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97.1 The River Flooded the Competition in 2021

Cox is a major factor in how the AC and classic hits formats are programmed in Atlanta vs. other markets and why there is no competition. They’ve clearly found a formula that works in Atlanta and fills just enough voids appropriately where it would be hard for a competitor to come in. There aren’t really any other big markets to see if this would work for them elsewhere. I guarantee if an AC came on the air today, B98.5 would quickly adjust accordingly. Same for 97.1 if a true classic hits station came on the scene. They cover the bases just enough to be mass appeal with both stations and keep potential competition out.

Interestingly, WALR 104.1 rimshots in to much of the market but that doesn’t seem to hurt their numbers as we’ve seen. Its signal is only slightly better than 105.3’s.

106.7 was a good signal that never seemed to catch on with anything. I wonder how popular it is for K-Love considering it hasn’t hurt The Fish ratings wise.
 
Classic Hits these days means Top 40 from probably the 80's and 90's, maybe some 70's. Although The River has called itself Classic Hits from day 1, it's not really Classic Hits based on today's definition. Also, The River has morphed into kind of a Classic Rock format and uses both terms (CH and CR) on the air. I don't think they would consider a Classic Hits station as it's defined today as a direct competitor.

Yes, The Fish has been able to withstand competition from K-Love fairly well. After all, they are live and local. Keep in mind their numbers at the end of the year get inflated because they play only Christmas music.
 
RoddyFreeman said:
Classic Hits these days means Top 40 from probably the 80's and 90's, maybe some 70's. Although The River has called itself Classic Hits from day 1, it's not really Classic Hits based on today's definition. Also, The River has morphed into kind of a Classic Rock format and uses both terms (CH and CR) on the air. I don't think they would consider a Classic Hits station as it's defined today as a direct competitor.

Yes, The Fish has been able to withstand competition from K-Love fairly well. After all, they are live and local. Keep in mind their numbers at the end of the year get inflated because they play only Christmas music.
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I’d be interested to see which sticks make the most for EMF in terms of donations relative to the market size. Considering the strength of The Fish since 106.7 became K-LOVE, I wonder how many ears equaling donations they’re getting in ATL compared to other metros. 106.7 also has the better signal.
 
101tm said:
I’d be interested to see which sticks make the most for EMF in terms of donations relative to the market size. Considering the strength of The Fish since 106.7 became K-LOVE, I wonder how many ears equaling donations they’re getting in ATL compared to other metros. 106.7 also has the better signal.
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That's right, and K-Love leases antenna space on The Fish's tower or as Jabba calls it, the Fish stick.
 
How is the 97.1 signal these days in Atlanta proper?

I know that back in the Fox 97 days, they definitely had some issues. Sure, the station was a blowtorch and on the tallest tower in the SE, but with the antenna far away from in-town there were problem areas, including on Cheshire Bridge Road, not far from the antenna farm. They even tried a booster for a while, but that made things worse in other areas so they turned it off.

I'm curious if there were engineering changes to fix that.
 
AMRocks said:
How is the 97.1 signal these days in Atlanta proper?

I know that back in the Fox 97 days, they definitely had some issues. Sure, the station was a blowtorch and on the tallest tower in the SE, but with the antenna far away from in-town there were problem areas, including on Cheshire Bridge Road, not far from the antenna farm. They even tried a booster for a while, but that made things worse in other areas so they turned it off.

I'm curious if there were engineering changes to fix that.
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Exactly my point. They have a monster signal, but the issue is the transmitter location.

I listen only in the car, and they seem to have a great signal in Atlanta though it's one of the first to wane as you head south on I-85. I'm wondering if at some point, Cox engineering enhanced the signal somehow without changing the wattage or height. Or it could just be that car radios pull in FM stations far better than they did years ago.

Several years ago at the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame banquet, former Fox 97 GM Eddie Esserman mentioned in his speech that the station was broadcasting some kind of event from inside a building in Buckhead, and he couldn't pick up the station.
 
I live in Bremen, 10 miles from the Alabama line just off 20 and I pick up 97.1 pretty good except for some mornings when a distant station interferes. I pull it easily to Temple before it starts popping when you go into trees.
 
acheron1982 said:
I live in Bremen, 10 miles from the Alabama line just off 20 and I pick up 97.1 pretty good except for some mornings when a distant station interferes. I pull it easily to Temple before it starts popping when you go into trees.
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106.7 is another impressive signal and I can pick up here in Bremen as well. I think it has to do with the geography up over that way.
 
Both 97.1 and 106.7 are Gainesville full class C’s. They both have the best “protection” on channel, 1st and 2nd adjacent channel protection and antenna height you can get from the FCC. There are rumors of some is some kind of interference “compromise / deal” between 106.7 and WSKZ Chattanooga’s 106.5:

WSKZ-FM Radio Station Coverage Map

If you radio doesn’t try to “wonder / drift” to 106.5 for a little adjacent channel RF, you might have issues with an on channel translator 165 watt @ 479 feet HAAT with a COL of Auburn AL

W294AR-FM Radio Station Coverage Map

during tropo conditions.

Both 106.7 and 97.1 should work excellent for a format that isn’t dependent in listeners south of Interstate 20 due to location of towers and the issues concrete and steel buildings in downtown ATL.
 
secondchoice said:
Both 106.7 and 97.1 should work excellent for a format that isn’t dependent in listeners south of Interstate 20 due to location of towers and the issues concrete and steel buildings in downtown ATL.
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You can see why Cox wanted to get 95.5 in town, with its news/talk format, especially since even a good AM station is a nonstarter in a concrete/steel building, even if it's a 50kW class A clear near Northlake Mall. 95.5 was on the Chateau Elan tower with 97.1 before it moved ITP, one of its hops moving in from Athens. Before that it was on another tower off of Ga. 316, not far from the Fish Stick IIRC, when it moved in as 95.5 The Beat.

Classic rock probably gets a lot more home and car listenership than LWYW, except for small businesses that don't have the reception problems. That may have been what doomed the all-news/news-talk format on 106.7.
 
jabba17 said:
You can see why Cox wanted to get 95.5 in town, with its news/talk format, especially since even a good AM station is a nonstarter in a concrete/steel building, even if it's a 50kW class A clear near Northlake Mall. 95.5 was on the Chateau Elan tower with 97.1 before it moved ITP, one of its hops moving in from Athens. Before that it was on another tower off of Ga. 316, not far from the Fish Stick IIRC, when it moved in as 95.5 The Beat.

Classic rock probably gets a lot more home and car listenership than LWYW, except for small businesses that don't have the reception problems. That may have been what doomed the all-news/news-talk format on 106.7.
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Yes - then WBTS (95-5 the Beat) was at GA 316 and GA 81 just north of the Fish Stick which is also on GA 81 but closer to GA 20. I recall reading the AJC article in September 1999 saying it was 100kw and the owner/builder of the tower died but saw the tower being finalized before he passed away. It was touted as Atlanta’s new and exciting (long-awaited) CHR/Pop station. Playing 10,000 songs in a row commercial free. The article said they did a poll of Atlanta radio listeners and they overwhelmingly wanted a station with a CHR format.
 
It is sad that none of the other former C signals in Atlanta still have full C protection.

92.9 C1
94.1 C0
94.9 C1
96.1 C0
98.5 C0
99.7 C0
101.5 C0
103.3 C0

If I remember correctly, everybody moved before the FCC deadline. Basically, it was a use it or lose it deadline. If you were not at the full HAAT of 2000 ft, then the protection was downgraded to actual facilities.

All of the stations (except 92.9) moved to towers to get the height to a C0 classification. If I remember correctly, none could get a full C in the city because of the airport.

92.9 got a C1 because they did not move from their tower that was on (this is fuzzy memory) the Life of Georgia Building?? I know their studios were in the old C&S Tower and from the studio they could see their broadcast tower. It was a financial issue. The removal of the tower was the responsibility of the station and was very expensive. The station did not feel the cost of moving was worth C0 so they settled for C1. At least that is what an engineer at the time told me. :)

I am not sure why 94.9 ended up with a C1 instead of C0.

As an added note, every other station in the commercial band is either a translator or a move-in signal.

Well, this was a trip down memory lane.
 
secondchoice said:
Both 106.7 and 97.1 should work excellent for a format that isn’t dependent in listeners south of Interstate 20 due to location of towers and the issues concrete and steel buildings in downtown ATL.
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97.1 (and even 106.7 as K-Love, although that’s likely a coincidence) is a great example of a signal’s coverage area matching the format on it. You see this with 104.1, 102.5, 107.9 and 105.3 as well.

97.1 and 104.1 are 2 of the most successful stations in ATL and don’t cover the entire market well like 103.3 or 94.1, neither of which are doing particularly well.

However, 97.1 hits the 85 and 75 corridors to the north of the city where the highest concentration of their audience is, as well as to the east.

104.1 hits the city, then the I-20/I-85 corridors to the west and south, where the concentration of their audience is, hence why their signal doesn’t affect their numbers.

The Beat on 95.5 IMO seemed like a poor fit for that signal. Rock 100.5 has a ton of issues but would likely benefit from a signal that was a bit better to the NE.
 
RadioDoogie said:
Yes - then WBTS (95-5 the Beat) was at GA 316 and GA 81 just north of the Fish Stick which is also on GA 81 but closer to GA 20. I recall reading the AJC article in September 1999 saying it was 100kw and the owner/builder of the tower died but saw the tower being finalized before he passed away. It was touted as Atlanta’s new and exciting (long-awaited) CHR/Pop station. Playing 10,000 songs in a row commercial free. The article said they did a poll of Atlanta radio listeners and they overwhelmingly wanted a station with a CHR format.
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Well, that's not quite right. The man who died while the Beat tower was being built was John Talbert, Chief Engineer at Cox Radio/Atlanta. The former owner was H. Randolph Holder.
 
BarryATL said:
92.9 got a C1 because they did not move from their tower that was on (this is fuzzy memory) the Life of Georgia Building?? I know their studios were in the old C&S Tower and from the studio they could see their broadcast tower. It was a financial issue. The removal of the tower was the responsibility of the station and was very expensive. The station did not feel the cost of moving was worth C0 so they settled for C1. At least that is what an engineer at the time told me. :)
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92.9 was on the Westin Peachtree Plaza hotel for years. 100.5 is there now. I think the 87.7 analog channel 6 Franken-FM is there, too.

Didn't one of the class C0s get a bulldozer out to dig out around their tower so they could claim a higher HAAT, because they were just a few feet short? I want to say I heard that story, but I think all of the C0s and C1s are now on shared towers so that would be moot now.
 
jabba17 said:
Didn't one of the class C0s get a bulldozer out to dig out around their tower so they could claim a higher HAAT, because they were just a few feet short?
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Not saying you're wrong, but that doesn't seem like it would have done the job. HAAT is the average height over a 10 mile radius from the tower site, so digging 10 feet of dirt away from the tower base wouldn't affect the HAAT.

HAAT methodology, with some historical notes: Antenna Height Above Average Terrain (HAAT) Calculator
 
PTBoardOp94 said:
Not saying you're wrong, but that doesn't seem like it would have done the job. HAAT is the average height over a 10 mile radius from the tower site, so digging 10 feet of dirt away from the tower base wouldn't affect the HAAT.

HAAT methodology, with some historical notes: Antenna Height Above Average Terrain (HAAT) Calculator
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I was wondering about that, plus the fact that if you do enough significant digging you could hurt the structural integrity of the tower.
 
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