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610 KILT Downgrades

R

Ryan Williams

Audacy has just filed this morning to move KILT from it's longtime site southwest of Gunspoint to be diplexed at the KNTH site just south of 1960.

The daytime contour maps in the application look to be mostly comparable, but the power goes from 5 kW day and night (two different patterns though) to 4.5 kW during the day and 2.5 kW at night. Considering that the 5 kW hasn't really covered this sprawling market very well for a long time, the 2.5 at night does seem to stand a chance.

The engineering firm Audacy has retained is Hatfield and Dawson, which is top-shelf, so I am sure it will all check out and this is as good as they can do from KNTH.

Why are they doing this? Probably all the industrial development around the current site.

As a longtime listener and fan of AM radio, this is so discouraging. I can't remember the last time a significant AM station in a large or major market filed a modification application to upgrade or improve their signal. They are all downgrades now...
 
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Guess the price of the land got so high they decided to sell it...that site has been there for so long....I think moving it is gonna be a nightmare with KNTHs 10towers...ouch...
 
Ryan Williams said:
The daytime contour maps in the application look to be mostly comparable, but the power goes from 5 kW day and night (two different patterns though) to 4.5 kW during the day and 2.5 kW at night. Considering that the 5 kW hasn't really covered this sprawling market very well for a long time, the 2.5 at night does seem to stand a chance.
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I think 2.5kw at night is going to do quite poorly, with significant skywave interference from KCSP which you can already hear underneath the current night signal. Daytime coverage will probably be a wash.

Audacy still needs to find an FM for their sportstalker. Banging the drum again for acquiring 92.1, which would be perfect for the format...and do it before iHeart tries the same thing...or Gow wants to move off 97.5.
Ryan Williams said:
Why are they doing this? Probably all the industrial development around the current site.
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True, lots of infill growth is happening in the metro area, correcting the haphazard zoning-free random sprawl.

Have to wonder about the future of KNTH, though. A couple of years ago it was supposedly up for sale.
 
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ContinuousWave said:
Guess the price of the land got so high they decided to sell it...that site has been there for so long....I think moving it is gonna be a nightmare with KNTHs 10towers...ouch...
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KNTH has 11 towers, though two of them are shorter than the primary "nine in a box." The facility might have the most "steel in the air" of any AM array in the U.S. Might help with electrical height considerations with the much lower 610 frequency.
 
ContinuousWave said:
Guess the price of the land got so high they decided to sell it...that site has been there for so long....I think moving it is gonna be a nightmare with KNTHs 10towers...ouch...
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Individual residential plots in that part of town are still cheap. Everything between Beltway 8/Greenspoint and 1960 is "no-go" zones. Just an awful area to live in.

But a large plot of land that is still intact to build warehouses? That's valuable in any part of town these days (unless it's south of the 610 loop and west of Almeda Rd. You don't want to buy that land).
 
AH... this mustve been why Hatfield & Dawson president STephen Lockwood was in Houston a week ago.
 
BamaTX said:
Which begs the question...when will other broadcaster and tower operators begin to consider selling their massive transmitter plots? It's getting harder and harder to find large properties inside the core metro area. And the demand for warehouse space doesn't seem to be ending any time soon.
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I thought KLAT would be next after KGOL. They have two separate sites. One of which has substantial potential.

I did not have KILT on my bingo card.

KTRH is so far removed from the sprawl, it seems pretty safe as long as its signal is viable.

The other iHeart site that will eventually have their other three AMs combined is also probably safe for the foreseeable future.

It is interesting that KNTH is where KILT is going. Salem has been aggressive about trying to unlock hidden value in their transmitter sites and KNTH (the station) was listed on a brokerage website a few years ago, perhaps that posting was erroneous.
 
SomeRadioGuy said:
AH... this mustve been why Hatfield & Dawson president STephen Lockwood was in Houston a week ago.
Click to expand...

Apparently, nope.. he was in town fixing up another station.
 
Ryan Williams said:
It is interesting that KNTH is where KILT is going. Salem has been aggressive about trying to unlock hidden value in their transmitter sites and KNTH (the station) was listed on a brokerage website a few years ago, perhaps that posting was erroneous.
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Given that the real estate of the tower site is often more valuable than the AM station itself (speaking generally, not specifically of KNTH), one play might be to sell the license only and lease back the site.

Or they listed it, didn't get an offer they liked, and now they're finding a new revenue stream instead.

It's their business and they don't have to tell us anything.
 
Regarding the KNTH site, I’d be surprised if it’s a radio related site 10 years from now - the land might be more valuable for other uses.
 
Mediafrog+ said:
KNTH has 11 towers, though two of them are shorter than the primary "nine in a box." The facility might have the most "steel in the air" of any AM array in the U.S. Might help with electrical height considerations with the much lower 610 frequency.
Click to expand...
The tall KNTH towers are 196 degrees at 1070....at 610, they'll be a little taller than 90 degrees but 610 has 4 inline looking south. I don't think KNTH has 4 inline, only 3 max. Gonna be one hell of an engineering job diplexing 610 in
 
Thread bump as it has been seven months since Audacy filed the transmitter move for KILT with the FCC, but no CP has been issued yet. Wonder if there are problems with the application or is the FCC just incredibly slow?
 
They're slow, they still haven't approved KLMO's booster in San Antonio and that's been an app since 2020.
 
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