KQBU-FM 93.3 is swapping calls with sibling KESS 107.1 in DFW, effective October 2.
Format flip for one or both?
Format flip for one or both?
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KQBU-FM changing call to KESS
- Thread starter Mediafrog+
- Start date
For those not familiar: The current KESS 107.1 in DFW is a rimshot covering the western third of the Metroplex. It is a simulcast of the Latino Mix format carried on KDXX 107.9 which is also a rimshot covering most of the rest of the metro area.
The KESS call has bounced around several stations in DFW over the past 50 years. The calls for both the simulcast stations there are only for legal ID, and are not otherwise used in branding the format.
I don’t see TU breaking the Latino Mix simulcast in DFW, and placing TUDN on only the 107.1 signal would make no sense. The Latino Mix format in DFW has drawn numbers ranging from the high ones to the mid twos over the past six books (it appears there is single line reporting combining KDXX and KESS.)
The TUDN format in Houston struggles to pull any numbers at all and likely would do no better in DFW. It was a nothingburger when it was on KFLC 1270.
When the Latino Mix format was previously simulcast in Houston on 104.9 and 93.3 there were no call changes involved.
TU would not be making this change if something wasn’t about to happen, and I suspect it will be a flip for 93.3 in Houston. Why they wanted the KESS call on 93.3 as opposed to the current one or a completely different set is anyone’s guess at this point.
Only reason nothing would happen would be if TU wanted the KQBU call gone from Houston for whatever reason. Confusion with the Que Buena branding on KLTN? Call too close to KQBT just 400 kHz up?
D
Deleted member 108832
Guest
Fort Worth and points west. Steady, reliable signal to Stephenville. Starts petering out after that.
Well, all of the Northside, for sure, clear up to the Red River and a little beyond. Not so hot by the time you meander down to Cedar Hill, Midlothian, De Soto, and such. It does well enough in Dallas proper.
Yeah, KESS means a little more to DFW than you are giving credit. It's more akin to KLVL being moved up here. Will be really strange to not have the KESS calls residing in the Metroplex.
Nor do I, but perhaps a move of "Que Buena" to 107.1/107.9, with "Latino Mix" going in reverse to 94.1? You know, KLNO 94.1? The current Que Buena 94.1 holds true at around a 3 to 4 share, consistently. Could Latino Mix eclipse that, coming from 100kW at Cedar Hill?
It's only on the after dark menu now, 🐸. Daytime programming on 1270 is Spanish AC, branded simply as "1270 AM" (in Spanish, of course.)
Last change to 93.3 Port Arthur saw the call sign returned to KQBU-FM from KPTY, after The House Party shut down.
Maybe. What else can you do with 93.3? It's been Regional Mexican for the most of the last 30 years, a brief break for a couple as it assumed the Hip-hop heavy Rhythmic format of 104.9, and now a handful as Deportes Radio. I think TUDN is just used as filler. Something on the air to keep the lights on. 93.3 is the cluster's outlier. Whatever Univision tries to do with it, it's already handicapped from the start with its lackluster signal in west Houston.
I truly wonder if it's not more about getting the KQBU-FM calls in DFW. They've been misplaced in Houston for years. Que Buena, itself, is 102.9. You'd think that's where the calls would have moved if this call sign exchange had to do with something affecting Houston's dial.
That's not near an issue as it once was.
The DFW stations that had the KESS call in the 1980s and 90s would pronounce it as a word, rhyming with “yes”.
Note that when you combine that with 93 in Spanish, you have a little rhyme, “KESS Noventa y Tres” or in the case of 93.3 “KESS Noventa y Tres Punto Tres.”
Just a thought. Perhaps TU is dusting that off.
TU isn’t going to mess with 94.1 in DFW.
The signal coverage for 93.3 pretty much demands an Hispanic targeted format. Same thing with 97.5. Only way you would get something different would be with a religious non-comm (hello VCY.)
Perhaps the idea of a new take on Regional Mexican on 93.3 is to swat the various translators with a similar format, or to damage La Ley.
You would think they would have gone to 94.1 in DFW, not 107.1.
Standard observation that calls are pretty much irrelevant these days. Wonder why TU bothered with the swap…maybe they spent $380 just to mess with posters on this forum.😜🤪🤣
D
Deleted member 108832
Guest
Give it a couple more months, stan, and 93.3 can just take the KIKR calls from 1450, after that one's been deleted.
Good thing Univision didn't get the idea to start that practice on simulcast partner KDXX.
Well, stranger things have happened. I just can't imagine a lot of effort being put into KQB..er, KESS to rollout a new format, imaging, and such. For Beaumont? No offense to our fellow contributor stan, but he already knows. No one is putting that kind of time, money or sweat into any of the Beaumont stations.
What?!? You, of all people, not willing to journey with me down Pipe Dream Boulevard? C'mon, 🐸. Don't you know that KLNO is just a step behind KFNC in blowing up everything and starting a new format from the ground up? Can't you just hear it, now?
"Latino Mix es noventa cuatro punto uno, KLNO Fote Werrrrth, Dah-las. En el aire y también disponible en la aplicación uforia!"
That's what a lot of the members of this forum have been conditioned to say, but that's just not true. Take it head to head with Magic 102.5. Some of the best numbers 93.3 ever pulled were done so under the Party format. That also works to shave a little off the top of The Beat and The Boxx in Houston, too. Party was holding its own pretty well in Houston, until Amor was launched on 104.9, and the Party was relocated to Beaumont.
Didn't Señor Tejano just list out the many, many different incarnations of Regional Mexican options in H-town? Y'all are firmly in "overkill" territory already.
You would think. Same holds true in Houston. How is it that 102.9 did not become KQBU-FM after assuming the "Que Buena" identity? And the same with KLTN on 104.9? 🤷
Jesus! It's up to nearly $400 to request a new set of calls? SMH. Anyway, let's see how it all plays out. Whether you get the big upheaval in Houston, or my neighbors in the Metroplex get one there, one of us will let everyone else know what ended up happening in the end. The official call change happens next Friday, right?
The standard call change fee is $190. This involves changing two stations, so double the cost. I guess the FCC doesn’t offer discounts for multiple filings.🤣
Requested date for the call changes is Thursday, October 2. Just so happens I’m out of town that day.😖. Keep in mind that any actual format flip could occur later.
There was a reason for the call swap. Guess we’ll find out eventually. Still thinking it will affect Houston and not DFW.
I found it interesting that the call swap request was filed late on Friday, in classic “news dump” mode going into the weekend to keep it relatively unnoticed. Having the filing done by a station licensed to “Benbrook, Texas” also keeps it under the radar, as most people outside of DFW are unfamiliar with where that is.
Same reason you have WNEW buried somewhere in Florida or WLUP buried in Minnesota.
If you want to rebrand something (or you're unloading a frequency) and you don't want someone else grabbing those calls within the market, you bury them on a station you don't care about in a different city. They'll rot there for years, but if you ever want to use that intellectual property again, you have control.
If you want to rebrand something (or you're unloading a frequency) and you don't want someone else grabbing those calls within the market, you bury them on a station you don't care about in a different city. They'll rot there for years, but if you ever want to use that intellectual property again, you have control.
It has nothing to do with a news dump but rather that call changes need to be filed 7 days in advance for instant changes.
Outside of RadioInsight, what news publication covers call letter changes? And who outside us here really pays attention?
Parking call letters in a different market is nothing new, in order to keep them out of the hands of a future competitor. A good recent example is EMF’s DFW deal with Audacy a couple of years ago when the longstanding KLUV call was exiled to a CP in rural South Dakota.
It’s also why the once iconic KIKK call is stuck on 650 here, as any future Country format might otherwise snatch it up.
You do touch on something with “unloading a frequency”. If TU’s plan is to sell 93.3 in Houston it might want to ensure the KQBU call is safely gone from the market due to the Que Buena branding on 102.9.
Otherwise there are only two reasons the KESS/KQBU-FM call swap it taking place: A format flip, most likely in Houston, or perhaps TU wants the KQBU call associated with the TUDN ratings failure out of the market to prevent any sales or marketing confusion with Que Buena 102.9. I will quickly add that the second possibility is extremely unlikely.
Bottom line: TU isn’t making this change for the heck of it. Something is up.
What could the "KESS" call letters attempt to reflect? I just don't see how "KESS" would work into any type of branding. Maybe KISS? But I don't take Univision as the kind of company that would license the "KISS FM" brand.
Que Buena 94.1 exists in Dallas. So that defeats the purpose.
KESS has history in the DFW market and was actively used as a brand in the 80s and 90s. KQBU has very little history in Houston. Most Houstonians have never heard of KQBU-FM. And with PPM, call letters mean nothing to listeners. But I suppose there may be some old people in radio who still believe in them and are calling the shots. But if that were the case, then why not park the call letters at 102.9???
93.3 is prime to dump TUDN. I believe it is the last sports station still standing at Univision after the network sold most of their O&O TUDN stations. But what do you replace it with? Bilingual AC? We are also not considering if there could be some movement in DFW. Maybe Latino Mix to 94.1 and Que Buena to 107.9/107.1? Ratings mean nothing if TU thinks they can make more money with Latino Mix at 94.1.
D
Deleted member 108832
Guest
The "we" party from Tyler/Longview did, as noted here:
My point exactly, Bama. I sure as dickens ain't convinced that 93.3 in Beaumont is the only property that's, potentially, getting a facelift
Got back into town just before midnight Friday morning, and the 93.3 TOHID was the usual KQBU-FM. Assume nothing has happened with 107.1 in DFW. AFAICT the call letter swap request had not yet been granted by the FCC when the government shut down.
With the usual disclaimer that call letters are mostly irrelevant these days I guess one can wonder why TU simply didn’t go ahead with a new format regardless, with the existing call buried in the TOHID. That assumes a format flip was actually going to happen.
The call swap was requested for a reason, but it looks like we’ll have to wait a while longer to find out why.
D
Deleted member 108832
Guest
KESS remains KESS-FM Benbrook - Fort Worth, and "Latino Mix". Heard the ID at the 8:00 TOH, from KDXX's signal.
The mystery continues...
The mystery continues...
Estereo Latino 93.3
Lo mejor de la música del momento incluyendo perfiles de los locutores, playlists, fotos, videos y concursos.
Seems like a carbon copy of KQQK-FM playing Norteño hits with cumbias. This should've been done long before SBS entered the market. Late to the scene is better than not showing up at all, I guess. El Norte couldn't be ignored any longer and SBS was underestimated.
I still don't understand why bring the KESS calls from Dallas when they could've just swapped the KQBU and KLTN call letters within the market. KLTN was Estereo Latino and KQBU was Que Buena for the longest of time. 🤷♂️
Unfortunately the reincarnation doesn't involve the legendary voice of Joe Morales.
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I guess they did it because KESS K Estéreo? Maybe?
Estereo Latino 93.3
Lo mejor de la música del momento incluyendo perfiles de los locutores, playlists, fotos, videos y concursos.www.univision.com
Seems like a carbon copy of KQQK-FM playing Norteño hits with cumbias. This should've been done long before SBS entered the market. Late to the scene is better than not showing up at all, I guess. El Norte couldn't be ignored any longer and SBS was underestimated.
I still don't understand why bring the KESS calls from Dallas when they could've just swapped the KQBU and KLTN call letters within the market. KLTN was Estereo Latino and KQBU was Que Buena for the longest of time. 🤷♂️
Unfortunately the reincarnation doesn't involve the legendary voice of Joe Morales.
But yes they could have just had La Que Buena KQBU and Estéreo Latino KLTN 93.3.
Wonder if any changes happens in DFW? Will have to go read. Anyway it’s a good day for us radio fans, brings back so many high school memories. Unfortunately they’re using some lady to say the name. Doesn’t fit in very well, hopefully that changes soon. I listened from 5:40 am till 6:07 and no Legal Id was said.