1260 Going Country Gold

[K.M. Richards]

I'm not sure exactly when (or why) the city of license was changed to Beverly Hills.

It took me a little while to remember why Saul did that, and then (of course) I had to construct a timeline ...

Saul originally filed for 97.9 in 1957 as "Radio Beverly Hills" with that city as the COL and the call letters KBCA. Meanwhile, a partnership consisting of James W. Hartford, Lucie Miltenberg and Rube Goldwater -- who had purchased KDB in Santa Barbara in 1956 (most likely the root source of the KDBX call letters they chose, and Hartford had been GM prior to the sale) -- had filed for 105.1, COL, Los Angeles, the same year that they bought KDB.

In 1957, Hartford et al briefly negotiated with Mutual to sell them the CP for 105.1 (when MBS had a half-baked idea to create an all-FM network, in part to lower their dependency on telco lines). That never came to fruition and in 1958 they sold the KDBX CP to Saul, who had to divest his existing CP. He moved the KBCA call letters to 105.1 but had to keep the Los Angeles COL. The 97.9 CP was ultimately surrendered and KNOB (today's KLAX), then at 103.1, moved to that frequency about a year later.

Fast forward to when Saul acquired KGIL in 1992. Remember that, not long after all of the above, he changed his corporate name from "Radio Beverly Hills" to "Mount Wilson FM Broadcasters". Buckley was still looking for a buyer for what had been KGIL-FM (previously KVFM, and at the time KMGX) and ultimately sold it to Liberman Broadcasting, who then simulcast the "Que Buena" format on KBUE/105.5 as KBUA. Since the AM and FM were going to different owners and there had been no station with COL Beverly Hills since KCBH/98.7 (today's KYSR) changed its COL to Los Angeles in the 1960s, Saul was able to use the "first service to a community" argument to change the COL for KGIL as he acquired it.

And (as the late Paul Harvey would have said) now you know ... the rest of the story.

 

[TomásEstefan]

The deeper story here is that Saul, who had chosen Classical as the logical format to show off the strengths of digital AM, has clearly abandoned that.

And with that having failed, 1260 is back to music that there is no known audience for on AM---all Taylor Swift for a month, followed by Classic Country hits from the 80s, 90s and 2000s.

Sidebar: "A low-powered signal at 98.3" will carry the Classical? Is KRCD giving up the simulcast? Are they selling KRCV to Saul or is he leasing it?

The 98.3 translator has been broadcasting from a hilltop above Granada Hills for a long, long time now, it uses 250W to rebroadcast 1260. It is co located with 94.3 KBUA 6 kW, and 104.7 KOCP-FM-4 2 kW (a booster for KOCP Camarillo). This site is around 1450 ft above sea level, and these stations cover the Valley very well.

 

[K.M. Richards]

The 98.3 translator has been broadcasting from a hilltop above Granada Hills for a long, long time now,

Since 2018, as previously noted in this thread.

 

[30james]

Does 1260 have a streaming app so I can listen to it?

 

[Marcos_C]

Does 1260 have a streaming app so I can listen to it?

I'm listening through an SDR in Stauffer, and 1260 is still playing classical music.

 

[30james]

I'm listening through an SDR in Stauffer, and 1260 is still playing classical music.

What's an sdr?

 

[Mediafrog+]

What's an sdr?

Software Defined Radio. There are a few hundred of them online around the world. Just like being there at the reception site.

 

[SarahB98]

Seriously, I thought it was going to be the return of KSUR 1260.

 

[michael hagerty]

Seriously, I thought it was going to be the return of KSUR 1260.

I think Saul has finally given up on oldies and standards on AM.

 

[TheBigA]

I think Saul has finally given up on oldies and standards on AM.

I think he discovered the audience was primarily for the stream, and it cost more than it could make.

 

[michael hagerty]

I think he discovered the audience was primarily for the stream, and it cost more than it could make.

It always has, though. A decade or more ago, Saul said publicly that 1260 can't make its own power bill and is subsidized by 105.1.

 

[TomásEstefan]

From a technical and legal standpoint, there could be, but there are conditions.

Normally, a translator has to keep its signal within the primary service contour of the originating station. That would rule out a SFV-centric translator for 88.1, because none of that contour comes any closer to the Valley than the southernmost part of Glendale ... except that non-commercial stations can employ translators to extend their service area. A good example of this is KCRW, which in addition to full-power licenses in Santa Barbara, Mojave and San Luis Obispo has translators in the Banning and Chula Vista areas.

I believe the exemption only applies if the translators are licensed to the same legal entity as the originating station (Scott will be along to either confirm this or show us where that's not the case), but then you need to find a frequency that will not interfere with the licensed contours of any full-power station, and that's going to be the hard part. There are no empty second-adjacent FM frequencies up here that aren't already in use by a translator or a LPFM. The only frequency that is even slightly possible is 88.9, and since KXLU can sometimes make it up here under ideal conditions -- not to mention trying to find a transmitter site properly spaced from KCSN/88.5 -- I think most engineers would try to talk you out of it.

What about a low power on-channel booster?

 

[TomásEstefan]

Since 2018, as previously noted in this thread.

I merely wished to add additional info for reference...

 

[HighStandards]

From the ratings update via @lanceventa today:

“Mount Wilson FM Broadcasters’ “Go Country 105” KKGO falls 2.4 to 1.9”

Not sure those changes are being taken well on the FM side. Or it’s a fluke.

I also think there’ll never be an audience for 1260 because you can’t trust that if you like what’s there it’ll still be there for long 😆

 

[K.M. Richards]

What about a low power on-channel booster?

An on-channel booster can only be licensed to fill in areas that are shadowed from the main transmitter within the licensed primary contour, so no.

 

[K.M. Richards]

From the ratings update via @lanceventa today:

“Mount Wilson FM Broadcasters’ “Go Country 105” KKGO falls 2.4 to 1.9”

Not sure those changes are being taken well on the FM side. Or it’s a fluke.

Again, we do not know what the target demo numbers are. Never presume anything in 6+ is going to be cause for concern ... or celebration, either.

I also think there’ll never be an audience for 1260 because you can’t trust that if you like what’s there it’ll still be there for long 😆

That much is certainly true. There have been at least a dozen formats on there in the 32 years that Saul has owned it. But, as I and others have said, he doesn't care if it does or not.

 

[michael hagerty]

From the ratings update via @lanceventa today:

“Mount Wilson FM Broadcasters’ “Go Country 105” KKGO falls 2.4 to 1.9”

Not sure those changes are being taken well on the FM side. Or it’s a fluke.

I also think there’ll never be an audience for 1260 because you can’t trust that if you like what’s there it’ll still be there for long 😆

Okay---let's understand a few things:

The ratings that came out today measure listening from July 18-August 14. So nobody knew about changes.

Changes on the AM (which, outside of radio people), very few know about (or care) will have exactly zero impact on the FM.

One 0.5 drop can be PPM wobble.

The reason there won't be an audience for 1260 has nothing to do with trust. It has to do with it being music on AM and a limited AM signal at that.

 

[K.M. Richards]

Okay---let's understand a few things:

The ratings that came out today measure listening from July 18-August 14. So nobody knew about changes.

Changes on the AM (which, outside of radio people), very few know about (or care) will have exactly zero impact on the FM.

The reason there won't be an audience for 1260 has nothing to do with trust. It has to do with it being music on AM and a limited AM signal at that.

And very little of it will matter to Saul even half as much as it would to the multi-station group owners (iHeart, Audacy, Univision*, Entravision, SBS). They have debt service. He doesn't.

The group owner that I think is worried is Alex Meruelo. The only one of his stations that consistently does well in the ratings is KLOS, and he only managed to get that because Cumulus wanted out and the rest of the group owners were at ownership caps. He got a built-in audience along with the station that isn't shared a lot with other stations in the market; even his other two full-market signals (KPWR and KLLI) suffer from listenership that bounces to other stations that they don't program ... and one (KDAY) that they do program but hurts their total market audience more than it helps.

And Meruelo is selling channel 22. Does he need the money to keep the radio stations afloat?

* - Or whatever their name is this week.

 

[yeoldeschool]

Yeah, but as I said, Saul has never run 1260 for the revenue. He's never had to.

A decade or more ago, Saul said publicly that 1260 can't make its own power bill and is subsidized by 105.1.

His reluctance to sell that station has never made sense to me. It isn't like Saul is secretly retaining 1260 at a short-term loss thinking AM's revival is inevitable and will pay him back all his lost revenue "any day now." AM's future is nothing but grim, and using 105.1 to subsidize 1260 is no better than intentionally misprogramming 105.1 to sabotage its billing. Why not just sell 1260 while AM buyers, however dimestore, still exist and invest the profit in 105.1 or another FM signal? I could understand if selling 1260 would instinctively feel to him like surrendering one of his footholds on the airwaves. But if AM isn't the airwaves anymore, he's already lost that foothold and is only paying monthly rent on the illusion of still having it.

What about leasing 1260 out 24/7? There is still one demographic that's very interested in getting on AM: religious evangelists. Ratings potential doesn't matter to them the way it does to others. They pay big bucks per soul saved, which is why they still rent whole shortwave transmitters 24/7 in spite of that band's near total abandonment by the public. Some of them, I've noticed, are now taking advantage of distressed AM stations by renting their signals 24/7 as well. What about Saul picking up someone like that and finally making more than just the power bill? He could rebrand as Go Country 105 and God's Country 1260. (No, not really... )

Seriously, he's running 1260 like his personal iPod. But my iPod takes two double A batteries and his takes three phase. Where's the logic? If he simply must keep 1260 going as a personal jukebox, why not rent it out during all the hours he isn't awake to listen, and at least break even? God's country all morning, classic country all day?

I think he discovered the audience was primarily for the stream, and it cost more than it could make.

I remember when the recording industry stuck it to online streamers by significantly jacking up their rates. Now that streaming is looking more like the radio industry's entire future, do you suppose there's any chance of radio people ganging up to push back against those added costs? Like, to get streaming rates back down to at least the equivalent of what it currently costs per head to broadcast music over the air? It's seriously aggravating that I can hear K-Surf only on 105.1 HD4 because making it available where most can actually hear it (online) would cost Saul too much money. (At least, I believe that's the explanation I read ... which is ironic, since he's okay with 1260 being in the red.)

 

[TheBigA]

Now that streaming is looking more like the radio industry's entire future, do you suppose there's any chance of radio people ganging up to push back against those added costs? Like, to get streaming rates back down to at least the equivalent of what it currently costs per head to broadcast music over the air?

I specifically asked that question of Music First's Joe Crowley last year and he said NO. Emphatically no. There will be no discounts for radio, and no interest in bringing down streaming rates. Every three years, SoundExchange goes to the Copyright Royalty Board and asks for an increase, and every year it gets granted. They're still complaining that they can't make money with the current rates. So the answer is a big no.