Why does KOA bother?

[Mark Roberts]

I'm currently in Denver, pretty much in the center of the city (SE of downtown). I notice that KOA constantly refers to itself as "850 AM and 94.1 FM" but that FM translator is utterly unreceivable where I am, even on the upper floors of an 8-story building with DSP-based radios (C. Crane Skywave, Tecsun PL-320, and even a Sangean HDR-14).

KOA appears to have FM translators on that channel in Golden and in Boulder, neither of which reach central Denver with anything other than a fringe signal.

Nothing against the good people of Golden or Boulder, but I have to wonder why KOA is bothering with this. Positioning is one thing, but this isn't a solution that is going to buy IHM very much, in my opinion.

 

[exdjted]

I'm currently in Denver, pretty much in the center of the city (SE of downtown). I notice that KOA constantly refers to itself as "850 AM and 94.1 FM" but that FM translator is utterly unreceivable where I am, even on the upper floors of an 8-story building with DSP-based radios (C. Crane Skywave, Tecsun PL-320, and even a Sangean HDR-14).

KOA appears to have FM translators on that channel in Golden and in Boulder, neither of which reach central Denver with anything other than a fringe signal.

Nothing against the good people of Golden or Boulder, but I have to wonder why KOA is bothering with this. Positioning is one thing, but this isn't a solution that is going to buy IHM very much, in my opinion.

Perception. Plain and simple.

 

[MarkW]

I'm glad to hear the signal isn't very good in Denver. Perhaps 94.3 KILO is easier to receive up that way than I thought.

 

[ksradiogeek]

I'm currently in Denver, pretty much in the center of the city (SE of downtown). I notice that KOA constantly refers to itself as "850 AM and 94.1 FM" but that FM translator is utterly unreceivable where I am, even on the upper floors of an 8-story building with DSP-based radios (C. Crane Skywave, Tecsun PL-320, and even a Sangean HDR-14).

KOA appears to have FM translators on that channel in Golden and in Boulder, neither of which reach central Denver with anything other than a fringe signal.

Nothing against the good people of Golden or Boulder, but I have to wonder why KOA is bothering with this. Positioning is one thing, but this isn't a solution that is going to buy IHM very much, in my opinion.

I was in Denver a couple of times the last few years, and the Golden translator actually gets in pretty well in Downtown. Likely works better in a car than a building.

 

[ksradiogeek]

I'm glad to hear the signal isn't very good in Denver. Perhaps 94.3 KILO is easier to receive up that way than I thought.

Yes and no. Crawford still has their Brighton translator on the frequency, and does pop in here and there, particularly on the northeast side.

 

[speer360]

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Seems to cover just West of I-25, Barely.

 

[lanceventa]

I'm glad to hear the signal isn't very good in Denver. Perhaps 94.3 KILO is easier to receive up that way than I thought.

Mountains block most of the Colorado Springs signals from getting much past Castle Rock. The big Fort Collins signals are much more likely to be heard especially throughout Aurora and Centennial.

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Seems to cover just West of I-25, Barely.

All of the translators on the peaks west of town way over-perform their coverage maps. I previously lived on the east side of Aurora near E-470 and they were all audible on the worst portable receivers.

The main purpose of the 94.1's are to be heard in-car and to fill in coverage near Boulder and in both cases they are usable throughout the metro.

 

[Mark Roberts]

The Cherry Creek area ain't beanbag, so to speak, and the 94.1 signal is barely present there at all.

Today, we shifted locales to just northwest of downtown and there the 94.1 signal is better, at least in mono.

 

[lanceventa]

The Cherry Creek area ain't beanbag, so to speak, and the 94.1 signal is barely present there at all.

Today, we shifted locales to just northwest of downtown and there the 94.1 signal is better, at least in mono.

Cherry Creek is near the site of 93.9 KETO-LP Aurora. But I'd also be curious what kind of tuner you're judging the signal on.

 

[DrAkbar]

Let's draw straws for the I ❤️ sacrificial lamb. Which of their full power stations will be gutted to become KOA~FM? It's just a matter of time as translators in a large geographical market are inherently sucky.

 

[Mark Roberts]

Cherry Creek is near the site of 93.9 KETO-LP Aurora. But I'd also be curious what kind of tuner you're judging the signal on.

CC Skywave (first version), Tecsun PL-320, Sangean HDR-14 - all on the 5th floor of a hotel in Cherry Creek North, next to a westward-facing window. (We had a corner room.) So estimate antenna height at roughly 40 feet in generally flat terrain.

I didn't bring the Tecsun PL-380 along - it's just a shade better performer than the PL-320 but I don't think it would have pulled this particular signal out of the muck.

 

[Mark Roberts]

By the way...the KETO-LP transmitter site is shown (on fccdata.org maps) as being in Aurora proper in some kind of building complex off East 11th Avenue just west of Peoria Street, with the 60 dBu contour just grazing Glendale and just including Cranmer Park off East 1st Avenue. I was west of Glendale and Cranmer Park, squarely in the middle of the lah-dee-dah district known as Cherry Creek North.

 

[Kelly A]

One word: Streaming

 

[Mark Roberts]

By the way...the KETO-LP transmitter site is shown (on fccdata.org maps) as being in Aurora proper in some kind of building complex off East 11th Avenue just west of Peoria Street, with the 60 dBu contour just grazing Glendale and just including Cranmer Park off East 1st Avenue. I was west of Glendale and Cranmer Park, squarely in the middle of the lah-dee-dah district known as Cherry Creek North.

Lesson learned ... the fccdata.org calculated coverage map is useful but not always definitive, probably because it makes some assumptions that might not hold in certain circumstances, just as any coverage map would. Picked up KETO-LP just fine yesterday in Lower Highlands (LoHi) northwest of downtown - it's very distinctive - but then again I'm in a building about 50 feet up from ground that's already above average terrain. So that gives me an advantage in reception.

This is the first time I've heard an Ethiopian language (Asmara?) on radio, ever. Definitely want to aircheck that one if I get time while I'm still here.

KOA translator does OK here but can be nulled out.

Some fairly intensive personal business going on right now so I also may not get time to do much with the four AM HD stations that I've received in Denver. I had forgotten how bad AM HD sounds.

 

[JeeperOne]

I'm currently in Denver, pretty much in the center of the city (SE of downtown). I notice that KOA constantly refers to itself as "850 AM and 94.1 FM" but that FM translator is utterly unreceivable where I am, even on the upper floors of an 8-story building with DSP-based radios (C. Crane Skywave, Tecsun PL-320, and even a Sangean HDR-14).

KOA appears to have FM translators on that channel in Golden and in Boulder, neither of which reach central Denver with anything other than a fringe signal.

Nothing against the good people of Golden or Boulder, but I have to wonder why KOA is bothering with this. Positioning is one thing, but this isn't a solution that is going to buy IHM very much, in my opinion.

The FM Translators aren't targeted towards Denver since we can get it pn 850 AM. This is on purpose

That said, I have to wonder why the Broncos & Rockies stick with KOA as a primary broadcast partner rather than move to KKFN-FM 104.3, That's puzzled me for a long time

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

The FM Translators aren't targeted towards Denver since we can get it pn 850 AM. This is on purpose

That said, I have to wonder why the Broncos & Rockies stick with KOA as a primary broadcast partner rather than move to KKFN-FM 104.3, That's puzzled me for a long time

The signal coverage, and probably a better deal $ wise

 

[Mark Roberts]

The FM Translators aren't targeted towards Denver since we can get it pn 850 AM. This is on purpose

That's a coverage-based argument, but even that fails the inverse: Listeners in Golden and Boulder should be able to pick up the KOA signal just fine. Strictly speaking on a coverage basis, those translators aren't needed.

The real purpose for these translators is for a station to say "we're on FM". It's mostly symbolic. If iHeart decides it wants a full-metro presence for KOA on FM, it's going to have to do it with one of its existing FM stations. I expect that probably will happen within the next three years as AM continues its decline.

That said, I have to wonder why the Broncos & Rockies stick with KOA as a primary broadcast partner rather than move to KKFN-FM 104.3, That's puzzled me for a long time

It could well be that the sports teams push iHeart toward moving into a more robust FM presence.

 

[fybush]

There is almost no content that any radio station offers that's unique enough to draw listeners to a platform they otherwise wouldn't be using.

In other words, you have to put your content where the audience is willing to find it. That's not AM radio, which is why even a partial coverage pair of translators is useful to bring KOA to listeners who will simply never go to the trouble of finding it on AM, no matter how strong the 850 signal is.

 

[Mark Roberts]

There is almost no content that any radio station offers that's unique enough to draw listeners to a platform they otherwise wouldn't be using.

In other words, you have to put your content where the audience is willing to find it. That's not AM radio, which is why even a partial coverage pair of translators is useful to bring KOA to listeners who will simply never go to the trouble of finding it on AM, no matter how strong the 850 signal is.

If you follow this to its logical conclusion, then iHeart would have turned over a full-power FM frequency to KOA long ago. That hasn't happened. If you're in Aurora, for example, you're probably stuck with the AM signal under the present arrangement. It may be that iHeart doesn't want to give up one FM station's revenue stream even with the possibility of getting stronger revenues from KOA. History in multiple fields of business, not just radio, is littered with examples of incumbents who wouldn't make adaptations to changing circumstances due to the short-term effect on existing businesses, and then find themselves with even worse long-term effects.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

If you follow this to its logical conclusion, then iHeart would have turned over a full-power FM frequency to KOA long ago. That hasn't happened. If you're in Aurora, for example, you're probably stuck with the AM signal under the present arrangement. It may be that iHeart doesn't want to give up one FM station's revenue stream even with the possibility of getting stronger revenues from KOA. History in multiple fields of business, not just radio, is littered with examples of incumbents who wouldn't make adaptations to changing circumstances due to the short-term effect on existing businesses, and then find themselves with even worse long-term effects.

so.... i know nothing abou5t revenue in the market, im just pulling a number out of my.. you know where for sake of discussion.. to make my point

Lets say KOA is billing $10 mil a year... lets say they have a full power FM music format billing $5 million.

Lets say adding a full power FM would bring $2 mil in revenue per year to KOA.. youve just lost $3 mil in revenue