Pleasantly surprised to hear Casey's AT40 (previously on 94.5 before they inexplicably yanked it from Saturday morning schedule a few years ago) is now on 92.7.
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PSA: Casey AT40 on 92.7
- Thread starter indieradioguy
- Start date
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
Which version? There are two.
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
There is the 70s version (consisting of shows that originally aired between July 4, 1970 and December 29, 1979) and the 80s version (shows from January 5, 1980 to August 6, 1988). They are separate packages from Premiere Radio Networks,
The 80s version also has an optional three-hour version (starting the countdown around #30) and those 70s programs after September 30, 1978 also have that option.
The 80s version also has an optional three-hour version (starting the countdown around #30) and those 70s programs after September 30, 1978 also have that option.
Their mighty 52 watts at night on 1440 gets out better than 250 watts on 92.7, at least in Mesa. BTW, 1440 doesn't feed 92.7; both are fed by KDKB/93.3-HD2. Mother Hubbard uses 1440 as a sports overflow station on occasion.
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
Before some well-meaning poster comes along saying "but the translator has to retransmit the AM!" I will point out that this is legal because the translator precedes the FCC auction in which the winners received grants specifically tied to the AM station specified in their paperwork.
Basically, a new translator (first licensed in 2017 or afterward) can only exist to retransmit the specified AM. Prior to that, a translator license retains its "flexibility" with regards to program origination.
Given the format (at this moment) pretty much doesn't play that much post-1980 music, if at all, it's the '70s version (confirmed on their website: Casey Kasem’s American Top 40 – Oldies 92.7 – KAZG).
There are a lot of "AM purists" on this board. In fact, the most legendary thread here has to do with 1440 AM. But, for those who can't take the low-fi sound of music on AM but can't receive the FM translator that well, they thankfully stream in high quality online.
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
I wonder if, as AMs go permanently silent and surrender their licenses (there were yet another two reported in today's FCC Daily Digest, KYAH/540 in Provo UT and KMED/1440 in Medford OR) they are holding wakes over the "losses".
I'm no AM purist, but where I vacation in Phoenix the daytime 1440 signal comes in more reliably than 92.7. So it's not worthless.
(That legendary thread makes me smile, especially when someone went to the trouble to make a POV video of someone walking up to the Lumber Yard transmitter and posted it here via YouTube.)
Up here in Seattle I get the full Eighties version of AT40 on an Eighties station, and it identifies itself as such. I do understand the OP thinking that Casey's AT40 was one show and not cut into two packages, because back in the day he only did one AT40 a week.
Mother Hubbard is cinching her belt in numerous markets. Is Lumberyard 14~Forty expendable? Yes indeedy. But wouldn't bring much, plus Mom's operating costs are smaller than the rear seat of our '76 Gremlin. Oldies 92~Seven can easily live on without an ancient modulation partner station. But what to do with all those gold miners milling around 64th St & Thomas Road?
And iHeart’s AT40 streaming station plays both 70s and 80s shows, they didn’t set up separate streaming AT40 70s and 80s stations (at least not yet)
AT40: The 70s. Saturday (from 10:00 a.m.- 1:00 p.m.) and Sunday (from 12:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.)
Agreed. It's cool to hear hits again that are rarely (if ever) played in "regular" rotation on the stations that air this legendary radio show.
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
Agreed. It's cool to hear hits again that are rarely (if ever) played in "regular" rotation on the stations that air this legendary radio show.
Premiere Networks has a number of affiliates who object to the "resurrection" of stiffs which tend to make up an increasing percentage of the countdowns the farther back in time you go.
For weeks when a show is featured from 1980, 1981, or 1982, Premiere offers an alternative show from 1986, 1987 or 1988. I see the cue sheets for both shows when that happens, and I made the decision to take the "B" show when offered. We just went through three weekends in a row of that, and out of curiosity I looked at my Mediabase airplay monitors for this past weekend (where the main show was from 1981) to see how those songs you think are "cool" did.
19 songs got zero airplay outside of the program during the week that started on the Thursday before and ended yesterday (Wednesday). Four more got a single play somewhere in that week. One song got two plays. That's more than half of the songs on the program, and the average listener (which you obviously are not) probably didn't stay for more than a few of those songs before exiting. That is not what a radio station wants its listeners to do!
"B" show was 1986. Seven songs were no-shows outside of AT40. One song got a single play.
Also, with the 80s version, affiliates have the option of only playing the last three hours (starting at approximately #30). Apparently enough stations do this that they do not even sell network commercials in the first hour. Why? Lots of songs "debuting" that went nowhere.
I strongly suspect that the affiliate list for the 70's version is going to be shrinking now instead of growing. Traditional Oldies stations are throwing in the towel more often, and Classic Hits is accelerating rapidly from anything older than about 1982.
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