2024 Format Change Predictions

[Mark Roberts]

I suspect the SRF-A100 switches in a synchronous detector when in stereo mode, even if the signal is in mono.

I also have an SRF-A1, an SRF-AX15 (a Japanese model with 76-108 MHz FM coverage), and an SRF-42 (AMAX model). The A100 and A1 were bought when I was in Houston. At the time, KKBQ(AM), KRBE(AM), and KYST(AM) were in stereo (790, 1070, 920 respectively). KYOK (1590) claimed to be in stereo but really wasn't. In the 1990s in Kansas City, I still got some use for those stereo models: WDAF (610), WHB (710) until 1993, and KFEZ (1190). When I arrived in San Francisco in 1999, KFRC (610) was still in stereo. Not sure if KABL (960) was in stereo that year, but it was later and was the last AM stereo station in the full market. KVON (1440) in Napa is in stereo but it's pretty much limited to Napa and Sonoma counties.

 

[Mark Roberts]

At one time NBC was partners in a similar shopping channel. It may have been called ShopNBC. It's now ShopHQ.

I think it was called ShopNBC. The somewhat astonishing thing about the CBS shopping promotion, though, was its integration into a morning news broadcast. I know the boundaries in morning TV news between news content and commercial promotion can be fuzzier than they are for the traditional evening broadcasts, but this seemed to take it to a new level.

 

[Signal Geek]

And if that were true in terms of audience behavior, noncomms would be crushing it in the ratings. Instead, what people actually do is turn from the FM station playing a six-minute commercial break to another one they like that is playing music at that moment.

Except when I try doing that, almost every other station I switch to is in the same six-minute commercial break.

 

[michael hagerty]

Except when I try doing that, almost every other station I switch to is in the same six-minute commercial break.

Key word: Almost.

 

[TheBigA]

I know the boundaries in morning TV news between news content and commercial promotion can be fuzzier than they are for the traditional evening broadcasts, but this seemed to take it to a new level.

I'm watching a documentary on the 100th anniversary of Walt Disney produced by ABC News.

'Disney 100 - A Century of Dreams' documentary special celebrates 100 years of magic

"Disney 100: A Century of Dreams - A Special Edition of 20/20," airs Thursday at 9 p.m. EST on ABC. It will stream the next day on Hulu and Dec. 22 on Disney+.

abc7ny.com

 

[Daryl Lynn L.A.]

Don't stop! While on the subject of Mendoza, Malbec is THE wine for many!

And what the heck! For those of us old enough to remember, Guy Williams, star of the Walt Disney 50's TV series "Zorro", Took a vacation once to Argentina, fell in love with it, and decided to retire there sometime, and was eventually buried there. His portrayal of the fictional character of Don Diego was so realistic that most of us back in the day thought he was actually Spanish, though In reality he was an Italian kid from Brooklyn, who just happened to be a very talented actor.

Off-topic ( except that we were talking about David's success in Argentina) By all accounts, Guy Williams won the admiration of the portenos, (people of Buenos Aires) and the rest of Argentina and did a number of personal appearances and other events dressed as Zorro. In his later years, he kind of re-invented Zorro in Argentina and was very popular. I loved Disney's "Zorro" and learned a lot about California history from watching it.

 

[Daryl Lynn L.A.]

KGO was available at the exact same time as WABC, after the bankruptcy. The people who have that kind of money (and there are lots of them in SF) are not interested in buying AM stations. They could also buy KABC or WFAS or even WLS and so far, no takers.

Maybe you don't know this, but anyone can start a radio station on the internet for minimal investment and no regulations. The last part makes it very enticing. A lot of people in SF who could afford radio stations made their fortunes in technology companies like Apple and Twitter. They know how to start radio stations without towers or transmitters. That's where you can find "imaginative programs." No regulation and you get to OWN the station, not just license it from the government.

Anyone can start a radio station on the internet for a minimal investment and no regulations?........ So that must have been how Cowpoke Radio KPWX was started at the edge of the San Joaquin Valley in Banta, just outside Tracy. I thought it was a terrestrial station, but some people here investigated and found it is just internet.
But I will say this: it is brilliantly programmed.

You want to know who could start a country station to rival KBAY in San Jose? It's the guy who set up KPWX. It is seamlessly presented to sound like the real deal -- even the station breaks, liners, sponsors, everything. He's really good. He must have inherited or purchased all that music from country station KRAK in Sacramento.

World Famous KWPX Cowpoke Radio - Classic Country & Western Music

From the heart of the San Joaquin Valley, the legendary KWPX Cowpoke Radio from Banta, Calif. (the Cowpoke Capital of the World) plays Classic Country Music

cowpokeradio.com

 

[Daryl Lynn L.A.]

If he didn't consistently hammer everyone and everything, and instead interviewed people he claims to admire, like Henry Lee or Phil Matier, etc. he'd probably have an audience.

He's really angry with KCBS 740 News Director Jennifer Seelig, and he keeps predicting the demise of the station. She asked her reporters not to reply to his requests for an interview, and now he is very ticked off.

 

[radiofan2023]

He's really angry with KCBS 740 News Director Jennifer Seelig, and he keeps predicting the demise of the station. She asked her reporters not to reply to his requests for an interview, and now he is very ticked off.

I’m guessing a lot of news directors in the Bay Area dislike him because he can’t help but rip their anchors.

 

[Weiserguy]

He's really angry with KCBS 740 News Director Jennifer Seelig, and he keeps predicting the demise of the station. She asked her reporters not to reply to his requests for an interview, and now he is very ticked off.

He's seriously a jerk. When he was getting started, I wrote to him a few times, about the way he disparaged the people he wrote about, about all the typos ("proofread what you write and pay attention to spellcheck - fix the words with the red squiggles under them"), simple stuff, but he doesn't want to hear it. He routinely deep-sixes reader comments if they criticize him, but he greenlights racist and misogynistic comments. The guy does not want to clean up his act. Again, he's a jerk, with more than a few loose screws.

 

[davideduardo]

He's seriously a jerk. When he was getting started, I wrote to him a few times, about the way he disparaged the people he wrote about, about all the typos ("proofread what you write and pay attention to spellcheck - fix the words with the red squiggles under them"), simple stuff, but he doesn't want to hear it. He routinely deep-sixes reader comments if they criticize him, but he greenlights racist and misogynistic comments. The guy does not want to clean up his act. Again, he's a jerk, with more than a few loose screws.

Screws? More like rivets and cross-beams and columns!

 

[TomásEstefan]

I suspect the SRF-A100 switches in a synchronous detector when in stereo mode, even if the signal is in mono.

I also have an SRF-A1, an SRF-AX15 (a Japanese model with 76-108 MHz FM coverage), and an SRF-42 (AMAX model). The A100 and A1 were bought when I was in Houston. At the time, KKBQ(AM), KRBE(AM), and KYST(AM) were in stereo (790, 1070, 920 respectively). KYOK (1590) claimed to be in stereo but really wasn't. In the 1990s in Kansas City, I still got some use for those stereo models: WDAF (610), WHB (710) until 1993, and KFEZ (1190). When I arrived in San Francisco in 1999, KFRC (610) was still in stereo. Not sure if KABL (960) was in stereo that year, but it was later and was the last AM stereo station in the full market. KVON (1440) in Napa is in stereo but it's pretty much limited to Napa and Sonoma counties.

Way back in the day I once demonstrated the Sony SRF-A100 to a bunch of people with a pair of good headphones. Most everybody couldn't believe that they were actually listening to AM radio. (It's that good, providing the station in question has good audio).

 

[Mark Roberts]

He's seriously a jerk. When he was getting started, I wrote to him a few times, about the way he disparaged the people he wrote about, about all the typos ("proofread what you write and pay attention to spellcheck - fix the words with the red squiggles under them"), simple stuff, but he doesn't want to hear it. He routinely deep-sixes reader comments if they criticize him, but he greenlights racist and misogynistic comments. The guy does not want to clean up his act. Again, he's a jerk, with more than a few loose screws.

I'm a little uncomfortable writing about some of Lieberman's antics, but I also wanted to be more specific than just "he's a jerk" because specifics really drive the point home.

It seems that he judges the quality of women meteorologists based upon their cup size. He appears to get very enthusiastic about attractive women newscasters and usually overlooks their real qualifications. His writing demonstrates his issues with women who are in management. His disdain for Jennifer Seelig has already been noted; he also ripped into KTVU's former news director Amber Eikel. I've actually had a few interactions with Eikel and found her to be professional, transparent, and reasonable. She kindly corrected some misperceptions I had about Fox's takeover of KTVU in the Cox trade a few years back. And Fox seems to have thought enough of Eikel to promote her to a GM position in another market recently.

Then there is a KGO-TV morning and midday anchor who has mannerisms that some find to be stereotypically gay. In this day and age, that shouldn't be a big deal, not even in Burned Cross, Alabama. But it seems to present a problem for Lieberman. That anchor has also publicly noted that, when he came to San Francisco, he was warned about avoiding interactions with Lieberman, that Lieberman, essentially, wasn't to be trusted. So Lieberman started blasting this anchor head-on for weeks and months on end as being a lightweight who didn't deserve to be on the air. Thus, to Lieberman's demonstrated misogyny, we can append homophobia.

Those are just a few examples, but I think you get the picture.

A few loose screws? More like a hardware store full of 'em.

 

[Weiserguy]

A few loose screws? More like a hardware store full of 'em.

Hey, I'm your quintessential Noo Yawker. Subtle, understated, diplomatic to a fault. There's a hardware store full of us too.

 

[Signal Geek]

I'll add to the pointless predictions: KIOI will try to fill a format hole and go back to its all-disco format that lasted exactly one month in January 1979. And 102.1 will also play the nostalgia card, flipping to Monster FM, because that worked so well for 97.3 decades ago... and hey, the resurrection of KITS is going great.

 

[Weiserguy]

I'll add to the pointless predictions: KIOI will try to fill a format hole and go back to its all-disco format that lasted exactly one month in January 1979. And 102.1 will also play the nostalgia card, flipping to Monster FM, because that worked so well for 97.3 decades ago... and hey, the resurrection of KITS is going great.

KITS is doing so well because there's not a lot else that's interesting on the San Francisco FM dial. (The programming coming from NPR over KQED notwithstanding.) Also because the original Gen X listeners to Live 105 are still willing to listen to it. (The Millennials and Gen Z's, not so much.)

 

[MarioMania]

Nothing will change in 2024

 

[seattlesarchiebunker]

Nothing will change in 2024

Meh…it’s looking more and more like KEXP will be signing on at 92.7 next year.

Don’t know if “the Hustle” will move with the antenna at the end of the year or if 92.7 will go dark until the sale is consummated.

 

[MarioMania]

Besides 92.7

Forgot to put that

 

[Mark Roberts]

KITS is doing so well because there's not a lot else that's interesting on the San Francisco FM dial. (The programming coming from NPR over KQED notwithstanding.) Also because the original Gen X listeners to Live 105 are still willing to listen to it. (The Millennials and Gen Z's, not so much.)

Music of Your Gen-X Life.