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1540 KNR2

It was about this time last year when Good Karma Brands had WWGK 1540 KNR2 go silent, basically putting the station on ice for a year so as to get their technical ducks in a row.

Just out of curiosity, has anything come from that or has the station merely quietly floated to radio heaven
 
Funny you should ask. I just happened to tune my car radio to 1540 this morning to see if anything was there. Nothing but static.
 
Does this mean that 1540 will never come back?
It depends on if an extension to the STA was filed at the very very last minute with proof of a transmission of some sort. Which in theory could still happen.

To be honest, WWGK is a high-band AM daytimer with a usable signal limited to Cleveland’s east side and parts of downtown. Craig Karmazin basically bought it in order to force Salem to sell WKNR, which did the trick, but it had been superfluous and nearly invisible aside from a few attempts at incubating shows… and that stopped being the case after Good Karma launched the on-demand streamer for WKNR a few years ago.

I don’t see a practical way for a station operating with that license and under those limitations to be economically viable.
 
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It depends on if an extension to the STA was filed at the very very last minute with proof of a transmission of some sort. Which in theory could still happen.

To be honest, WWGK is a high-band AM daytimer with a usable signal limited to Cleveland’s east side and parts of downtown. Craig Karmazin basically bought it in order to force Salem to sell WKNR, which did the trick, but it had been superfluous and nearly invisible aside from a few attempts at incubating shows… and that stopped being the case after Good Karma launched the on-demand streamer for WKNR a few years ago.

I don’t see a practical way for a station operating with that license and under those limitations to be economically viable.
The tower behind the CVS Drugs on Euclid Avenue is still standing. The trailer that housed the transmitter equipment was removed in early 2022. I don't know where it was taken to (certainly the not the 850 site). I've been keeping my eyes on the FCC websites but I haven't seen any progress on any paperwork.

I've resigned myself to 1540 being gone for good.
 
Now does WWGK own that little spot of land that the tower sits on or are they leasing it? If they own it, I could see it remaining there till someone offered a chunk of money that would interest them enough to sell. If leased, I could see the property owner telling them to "Get out and take your tower with you. You're not even on the air anymore and we have someone that is interested in buying OUR property."
 
That lot used to be the site of a Catholic Church, also. The Church was demolished by the Diocese and the crumbling, dilapidated bell tower left as a landmark. Good question as to who owns the land.
 
That lot used to be the site of a Catholic Church, also. The Church was demolished by the Diocese and the crumbling, dilapidated bell tower left as a landmark. Good question as to who owns the land.
WABQ’s old studios were located in the rectory, which wasn’t demolished with the church. Good Karma paid $500,000 for 1540 and in retrospect it almost feels like it was a land deal; they operated “ESPN Radio 1540” from the same rectory until Salem coughed up WKNR, and they moved both stations to the Galleria.

Good Karma tried to move the 1540 signal to the WKNR array in 2008 but NIMBYs killed the proposed move.
 
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