FCC's Non-Commercial 2021 Opening Aftermath

[ZantennaG1]

As you all might've already heard, the Federal Communications Commission had a NCE filing window from November 2nd to the 9th, and locally, there was a surprising hodgepodge of stations that applied.

On 88.1 in Laramie, WY, as well as Kimball, NE, Victor Michael applied for a new full license facility on the 9th, and each application has some oddities. First of all, 88.1 in Laramie (K201HM) is already taken. In Kimball, he has already applied for a Commercial license on 104.3. The interesting thing is if he gets his own way, there will be a trimulcast stretching from Laramie to Kimball, which actually might be more preferable. Upon further inspection, he also has an 88.1 CP in Wheatland, WY, so in reality, it could be a quadruple-cast?

On 88.7, in Red Feather Lakes, CO, there was a full service NCE applied for by Ridgeline Radio out of Brooklyn, New York on the 8th, and I have no further comment about this. What does superceded mean again?

On 89.1, Radio 74 International, owner of KPLS, applied for a full service NCE on the 9th, located North of Cheyenne, WY, with plans of covering the city proper with a 60 dbu signal. Meanwhile, Kristopher Michael (Related to Victor?) of Cheyenne Broadcasting Foundation applied for a new NCE in Hillsdale, WY with 3.5kw, and it seems without regard to K206EO (Air1), which the two contours overlap badly. I'm curious where this one will go, but the fringe of the new station looks like it interferes with the distant and possibly local coverage area of the translator. Hmm...

If you consider 88.1 Laramie and 89.1 Hillsdale again, it's like translators don't even have a say in this!

On 90.7, just outside of Greeley, Labor Neighbor Research & Training Center applied for a new NCE on the 9th, and it comes close to KGUD Longmont, but not bad overall. Just who in the world is LNRTC?

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Alright, so feel free to post what new NCE stations have popped up in your area, and perhaps offer some insight as well. Thank you as always. Z

 

[TheBigA]

Alright, so feel free to post what new NCE stations have popped up in your area, and perhaps offer some insight as well. Thank you as always. Z

It's been my experience that most of the applications don't actually make it on the air.

Hope springs eternal, but I don't have great expectations.

 

[ZantennaG1]

It's been my experience that most of the applications don't actually make it on the air.

Hope springs eternal, but I don't have great expectations.

Unfortunate, but good to know.

 

[ZantennaG1]

Another update: Wyoming Public Radio applied for the following: 89.5 north of Rawlins, WY, 90.1 in Gillette (they already have 90.9, so maybe this will become classical or something), 89.7 in Ranchester/Sheridan (Crazy for reasons I'll explain later), 89.9 and 91.9 west of Jackson, 89.9 in Kaycee (south of Buffalo), as well as 89.3 and 91.1 in Kemmerer.

So the Sheridan/Buffalo situation is weird. As it stands, Sheridan is covered good by 91.3 KSUW while Buffalo gets a weak signal from 91.3, and 90.5 KBUW covers Buffalo well enough, but doesn't hit Sheridan at all. There is now a construction permit for 90.5 KBUW to move away from Buffalo, and be on the exact same tower as KSUW with the exact same wattage! This is extremely odd because the old set-up was working just fine, and now Buffalo will have *less* coverage than before. There is also a few CP's to talk about. First, they want to build on 89.7 in Northern Sheridan, and then there's 89.9 just a few miles south of Buffalo, but the signal doesn't quite reach there. So what is going on here?

 

[ZantennaG1]

Also, I should add KFCY 88.1 Cheyenne (K-Rocky) applied to upgrade their signal from 1.8kw to 3.5kw. Good!

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

88.1 K-Rocky is Vince.

The translator in Laramie would get bumped by a full power.

92.3 KYOY was once licensed to Kimball, NE

If Vince or Anyone related to him applies for a non comm, its a back fill.. they have a plan that lies elsewhere. SEveral years ago vince had nom comm cps in two nebraska towns... the commercial stations there vince owned and moved.

If a CP is granted to a town that only had one station, they can mvoe the other one. .and the non comm never has to be built, you simply show the community has another service.

i can only guess that 92.3 is gonna change city of license and or move. The other non comms hes applying for are part of a cheese game, somehow, somewhere

 

[ZantennaG1]

88.1 K-Rocky is Vince.

The translator in Laramie would get bumped by a full power.

92.3 KYOY was once licensed to Kimball, NE

If Vince or Anyone related to him applies for a non comm, its a back fill.. they have a plan that lies elsewhere. SEveral years ago vince had nom comm cps in two nebraska towns... the commercial stations there vince owned and moved.

If a CP is granted to a town that only had one station, they can mvoe the other one. .and the non comm never has to be built, you simply show the community has another service.

i can only guess that 92.3 is gonna change city of license and or move. The other non comms hes applying for are part of a cheese game, somehow, somewhere

Thank you for your insight about bumping and backfilling. You think KYOY could move again? Where would it go? Also, since you're here, what do you think about "Cheyenne Lifestyle Radio" going to 89.1, and having Cheyenne Broadcast Corp on 89.1 in Hillsdale? (Chances? Legality of this move? etc...)

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

KYOY would simply move closer to Cheyenne. He and Larry Proetti are friends

No idea who cheyenne lifestyle radio is.

Vince also once had an FM CP granted near limon.. and filed to mvoe the CP to limon on a plan to mvoe that now dead 93.7 clsoer to denver

 

[ZantennaG1]

KYOY would simply move closer to Cheyenne. He and Larry Proetti are friends

That would be nice, then they wouldn't have to rely on that 107.1 translator.

No idea who cheyenne lifestyle radio is.

This application: Draft Copy « Licensing and Management System « FCC

Vince also once had an FM CP granted near limon.. and filed to mvoe the CP to limon on a plan to mvoe that now dead 93.7 clsoer to denver

Intresting. Is that now "Freedom 93.7"?

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

That would be nice, then they wouldn't have to rely on that 107.1 translator.

This application: Draft Copy « Licensing and Management System « FCC

Intresting. Is that now "Freedom 93.7"?

no the 93.7 in denver is a translator

That link didnt load

 

[ZantennaG1]

That link didnt load

Try this one: https://fccdata.org/?lang=en&facid=769019

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

Try this one: https://fccdata.org/?lang=en&facid=769019

Oh Radio 74.. you couldnt have a station on 89.1 in hillsdale and cheyenne

 

[ZantennaG1]

Oh Radio 74.. you couldnt have a station on 89.1 in hillsdale and cheyenne

That's what I was thinking, so one application would probably be approved over the other, if they get built at all? Unfortunately, this still means that the K206EO translator would take a back-seat if this happens, based on your earlier reply about K201HM.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

That's what I was thinking, so one application would probably be approved over the other, if they get built at all? Unfortunately, this still means that the K206EO translator would take a back-seat if this happens, based on your earlier reply about K201HM.

And here's K201HM 88.1. I've been out there too. 2 bay is on a cell tower behind a dollar store that used to be the Walmart.... the shack is at the base of the tower inside the gate. There's 3 pics so click the arrow to see them all

I've also seen Laramies 96.7, 91.3, 90.5 and some digital LPTV

https://imgur.com/a/auBNwqT

 

[Kelly A]

The problem with Cheyenne, and Wyoming in general; is there are just too many radio stations for the population count. Cheyenne and Laramie in particular, are saturated with commercial stations owned by primarily a couple groups that run their stations on a shoestring.

 

[b-turner]

This has become a problem in many smaller markets. There are so many stations an owner has to own a bunch, put them under the same roof and shave expenses to the bone just to keep the lights on. One town I'm thinking of is 8,000 people. There's 9 stations, 1 translator (non-local) and a LPFM. I do not mention the 2 AMs that have translators. Sure this is a regional shopping hub but the average advertiser only spends about $250 a month. Even with a 100,000 watt signal you'd only hit about 30,000 people, maximum. The issue is the number of stations goes up but the advertising revenue is the same or slightly less. So if your market can do $900,000 in radio revenue, you're looking at that being split among all the stations. Back when it was two AM/FM combos, things were okay. Now with so many stations, you have to own a few to stay afloat.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

The problem with Cheyenne, and Wyoming in general; is there are just too many radio stations for the population count. Cheyenne and Laramie in particular, are saturated with commercial stations owned by primarily a couple groups that run their stations on a shoestring.

That is true. KCGY is now operated from Cheyenne even. KOWB has no local programming.

KIMX/KHAT/KRQU have one local DJ.

KUWR has a fine local staff, news department and local hosts.

The only locally owned/operated commercial station is the one I work for part time remote, KLMI.

 

[Kelly A]

This has become a problem in many smaller markets. There are so many stations an owner has to own a bunch, put them under the same roof and shave expenses to the bone just to keep the lights on. One town I'm thinking of is 8,000 people. There's 9 stations, 1 translator (non-local) and a LPFM. I do not mention the 2 AMs that have translators. Sure this is a regional shopping hub but the average advertiser only spends about $250 a month. Even with a 100,000 watt signal you'd only hit about 30,000 people, maximum.

And many times the challenge there; is the coverage divided up amongst several smaller towns or communities, many of which wont cover via advertising revenue, the cost of your AE's being constantly on the road visiting even two-dollar-a-hollar clients. And don't forget that doesn't include the cost of travel for in-person collections. If you pay your AE's the standard .58 per mile to use their personal vehicle, that comes out of the overall cost of servicing clients. May seem like nickle and dime minutiae, but in smaller markets those expenses add up quick. There's a lot of miles between radio-saturated towns like Laramie and Cheyenne.

The issue is the number of stations goes up but the advertising revenue is the same or slightly less. So if your market can do $900,000 in radio revenue, you're looking at that being split among all the stations. Back when it was two AM/FM combos, things were okay. Now with so many stations, you have to own a few to stay afloat.

Yep, and the more stations, the smaller the pie slice for each station.

 

[ZantennaG1]

The problem with Cheyenne, and Wyoming in general; is there are just too many radio stations for the population count. Cheyenne and Laramie in particular, are saturated with commercial stations owned by primarily a couple groups that run their stations on a shoestring.

Interesting observation, for sure. I'd be maybe only a few stations have a local crew for more than a few hours a day. By the way, I think the rural areas could use more variety, but perhaps instead of more stations, we go with the tried and true idea of having a MoR station that is all local with a community calendar and whatnot. But there should be a minimum one station per community, and denying underserved communities that opportunity is problematic.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

Interesting observation, for sure. I'd be maybe only a few stations have a local crew for more than a few hours a day. By the way, I think the rural areas could use more variety, but perhaps instead of more stations, we go with the tried and true idea of having a MoR station that is all local with a community calendar and whatnot. But there should be a minimum one station per community, and denying underserved communities that opportunity is problematic.

The problem in Wyoming, and really anywhere. .but i saw it first hand.. is money. KLMI has a full time staff 4, including the owner. Two part timers. (me is one of them!) KLMI is licensed to a town of 250 or so people. There are a few other towns of 200-250 people in albany county.. theres no way they could ever support a station