Something I’ve always wanted to know for years is yeah sure we have KLFX And KBRQ but like does anyone by chance know why we’ve never gotten a full on alternative formatted station like KROX in Austin or KVIL in Dallas? I’m assuming There’s just not an audience for it but I’d like to know what you all think.
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Alternative Format in Waco, Temple, Killeen area?
- Thread starter 254dan
- Start date
Don't worry, the Alternative haters should be along any minute to proclaim what a failure the format is because it doesn't play the rhythmic pop or country music artists they like.
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I wouldn't hold my breath on that format coming to Waco/Temple/Killeen anytime soon.
D
Deleted member 108832
Guest
I think you pretty well answered your own question. There's already The Bear/Fox for rock currents and recurrents, and The Doc serving the classic rock audience. A pure Alternative, or classic alternative as it would most likely have to be, would further fragment an already small listener base in Centex.
Be content with what you've got. Several markets comparable in size to Waco, like Lufkin-Nacogdoches, Bryan-College Station, and here in Tyler-Longview are left with merely one outlet for rock music. In each case, it's a classic rock station, that just recently adjusted their own playlists to include the likes of Pearl Jam, Green Day and Nirvana, but don't hold your breath waiting for Tool, Corrosion of Conformity, or Korn.
My God, our own 96.1 was still playing Simon & Garfunkel and Steppenwolf up until last year. Y'all in Waco have it pretty good by comparison.
Be content with what you've got. Several markets comparable in size to Waco, like Lufkin-Nacogdoches, Bryan-College Station, and here in Tyler-Longview are left with merely one outlet for rock music. In each case, it's a classic rock station, that just recently adjusted their own playlists to include the likes of Pearl Jam, Green Day and Nirvana, but don't hold your breath waiting for Tool, Corrosion of Conformity, or Korn.
My God, our own 96.1 was still playing Simon & Garfunkel and Steppenwolf up until last year. Y'all in Waco have it pretty good by comparison.
Yeah true, I guess it is what it is. And 106.7 does ok filling the classic rock void.
103.7 is a regular listenable signal in Waco. 101.5 is not really ever reliable in Temple, Belton, or Killeen except during favorable conditions.
Difference between a Class C and C2. The other Austin C2s are also not reliable in Bell County (Killeen-Temple)… 93.3, 102.3, and 105.9. 104.3 typically is better at least on the Temple side.
Difference between a Class C and C2. The other Austin C2s are also not reliable in Bell County (Killeen-Temple)… 93.3, 102.3, and 105.9. 104.3 typically is better at least on the Temple side.
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Yeah very true, it’s a lot better than 102.1
D
Deleted member 108832
Guest
The situation for me in Tyler is a little different with 102.1. It was really great to have a pretty reliable signal from Dallas pumping in the alt rock to an area that had lost the long running 96X. Alas, "The Edge" is now a shining "Star", pumping Christmas music into ETX, something we could probably do without. 😂
KVIL, on the other hand, is the worst performing signal from DFW in Tyler. It's pretty rare for it to put in an acceptable listening experience this far east. Coupled with the Alpha translator in Longview on the same channel, it's not even worth trying to give KVIL a listen.
That’s so strange to me that 102.1 reaches better on your end than 103.7, yet it’s the other way around on my end, aren’t they both broadcasting from the antenna farm in cedar hill?
D
Deleted member 108832
Guest
Next closest 102.1 to me is Shreveport, another 90 miles east. 103.7 has a KYKX translator in Longview that can be heard to varying degrees in Tyler. That's the biggest difference. Most DFW signals are reliable here. 103.7 isn't, and the translator seems to be part of the issue. I never really listened to the old KVIL, back when it was still the soccer mom station, so I never paid attention to its performance before the translator signed on.
Ahh ok that makes sense, well I heard KVIL off and on over the years since I lived in the San antonio area til 2006 (I could pick them up when a really good norther with blow in) and it wasn’t a bad sounding station back in the day, ive always been fond of soft rock stations back in the day so it was nice, but then after we moved here to central Texas after 2006 I think it started going down hill especially when they started trying to be a hit music station, then we went through what I like to call,”we can’t decide what we want our name to be!” lol. And then the edge became star, whatever 103.7 was became alt and I like the frequency again because they play some pretty good stuff when it comes to alternative and their imaging spots kinda hit me just right too.
Alternative is a mid to lower share format nearly everywhere. The exceptions seem to be only in markets where alternative has had a station, an image and a following for many, many years.
In a market like Denver or Chicago or Portland, a 3 share is significant and salable such as the 3 range of KDKB in Phoenix. But in a much smaller market, a 3 share is too little to get good rates and agency buys.
Remember, in Waco nearly half of all listening is to out of market stations, making this even worse. The total market has under $7 million in revenue, and the highest billing rock station is around $600 thousand. There is just not enough revenue for a format that is highly fragmented and not a favorite of local direct advertisers
Killeen-Temple has only 35% listening to local stations, and is 238th in revenue despite being 134th in population as so little listening is given to local stations... even worse than Waco. All the stations combined in that market bill just over $3 million, and the top two are around $750,000 each.
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The Waco market (#190) has only 10 commercial FM stations....
92.9 - Country
94.5 - Rhythmic
95.7 - Classic Hits
97.5 - Top 40
99.9 - Country
102.5 - Active Rock
104.1 - Regional Mexican
104.9 - Classic Country
106.7 - Classic Rock
107.9 - Top 40
So what would you sacrifice for an Alternative Rock station? Maybe one of the two Top 40 stations? Yes, there are two mainstream Country stations plus a Classic Country outlet. But after all, this is Central Texas. I'm surprised there's no Urban or Urban AC. And no AC.
In the Killeen-Temple market (#131), the story is similar. (I'm surprised this is a larger market than Waco.) Only seven commercial FM stations....
92.5 - Urban
96.7 - Jack FM
101.7 - Regional Mexican
103.1 - Urban AC
105.1 - Country
105.5 - Country
106.3 - Rhythmic
107.3 - Active Rock
In this case, there are two Urban stations. But no Top 40, no Classic Hits, no Classic Rock, no AC.
92.9 - Country
94.5 - Rhythmic
95.7 - Classic Hits
97.5 - Top 40
99.9 - Country
102.5 - Active Rock
104.1 - Regional Mexican
104.9 - Classic Country
106.7 - Classic Rock
107.9 - Top 40
So what would you sacrifice for an Alternative Rock station? Maybe one of the two Top 40 stations? Yes, there are two mainstream Country stations plus a Classic Country outlet. But after all, this is Central Texas. I'm surprised there's no Urban or Urban AC. And no AC.
In the Killeen-Temple market (#131), the story is similar. (I'm surprised this is a larger market than Waco.) Only seven commercial FM stations....
92.5 - Urban
96.7 - Jack FM
101.7 - Regional Mexican
103.1 - Urban AC
105.1 - Country
105.5 - Country
106.3 - Rhythmic
107.3 - Active Rock
In this case, there are two Urban stations. But no Top 40, no Classic Hits, no Classic Rock, no AC.
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92.5 I think you mean 92.3. 96.7 is Kiss from Austin and I don’t know where 105.1 came from.
y'know i never really thought about it that way, and youre right, dallas stations are really easy to pick up in waco (at least when youre not close to KBGOs or the other transmitter next to the VA hospital)
as for killeen and temple you can pick up most of the austin stations decently as well so yeah i can see how that would make things really difficult for the local stations
And that is because two-thirds of listening is to out-of-market stations.
dang i never knew that, i just assumed the majority just listened to local stations, but it makes sense, if you can pick it up decently even if its from an out of town market then yeah i can see why alot of people would pick those out of town stations over the local ones.
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