93.5 Going "Dutch?"

[GeneSavage]

Scanning the FM dial in Tulsa tonight, I came across 93.5 Chrome-FM.

For those unaware, this is the "translator" for 106.1 / Gen-X Radio Tulsa. However, rather than translate the primary channel, they "translate" the HD-2 channel of 106.1, which runs what I'd call classic hits, some 60s and a lot of 70s. With their 250 watts from midtown Tulsa, they cover most of the town pretty well.

Tonight, however, it was NOT "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" or "I Will Survive" on 93.5.

It was a football game!(?)

I listened for quite a while, and while the two (somewhat low-key) commentators mentioned just about every name of the members of both teams, they wouldn't mention an actual TEAM name... no town, no mascot, nothin'.

Finally they took a break, and the ad said, "Hey Dutch fans!"

..."Dutch" fans?

At long last, it was clarified they were covering Holland Hall football. ("Your home for Holland Hall football, 93.5, Chrome-FM.")

I assume it was being carried on 106.1's HD-2 channel; like everyone else, I don't have an HD radio to check. ;D

I have several, mixed feelings about this.

On one hand, it seems a bit sneaky to use an HD-2 channel to feed a fairly powerful translator in the middle of town, then sell high school sports coverage "on the HD-2 channel" (which everybody will hear on the translator).

On the other hand... that's a pretty smart use of both the HD-2 channel AND the translator. Additionally, there's not a watt wasted. I'll bet you 99.999% of those interested in Holland Hall football are within the sound of 93.5... and I also doubt they're making much money off that signal the rest of the day.

(Meanwhile, Jenks / Union, which admittedly is a very big game, was heard nearly down to the Texas border, I suspect, on 97.1. How many Jenks or Union fans live on the Red River, do you reckon?)

Is this the wave of the future: using HD channels for local sports, especially if you have a translator to send the HD channel to? Will other special interests (religious groups, etc) lease programming time on HD channels for a fraction of what the main signal would cost? (And is that buying airtime or an LMA?) 8)

I'd love to hear what YOU think about all this.

 

[OKCRadioGuy]

It's a good use for translators IMHO. FCC is so silly on their rules. It's funny to see someone successfully skirt them.

 

[Media Mogul]

Take it a step further. I nearly did this in another state, but they started clamping down on moving translators in an expedient fashion before I could get it pulled off.

I had been in negotiations to purchase the AM station in town, and they just wanted too much money. The town had pretty much been abandoned because the FM half of this former AM/FM combo had been moved in to the nearby metropolis.

So I went to the owner of the HD-2 channel, which EASILY city graded the smaller town, and offered a LMA on it. The plan would have been to basically program the station toward superserving the smaller town, identify the station with the translator's frequency. The only way the average listener would know it was an HD-Channel/Translator is by the ID at the top of the hour.

My only drawback in doing the whole thing really was that I wasn't exactly sure how I would explain a station with no call letters to ad agencies.

It would have worked perfectly. And there was absolutely nothing (for now) illegal about it. And there is nothing wrong with them putting Holland Hall on there. They probably didn't even mention it was on the HD channel and sold it as being on 93.5....

There are a lot of towns that have been abandoned by local radio... Places like Wagoner, Pryor, Sallisaw... They could probably support a hyperlocal radio presence. If you can find a translator, and you can find an HD channel willing to lease you the time for a reasonable price, you could likely make a pretty good living. Only problem would be that you are at that HD channel's mercy. The minute some SVP from Schenectady decides the would be better served doing something else, you're out of business 'til you can find your next HD channel or AM to feed it.