560

[DaveBayArea]

@DaveBayArea do you remember this? - where there was speculation that seismic fault lines also could have a negative effect on ground conductivity. Moreover, antenna ground systems deterioriate and become less effective over time. Sites close to salt water initially benefit from its high conductivity but, later, suffer from more corrosion compared to sites farther away from salt water. One suspects that, in recent years, some sites haven't been maintained as well as they once were.

I do remember that. I also remember that most of the discussions in the ba.broadcast usenet group surrounded programs on KGO. That's where most of those people listened. I'm open to the possibility, of course. I'm smart enough to know you don't discount anything until all of the possibilities have been investigated. But they were specifically talking about the Hayward fault, and reception to the East. That also happens to be the place where ground conductivity falls off drastically. IIRC, geologists say The Bay was created by simultaneous earthquakes on the Hayward & San Andreas faults. So ground conductivity on the West side of the Hayward fault is going to be much higher. But 990 came in OK throughout the Bay Area, and the little 1480 from Concord was the only other one to the East. It didn't count. KGO has a couple of deep nulls in their figure-8 pattern to the East too, which also may have skewed people's observations. It's not like it's important enough for further research either. So who knows?

Dave B.

 

[TheBigA]

The scary thing is anything you put in front of this FCC is likely to be turned into some kind of political thing.

Any station sale would have to be approved by the FCC. Right now, they're investigating KCBS are part of Carr's interest in reopening the Audacy bankruptcy approval. My expectation is they will find some reason to interfere in any sale. So Cumulus is better off with something that doesn't require FCC approval.

 

[Signal Geek]

Let's go into really gonzo territory here: KEST could take it over. They're already on that tower.

Just to clarify: KEST is not on 560's tower. It's duplexed on 1260's tower.

 

[Mediafrog+]

Curious: If KZAC goes dark, what might listeners in the Bay Area hear on 560 at night? KBLU, KPQ and KMON all have nulls towards SF. KLZ might not be favorable, either.

 

[Cityguy76]

Maybe Bonneville buys 560 and moves the ESPN programming away from Cumulus owned KTCT 1050...just a thought. Thinking if the 49ers buy KNBR AM/FM then for sure the SF Giants will not stick around. Or heck maybe a wild idea maybe the Giants buys 560...

 

[radiofan2023]

maybe the Giants buys 560...

The Giants have a better chance of going to the World Series

 

[brettbutlerisok]

It's not going to the Giants. The tell is the full-time studio at Levi's. They could have done the same at Oracle Park, where there's a longer season, more games and a better location. They didn't.

I don't think they have any more room at Oracle Park.

 

[Rusty Muck]

The Giants have a better chance of going to the World Series

Heck, the Giants have a better shot of making the NBA Finals!

 

[Mark Roberts]

Curious: If KZAC goes dark, what might listeners in the Bay Area hear on 560 at night? KBLU, KPQ and KMON all have nulls towards SF. KLZ might not be favorable, either.

The net result would probably be clearer reception of KUZZ from Bakersfield on 550. I was able to receive it a few times in Oakland even with 560 being present.

 

[Mark Roberts]

I do remember that. I also remember that most of the discussions in the ba.broadcast usenet group surrounded programs on KGO. That's where most of those people listened. I'm open to the possibility, of course. I'm smart enough to know you don't discount anything until all of the possibilities have been investigated. But they were specifically talking about the Hayward fault, and reception to the East. That also happens to be the place where ground conductivity falls off drastically. IIRC, geologists say The Bay was created by simultaneous earthquakes on the Hayward & San Andreas faults. So ground conductivity on the West side of the Hayward fault is going to be much higher. But 990 came in OK throughout the Bay Area, and the little 1480 from Concord was the only other one to the East. It didn't count. KGO has a couple of deep nulls in their figure-8 pattern to the East too, which also may have skewed people's observations. It's not like it's important enough for further research either. So who knows?

Dave B.

The discontinuity caused by the fault may also mark the difference between the composition of soil on the west side of the fault and the east side. The fault in Oakland basically runs along Highway 13. I was on the east side, and the soil was rocky and not all that great for growing things.

KWUN in Concord was gone by the time I got there, so I can't say anything about that. 990 is pretty close to the delta and I suspect that helps.

 

[Mark Roberts]

No one should HAVE to suggest it to them, Mark. They carry both teams. When they were considering moving all broadcast operations into the stadium that hosts nine home games per season and is in Santa Clara....they'd be considering the stadium that hosts 81 home games per season and is on the Embarcadero.

What you or I don't know is who initiated the conversations about the studio, and who considered what first.

Meanwhile, how many NFL teams own a radio station?

And given that it was my response to your suggestion of "maybe it's the Giants"...c'mon. If there was consideration of a sale to the Giants, that's where the studios would be going. But they're not. They're moving into Levi's Stadium and will be on the air by August.

Unless plans change. One phone call from Atlanta could change a lot of things. I'm not saying that it will. But it can't be ruled out, either.

All we know to this point is what's been publicly stated; we don't know if that's the whole story. Otherwise, it's inferences and speculation.

 

[Mark Roberts]

The scary thing is anything you put in front of this FCC is likely to be turned into some kind of political thing.

Any station sale would have to be approved by the FCC. Right now, they're investigating KCBS are part of Carr's interest in reopening the Audacy bankruptcy approval. My expectation is they will find some reason to interfere in any sale. So Cumulus is better off with something that doesn't require FCC approval.

Actually, that might argue for a sale to the 49ers. Star player Nick Bosa is a MAGA fan. He was fined more than $11K by the NFL for wearing a MAGA hat in postgame interviews.

 

[TheBigA]

Meanwhile, how many NFL teams own a radio station?

They own a TV network, and the teams do local and national spot sales, so they're familiar with the business. I don't know if any would ever want the headache of the federal licensing, especially now.

Actually, that might argue for a sale to the 49ers. Star player Nick Bosa is a MAGA fan. He was fined more than $11K by the NFL for wearing a MAGA hat in postgame interviews.

The players aren't the ones buying the station. Audacy has MAGA talk show hosts. That isn't helping the company with the FCC.

 

[Mark Roberts]

They own a TV network, and the teams do local and national spot sales, so they're familiar with the business. I don't know if any would ever want the headache of the federal licensing, especially now.

Which is fine, but if they were to get into the radio business they'd have to program something for radio 24/7 unless someone suddenly decides it's 1925 rather than 2025 and they can go on the air for the game then go off when the postgame is done. Not a likely scenario.

The players aren't the ones buying the station. Audacy has MAGA talk show hosts. That isn't helping the company with the FCC.

No, but it wouldn't surprise me if phone calls could be made. There are no rules in this administration, just whims and transactions.

But, again, it's all speculation at this point.

 

[TheBigA]

Which is fine, but if they were to get into the radio business they'd have to program something for radio 24/7 unless someone suddenly decides it's 1925 rather than 2025 and they can go on the air for the game then go off when the postgame is done. Not a likely scenario.

Which is why I suggested the kind of deal iHeart has with the Dodgers. iHeart deals with the radio headaches, and the Dodgers get to play owner.

 

[davideduardo]

Actually, that might argue for a sale to the 49ers. Star player Nick Bosa is a MAGA fan. He was fined more than $11K by the NFL for wearing a MAGA hat in postgame interviews.

For clarity, the regulation he defied prohibited all kinds of non-authorized endorsements on apparel. In this case, the non-authorized entity was MAGA, but the violation was about a non-authorized emblem or picture.

 

[Fighting Irish]

What you or I don't know is who initiated the conversations about the studio, and who considered what first.

Meanwhile, how many NFL teams own a radio station?

Does Stan Kroenke, owner of the LA Rams, still own that sports station in Denver? And the NBA and NHL teams there?

As for baseball, for many years, Tribune owned the Cubs, WGN radio and TV, and the Chicago Tribune.

 

[txchipk]

Does Stan Kroenke, owner of the LA Rams, still own that sports station in Denver? And the NBA and NHL teams there?

Yep, the Kroenke family has KKSE-FM/AM there along with the Denver Nuggets NBA team, Colorado Avalanche NHL team, Colorado Rapids MLS team, and the Altitude RSN.

 

[Mark Roberts]

Yep, the Kroenke family has KKSE-FM/AM there along with the Denver Nuggets NBA team, Colorado Avalanche NHL team, Colorado Rapids MLS team, and the Altitude RSN.

Actually, they've got a cluster, one AM and three FMs: KKSE-FM, KIMN, and KXKL. KIMN and KXKL are music formats.

 

[crainbebo]

If 560 were to continue, I'd expect KVTO to try and move frequencies. That's a 5-fold increase on power and a lot more ground conductivity. Given the large Chinese population in SF, it would increase listenership in areas where the 93.7 translator is too weak.
Otherwise, it becomes KTCT...or Cumulus surrenders it.