

 

[truernb]

Thanks that helps because didnt 96.3 RnB have great numbers ? regardless of AA population size and made more money than Hot 95.9 - so is 102.7 and 95.9 tricking the market What happen to 96.3 signal ?

 

[Mediafrog+]

What happen to 96.3 signal ?

It moved to 95.9 to make way for the launch of KGID Giddings on 96.3. Sun Radio, which is buying KGID (has that closed yet?) will be moving a suburban 96.1 translator all the way into Austin where it will change frequency to 96.3 and simulcast the Sun Radio format.

 

[truernb]

So 96.3 was a heck of an translator that reached Round Rock , Hutto , Pflugerville , North East Austin and 95.9 is a very low power translator - so KGID effected a over achieving UAC ?

 

[Kent]

So 96.3 was a heck of an translator that reached Round Rock , Hutto , Pflugerville , North East Austin and 95.9 is a very low power translator - so KGID effected a over achieving UAC ?

Translators have to either go off-air or move if they would cause interference to full power FM's that sign on later. That's just the way it is.

If I remember correctly, Entercom/Audacy bid for 96.3 Giddings when it went up for auction. Part of the reason for that was to make keeping the translator a little easier. It didn't win the auction, and the new station got built in such a way that the translator had to move.

 

[Ryan Williams]

It moved to 95.9 to make way for the launch of KGID Giddings on 96.3. Sun Radio, which is buying KGID (has that closed yet?) will be moving a suburban 96.1 translator all the way into Austin where it will change frequency to 96.3 and simulcast the Sun Radio format.

The consummation notice was just filed today.

 

[Ryan Williams]

So 96.3 was a heck of an translator that reached Round Rock , Hutto , Pflugerville , North East Austin and 95.9 is a very low power translator - so KGID effected a over achieving UAC ?

Define "reached". If you mean it can be heard on a good car radio, the answer is yes and continues to be yes for most of the translators located at the West Austin Antenna Farm near 360. 95.9 is spotty in a lot of Williamson County because it is only 99 watts, has a null to the north/northwest, and creates/receives interference with/from KMPN that is on the same channel.

The actual coverage difference, especially with a good car radio, between a 99 watt translator and 250 watt translator isn't as great as one might think, assuming the antenna heights are similar.

One thing with translators that seems to be often overlooked is noise of the frequency and proximity with co-channel stations. This is one of the reasons 99.7 and 100.1 are such good translators overall... those channels are relatively clean.

Regardless, none of those Austin translators can really put a very good indoor signal into Williamson or Hays Counties. They are too little power and too far away to get inside houses/apartments/office buildings/retail stores/etc.

One of the problems we have had with a translator in Georgetown is that it is on the same channel as Class C and C0 stations in Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. It's in a good location, but with a power of only 57 watts, you can imagine how that signal will be challenged when there is any tropospheric ducting, which because of geography seems to happen way too often.