WFAS-FM BRONXVILLE NY Sold

[Least]

Shhhhhh. Please, please don't say the name. It's as bad as someone saying, "It's been nearly a year since we had a transmitter failure..."

Beetlejuice 🤣

 

[Marcos_C]

It doesn't matter where the signal originated.

Maybe not, but a fact is a fact: the transmitter of WNYZ-LD is on top of One Court Square in Long Island City. Below is a link to the coordinates of the transmitter, which I obtained via the station's Wikipedia page.

WNYZ-LD transmitter coordinates (Google Maps)

The Wikipedia page erroneously says that WNYZ-LD simulcasts WWRU. The Korean-language broadcast on 87.75 FM is different from the one that is aired on 1660 AM.

 

[Jeffrey]

@Jeffrey: if you were attempting to prove David wrong with that, you are missing the point of the latter statement.

The majority of the vehicles on the road have AM radios, and some EV's even still have AM tuners. As is, cars are staying on the road for 8-12 years at this point. The death of AM radio won't come from EVs.

I'm not attempting to prove anyone wrong I'm just saying that AM is dying. It's a mostly dead band in Europe with DAB now. The US lags in that respect. Just bought a foreign car..no AM band. It's the beginning of the end

 

[Jeffrey]

And if it had such good ratings, then explain why it could not even pay the staff and due bills.

In ratings, it never showed in the diary books. The PPM started in July of 2008 and it did not "make the book" until April of 2009. (Remember, for a period we had both a diary book and a PPM book at the same time. I only have PPM numbers.

Starting in May of 2009, the station had a 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 1.0, 0.8, 0.4, 0.2, 0.2, 0.1 for 2009
In 2010 is had a 0.1 in January, and did not show again until October when it had 9 books with a 0.1 shares in a row.

Wasn't Mega Media or whoever owned them at the time bankrupt before they even started operating the station?? They had a good run given their terrible odds and maybe didn't crush any ratings books but if you're local you'll know it created a bit of a buzz. I remember hearing it in a number of taxis. True story. Later after Mega killed it Party 105.3 Long Island simulcast on the station for awhile until they killed that too. No idea why. Good little niche format.
Stations like that used to make radio fun.

 

[davideduardo]

I'm not attempting to prove anyone wrong I'm just saying that AM is dying. It's a mostly dead band in Europe with DAB now.

Clarification: it is mostly dead in Europe because nearly all European nations have a significant and often controlling position in radio in the hands of the government. Whatever the government decides is "best for the people" is put into effect, and commercial radio has to follow.

While AM is fading in all of The Americas, there is a much larger private sector involvement and that means that there will be AM for quite a while longer in most nations.

The US lags in that respect. Just bought a foreign car..no AM band. It's the beginning of the end

The US does not lag. Europe decided to move to DAB, but when that was tried in this part of the world by Canada, it failed. It has no proponents in The Americas. AM here will last as long as the business is profitable. A third of the top 20 billing stations in the US are still AM.

Oh, and the average car in the US is 12 years old. So if every new car had no AM band, it would take more than a decade just to get to 50% with no AM.

I agree that the end is closer than ever... but it is still a decade or more away.

 

[luperm]

...until they killed that too. No idea why.

No advertisers = no revenue = station owner can't pay bills!

 

[Theater of My Mind]

The US does not lag. Europe decided to move to DAB, but when that was tried in this part of the world by Canada, it failed.

It failed because no DAB radios were ever made for the Canadian market.

Canada has 1/10th of the population of the United States so as far as Asian electronics manufacturers are concerned there is no separate "Canadian market", only an American market, and Canada tags along as part of it.

Since Canada used a different band than Europe for DAB, and the USA never adopted it, there was never a market for special DAB radios to be made for North America. I think there might have been only one model made for Radio Shack, and as far as I know very few existed.

Also, not very many Canadian radio stations ever broadcast in DAB. IIRC some eventually popped up in the biggest cities, and I believe they were just simulcasts with no unique content.

 

[RadioGuy1864]

From The History of Canadian Broadcasting, this references a 2006 CTRC report:
"After a promising start, the rollout of DRB (digital radio broadcasting) has slowed in recent years in Canada," said the Commission's Digital Radio Policy. "In fact, the adoption of the new digital radio technology by consumers and the switch-over by the radio industry to digital is now effectively stalled."

The Commission's policies cited a number of reasons for the changing radio landscape and the failure of DAB technology including:

• dramatic changes in the 'delivery and consumption of audio programming' via new regulated and unregulated technologies such as MP3 players, iPods, other personal media devices, Internet music services, radio streaming including streaming over wireless broadband, podcasting, peer-to-peer file sharing and downloading, cell phone radio, and satellite radio;
• the lack of consumer radios and the high cost of those few available;
• Canada's choice of L-band for DAB, not Band III, a VHF frequency used for DAB in many other countries;
• the requirement for bilingual display screens, unique to Canada;
• U.S. rejection of DAB and support for IBOC – In-Band On-Channel - a competing terrestrial digital radio technology that more or less fit into existing AM and FM frequencies;
• the automotive industry support of satellite radio, partly due to the absence of a national Canadian DAB corridor for cars;
• the advent of satellite radio in Canada.

 

[Rusty Muck]

• U.S. rejection of DAB and support for IBOC – In-Band On-Channel - a competing terrestrial digital radio technology that more or less fit into existing AM and FM frequencies;

TBQH that might have been one of the worst decisions the FCC ever made and the biggest miscalculation in the NAB’s history. The general public and marketplace has continually rejected the IBOC standard and would have been receptive to DAB.

The digital broadcasting technology WFAS is using has existed for nearly 25 years and yet they are broadcasting to an audience of literally no one. Not even AM stereo met that level of rejection.

 

[Steve Green NEPA]

Radio (and other media venture) has never let an original idea disappear uncopied. HD is one of the latest. All it amounted to was more properties to own on the limited spectrum Monopoly board. Maybe like that Franklin Mint stuff, or the original car phones to impress others in the produce and pet food aisles. How about the computer craze during which people spent hundreds of dollars arranging piecharts as a gauge for the domestic budget? And quite recently, virtual .... uh .... NFT baseball cards without bubblegum.
Now I'm an older Pennsylvanian who has never knowingly benefited from all the lottery stuff. So I can't be the only one here who is weary of the tenet: 'Diminishing Returns -- It's the Law'.

 

[davideduardo]

TBQH that might have been one of the worst decisions the FCC ever made and the biggest miscalculation in the NAB’s history. The general public and marketplace has continually rejected the IBOC standard and would have been receptive to DAB.

DAB requires a new and different band, and makes obsolete the other bands. It destroys billions of dollars in equity.

The digital broadcasting technology WFAS is using has existed for nearly 25 years and yet they are broadcasting to an audience of literally no one. Not even AM stereo met that level of rejection.

HD, thanks to Kahn, was a half-decade too late. IBOC came when the transition to streaming had already begun and was unneeded in the minds of consumers.

 

[Theater of My Mind]

DAB requires a new and different band, and makes obsolete the other bands. It destroys billions of dollars in equity.

So what? Lots of other countries were able to migrate, no problem.

Now we are stuck in the U.S. with obsolete AM, and with an increasingly congested FM band. The NAB maneuvered to protect big broadcasters and didn't want a digital band where all multiplexed signals could be equal. Their priority has always been to push down smaller broadcasters and maintain an anti-competitive market.

HD, thanks to Kahn, was a half-decade too late. IBOC came when the transition to streaming had already begun and was unneeded in the minds of consumers.

Also the FCC's fault.

 

[davideduardo]

So what? Lots of other countries were able to migrate, no problem.

Not "lots". A handful in Europe where the government had considerable control over broadcasting and where commercial radio was generally less than 40 or so years old and much more limited.

The US, unlike any of those European nations, created classes of stations such as A, B and C (and even sub-classes) on FM and everything from clear channels to Class IV flea power stations... and even daytimers (virtually unknown elsewhere).

No national service of Federally owned stations in every city and stated. Compare with England, France, Germany, Finland, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Italy where government stations were everywhere and most nations have multiple program services and station webs.

Now we are stuck in the U.S. with obsolete AM, and with an increasingly congested FM band. The NAB maneuvered to protect big broadcasters and didn't want a digital band where all multiplexed signals could be equal.

Not only that, the possible band for DAB was partially used by the military. The fact that commercial broadcasters did not want to move. TV got reassigned only because the Telcoms had to compensate TV stations.

Their priority has always been to push down smaller broadcasters and maintain an anti-competitive market.

No, the priority in the US has always been to license more stations than could be successful and profitable, with far more than needed in each market since the system is based purely on technical issues: if it fits, grant it.

In the 30's, politicians were gravely afraid of "big" radio stations, so they limited maximum power to very low levels and only allowed seven stations per licensee. In other nations with commercial radio, groups could have 50, 100 or more stations nationally.

 

[Theater of My Mind]

Not "lots". A handful in Europe where the government had considerable control over broadcasting and where commercial radio was generally less than 40 or so years old and much more limited.

As you originally noted though, Canada implemented it and the commercial radio landscape there is similar to ours in the U.S. It never had a chance to get off the ground for the reasons noted above, but at least the broadcasters and regulators had the will to do it. They needed the U.S. to be on the same page in order for it to work out, though.

Not only that, the possible band for DAB was partially used by the military. The fact that commercial broadcasters did not want to move. TV got reassigned only because the Telcoms had to compensate TV stations.

There were always too many obstacles from political forces in the U.S. to do digital radio right. It's a shame. TV got a huge upgrade when it went digital and turned off the grainy analog signals. Mobile providers turned our whole lives digital with 3G, 4G, and now 5G data.

And radio? Well...we have AM. (Shrug) And HD Radio sidebands that no one cares about except broadcasters who use them as STLs to feed their puny analog translators.

 

[davideduardo]

As you originally noted though, Canada implemented it and the commercial radio landscape there is similar to ours in the U.S. It never had a chance to get off the ground for the reasons noted above, but at least the broadcasters and regulators had the will to do it. They needed the U.S. to be on the same page in order for it to work out, though.

In Canada, radio is vastly more regulated than the US. For decades, an application for a new station required proving that such a station would not cause the existing stations in the same market to suffer losses that would make it hard to fulfill their service obligations. And things like how many times an FM could play a song each day were part of the rules.

Canadian stations started implementing DAB, but because Canada had, in the vast majority, not licensed inferior technical facilities and daytimers, there was no gain for listeners. Since the government did not force a twilight period on AM or even FM, nobody found a reason to invest in DAB.

There were always too many obstacles from political forces in the U.S. to do digital radio right. It's a shame. TV got a huge upgrade when it went digital and turned off the grainy analog signals. Mobile providers turned our whole lives digital with 3G, 4G, and now 5G data.

The improvement between FM and DAB is very minor compared with the improvement between analog TV where you could see the horizontal lines and near theater quality digital. Most people can not hear a significant and change-motivating difference between FM and DAB.

It took European governments pushing digital "because it is better" to impose it on those countries where it is in use.

And radio? Well...we have AM. (Shrug) And HD Radio sidebands that no one cares about except broadcasters who use them as STLs to feed their puny analog translators.

HDs are not used, generally, to feed translators. Usually the translator gets a separate audio chain and processing and the like, tailored for the differences between analog and digital as well as bandwidth and modulation limitations.

In my opinion, the FCC has been trying to bury its turds like a cat since the 80's. They released Docket 80-90 which overpopulated most smaller markets with new stations and moved suburban stations into bigger markets. So half of all stations became unprofitable. They then allowed ownership of more stations, which put small owners at a disadvantage. Then, to help AM the gave thousands of them translators which have no guarantee of future use of the frequency. And they permitted HD radio, a proprietary technology that turned out to only be useful to build more translators by the big groups. No other country has so fully screwed up broadcasting.

There are translators getting very significant ratings in smaller markets or in places like Albuquerque where they can go to mountaintops and cover a whole market. For years I owned a number of 250 watt FMs in markets of over a million and found them as high a #2 in one case (I owned the #1 also).

 

[TheBigA]

There were always too many obstacles from political forces in the U.S. to do digital radio right. It's a shame. TV got a huge upgrade when it went digital and turned off the grainy analog signals. Mobile providers turned our whole lives digital with 3G, 4G, and now 5G data.

The reason TV got digital was because the FCC wanted to sell that spectrum to telecom. The radio spectrum is useless for any other purpose, and they know it. Telecom has always been the favored child in the FCC world. They have a lot more money and better lobbyists.

But having said that, you don't need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. You don't need to blow up AM & FM to get DAB.

 

[Barry]

A recent article in Northeast Radio Watch asks 2 interesting questions concerning VCY America's pending purchase of WFAS FM:
Will it be worthwhile for them, being that they will be paying a pretty decent amount for a modest signal, and sharing the market with EMF and Family Radio?
Could this be just the beginning of VCY's expansion in this area?
That leads me to wonder whether there are other stations in the area that may be up for sale which they might consider purchasing.

From Northeast Radio Watch

 

[Rusty Muck]

The reason TV got digital was because the FCC wanted to sell that spectrum to telecom. The radio spectrum is useless for any other purpose, and they know it. Telecom has always been the favored child in the FCC world. They have a lot more money and better lobbyists.

The 2017 repack auction (allowing the sale of spectrum to telecom and for station owners to rake in $$$, all the while initiating a rather complex realignment that compressed the band, of which it was entirely doable) basically allowed the FCC to have their cake and eat it, too.

 

[Rusty Muck]

In my opinion, the FCC has been trying to bury its turds like a cat since the 80's. They released Docket 80-90 which overpopulated most smaller markets with new stations and moved suburban stations into bigger markets. So half of all stations became unprofitable. They then allowed ownership of more stations, which put small owners at a disadvantage. Then, to help AM the gave thousands of them translators which have no guarantee of future use of the frequency. And they permitted HD radio, a proprietary technology that turned out to only be useful to build more translators by the big groups. No other country has so fully screwed up broadcasting.

Not only are these all profound failures, they are all interconnected failures, built on top of each other.

 

[Marcos_C]

From Northeast Radio Watch

From the article:

"Can VCY find success with a limited signal in a part of the market with a high proportion of non-Christian listeners? There are plenty of other Christian broadcasters going after New York these days, including EMF, which bought WPLJ from Cumulus, and Family Stations, which sold the original WFME-FM to Cumulus and eventually bought Univision’s WQBU (now a new WFME-FM 92.7 serving Queens, Brooklyn and western Long Island.)"

For those who speak Spanish, which is spoken by a large portion of the people who live in the Bronx and Washington Heights, there's also Radio Visión Cristiana's WWRV (1330 AM).