Another gone in Southern California

[Mediafrog+]

The end of a station that served no real purpose other than the parking lot for heritage call letters.

No wonder they never went after a translator. 😜

If they had a translator it could have been a parking spot for heritage translator calls.

 

[asugeorge1]

Well, I compared old maps to new ones (thanks to your making everything available) and to take one example, the Yakima-Pasco-Richland-Kennewick (WA) market used to have color designating its market boundaries ... and then one year, poof! it went to non-bold italics and the color gone ... but the border is still defined with a purple line. Officially, according to the legend, those are television DMAs without a radio metro survey area. (The oldest map at World Radio History, from 1987, did show it as the Yakima-Tri Cities metro, so I know I'm right on this one, even if I am wrong about others.)

I have known for some time that white areas without borders adjacent to defined markets are essentially "no man's land". Including that infamous Inland Empire area you mentioned.

Yeah that west outer white area between San Diego and Riverside is also interesting since it is a booming area of population growth the last 25 years or so encompassing Temecula, Murrieta, Menifee, Lake Elsinore, etc… There are also quite a few stations in the Temecula market including ones from I Heart. Just stuck in no man’s land I guess!

 

[TomásEstefan]

Yeah that west outer white area between San Diego and Riverside is also interesting since it is a booming area of population growth the last 25 years or so encompassing Temecula, Murrieta, Menifee, Lake Elsinore, etc… There are also quite a few stations in the Temecula market including ones from I Heart. Just stuck in no man’s land I guess!

Looks like the map also shows VC's T.O. and possibly Simi Valley in "no man's land as well!

 

[K.M. Richards]

Looks like the map also shows VC's T.O. and possibly Simi Valley in "no man's land as well!

That's a similar situation to what David explained about the Inland Empire piece. When the markets were originally defined by Arbitron, there was exactly one station licensed to that part of the county (KNJO/92.7) and it got zero listening in Oxnard/Ventura or the west San Fernando Valley. So it wasn't included. Nor did the later additions of KGOE/850 or KWNK/670 show any significant listenership to warrant a change in the market boundaries. Of course, now it doesn't really matter since 850 went silent, 92.7 is religious, and 670 is foreign language.

BTW, if you go look at the full map at David's site, you will find a legend which explains how the colors show market size.

 

[Radiopaw]

Entercom parks call letters a lot. Here in Sacramento, 1320 AM is KIFM, a longtime set of San Diego calls that got parked here when the SD station became KXSN in 2016.

And 106.5 FM is KUDL, which had a decades-long run (1971-2011) in Kansas City, at 98.1 (now KMBZ-FM) and from 2011-2014 at 1660 AM. That was a straight swap, with 1660 Kansas City getting 106.5 FM Sacramento's calls of KWOD.

This reminds me. Today I held KSFM in HD for 15 minutes on my drive. KSFM and KUDL do very well in the Bay but that was a shocker. I always see KUDL’s broadcasting text signal over KEZR. Sometimes, even 30 minutes from KEZR’s tower, it cuts out entirely to KUDL. Sac’s signals are flamethrowers.

PS: What is the text that broadcasts called? I know HD can do it better and also throw in a picture, but analog can too right? KBAY has it sometimes. Following radio for 20 years and not a clue.

 

[davideduardo]

Looks like the map also shows VC's T.O. and possibly Simi Valley in "no man's land as well!

It's the rural / mountain land NW of Simi Valley... that kinda' dull area you see on the Amtrak to Santa Barbara as you leave the LA metro.

 

[michael hagerty]

This reminds me. Today I held KSFM in HD for 15 minutes on my drive. KSFM and KUDL do very well in the Bay but that was a shocker. I always see KUDL’s broadcasting text signal over KEZR. Sometimes, even 30 minutes from KEZR’s tower, it cuts out entirely to KUDL. Sac’s signals are flamethrowers.

PS: What is the text that broadcasts called? I know HD can do it better and also throw in a picture, but analog can too right? KBAY has it sometimes. Following radio for 20 years and not a clue.

RDS (Radio Data System).

 

[sjs1959]

That's a similar situation to what David explained about the Inland Empire piece. When the markets were originally defined by Arbitron, there was exactly one station licensed to that part of the county (KNJO/92.7) and it got zero listening in Oxnard/Ventura or the west San Fernando Valley. So it wasn't included. Nor did the later additions of KGOE/850 or KWNK/670 show any significant listenership to warrant a change in the market boundaries. Of course, now it doesn't really matter since 850 went silent, 92.7 is religious, and 670 is foreign language.

BTW, if you go look at the full map at David's site, you will find a legend which explains how the colors show market size.

Where can I find this link????

 

[K.M. Richards]

Where can I find this link????

World Radio History (David's site). In the left-hand menu, scroll down to "N N N N N " and hover until the menu options open on the side. One of those is for Nielsen maps.

 

[Weiserguy]

Entercom [Audacy] parks call letters a lot...

My favorite is when I had to regularly travel down to the West Palm Beach area for family reasons earlier in the century. I was doing an FM band scan in the rental car, and discovered that a really iconic set of calls was parked on a hip-hop station just north of Mars.

"WNEW Jupiter" was the TOH ID, and William B. Williams turned over in his grave each time it aired.

 

[michael hagerty]

My favorite is when I had to regularly travel down to the West Palm Beach area for family reasons earlier in the century. I was doing an FM band scan in the rental car, and discovered that a really iconic set of calls was parked on a hip-hop station just north of Mars.

"WNEW Jupiter" was the TOH ID, and William B. Williams turned over in his grave each time it aired.

Not uncommon. Until they were brought back to L.A. (where they are now on a Korean-language station) the KMPC call letters were on 1560 AM in Abilene, Texas.

 

[CTListener]

My favorite is when I had to regularly travel down to the West Palm Beach area for family reasons earlier in the century. I was doing an FM band scan in the rental car, and discovered that a really iconic set of calls was parked on a hip-hop station just north of Mars.

"WNEW Jupiter" was the TOH ID, and William B. Williams turned over in his grave each time it aired.

"WBCN Charlotte" caused much weeping and hand-wringing in Boston, especially since it had passed from what was once a pioneering free-form rock FM station to a right-wing AM talker. The call is now on a Beasley AM in Fort Myers, Florida, carrying a sports format.

 

[ChannelFlipper]

"WBCN Charlotte" caused much weeping and hand-wringing in Boston, especially since it had passed from what was once a pioneering free-form rock FM station to a right-wing AM talker. The call is now on a Beasley AM in Fort Myers, Florida, carrying a sports format.

Not understanding what the problem would be.

 

[fybush]

"WBCN Charlotte" caused much weeping and hand-wringing in Boston,

[citation needed]

 

[radiofan2023]

[citation needed]

The day after the first Bostonian heard about the call letters being transferred:

 

[CTListener]

[citation needed]

Oops, I meant among Boston radio nerds. I try so hard not to let my own nerdiness show, but I do backslide now and then. Back to radio rehab for me.

 

[K.M. Richards]

Of course, except for stations whose actual brand is the call letters, they only exist to satisfy a FCC regulation. The U.S. is one of a very few countries that still require "legal station identification" broadcasts.