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Hope Media Group completes Way Media merger

M

Mediafrog+

Merger closed today, May 20: RELEASE: Hope Media Group and WAY Media Complete Merger | Hope Media Group

Further info, including building a new media center: Hope Media Group |

Way-FM is not currently available OTA in Houston. Might Hope Media go after a station here? Looking at you, KROI. And such a flip wouldn’t necessarily run off the current audience on 92.1. Perhaps Radio One has been waiting on this?

I suspect more changes and initiatives are coming. They didn’t do this merger simply for back office efficiencies.
 
What? There will not be a way FM in Houston. There are only so many Christian radio listeners and so many dollars. Adding another frequency to the two already only means more expense, less reach per station and fewer dollars per station. Way and Hope merged to be a stronger entity not implode upon itself by oversaturating a market.
 
b-turner said:
What? There will not be a way FM in Houston. There are only so many Christian radio listeners and so many dollars. Adding another frequency to the two already only means more expense, less reach per station and fewer dollars per station. Way and Hope merged to be a stronger entity not implode upon itself by oversaturating a market.
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If anything, KSBJ will be heard in other markets where there are no KSBJs around. But looking at the Ratings VIDA UNIDA isn’t doing so good either.
 
I disagree. KSBJ is very Houston oriented. Way FM is intentionally national in their presentation. The programming on KSBJ and Way FM musically is very similar.

I contend the merger is just simply two non-profits pooling resources and expertise for the betterment of both parties to this merger. This gives them strength and knowledge when compared to EMF (K-Love, Air1). This is more of an expanded talent and knowledge pool situation.
 
Mrtejano said:
If anything, KSBJ will be heard in other markets where there are no KSBJs around.
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I have a strong feeling that the KSBJ brand will morph into a national network, perhaps known as "SBJ-FM". Way-FM might get tweaked so that the two are musically different, much like K-Love and Air1. I haven't listened to Way-FM recently, but I understand the music has been moving towards Praise & Worship, much like the change made to Air1 at the beginning of 2019.

Might want to keep an ear on the HD signals of KSBJ and KHVU, as it wouldn't surprise me to see Way-FM pop up on an HD-2. Currently both stations only have HD-1.
Mrtejano said:
But looking at the Ratings VIDA UNIDA isn’t doing so good either.
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Part of my thinking of Hope Media acquiring KROI is perhaps Vida Unida could move there, as 92.1 would better serve the heavily Hispanic areas of the market. Of course either 91.7 or 92.1 could become Way-FM, who knows. Playing with other people's money. Also removes a potential EMF outlet.

Speaking of religious broadcasting options, 91.7 would be an excellent place for a simulcast of KJIC, whose primary 90.5 frequency doesn't reach the northern half of the market.
 
That would really surprise me because Way FM has a very successful formula that they've worked for decades. KSBJ has a formula that has been very successful for decades. To change either is to alter two very successful formulas that are working very well as they are. To me it would be like a repeat of New Coke. Neither kitchen sink is broken.

I also do not see Way FM coming to Houston. If 8% listen to Christian Radio, you divide that by existing stations. Spending money to acquire a new signal and dividing the pie into another slice is just not a sensible business plan. Underwriting and donations would be down at KSBJ for this to happen and you'd be toting a note payment and another format cost in addition.

KJIC is a quality station but the station barely pays it's expenses. I think it would need 20-25x current revenue to acquire and pay for a Houston signal like 91.7
 
To b-turner's point, this is most likely a way for two non-profits to combine resources. EMF has really dominated in the space -- the new Hope Media Group becomes the clear #2 in the field.

To Mrtejano's point, the new Hope Media Group does need to figure out what to do with Vida Unida. Granted, the station has only been on the air for 6 months, but there doesn't seem to be a ton of traction. Hope has the right idea in launching a brand that brings in listeners outside of the KSBJ core audience, but there's more work to be done before this brand is expanded further.

To Mediafrog+'s point, the future of 92.1 is anyone's guess... and has been for years at this point. Go figure, Radio One actually has the same problem as Hope -- how do you program your complimentary station as a compliment without hurting your core asset.
 
b-turner said:
KJIC is a quality station but the station barely pays it's expenses. I think it would need 20-25x current revenue to acquire and pay for a Houston signal like 91.7
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Perhaps KJIC under different ownership might do better? Would Hope Media Group be interested in a Christian Country version of KSBJ? The current KJIC format is unique; just too bad that it covers less than half the market.
 
JustinT said:
To Mediafrog+'s point, the future of 92.1 is anyone's guess... and has been for years at this point. Go figure, Radio One actually has the same problem as Hope -- how do you program your complimentary station as a compliment without hurting your core asset.
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Perhaps the answer is to forget about the complementary station and sell it to someone who won't compete against your core formats. That's why I constantly bang the drum about selling 92.1 to one of the existing sportstalkers or to a religious operator such as EMF or HMG.
 
S
Mediafrog+ said:
Perhaps KJIC under different ownership might do better? Would Hope Media Group be interested in a Christian Country version of KSBJ? The current KJIC format is unique; just too bad that it covers less than half the market.
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Speaking of KJIC, didn’t they upgrade there signal last year or sometime this year? I remember being able to catch them very clear in The Heights even on HD. That has ended.
 
Mrtejano said:
Speaking of KJIC, didn’t they upgrade there signal last year or sometime this year? I remember being able to catch them very clear in The Heights even on HD. That has ended.
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No upgrade, but KJIC did install a new transmitter a year or two ago. I recall they had pictures of the installation process on their website.

The Heights is on the edge of KJIC’s usable coverage. Once you go north of I-45 the signal dies rather quickly, as they use a directional antenna with some suppression to keep away from KSHU.
 
KJIC is still broadcasting in HD. It's weird though, in Willis when there's even just a little bit of tropos KJIC will interfere with KSHU. A lot of nights I do get KJIC in HD a lot easier than I normally get KSHU in HD
 
Mediafrog+ said:
The Heights is on the edge of KJIC’s usable coverage. Once you go north of I-45 the signal dies rather quickly, as they use a directional antenna with some suppression to keep away from KSHU.
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Correction: I meant to say that once you go north of I-10 the KJIC signal dies quickly.
 
Mediafrog+ said:
Unlikely, unless it pops up on an HD subchannel. I’ve been curious if Way-FM could make a Houston appearance on an HD-2.
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Way Now is on WJWA HD2 in Evansville, Indiana. I imagine it could be replaced with NGEN Radio. As for Houston, it might come back to HD2, etc.
 
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I'm not sure the Spanish language based format is a failure. It might need some fine tuning. The market is largely Catholic and the polar opposite protestant denominations, sometimes charismatic that needs to combine for a music format that can target a large swath of the potential market. That group will be slow to jump on board but will with time. I base this on the years I worked predominately Hispanic markets and my limited experience with Central and South American nationalities.
 
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