-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
Audacy New York
- Thread starter CassChopper96
- Start date
No it couldn't. That's already been discussed.
What difference is it being with reduced power in the city and a full 40k watts in the Meadowlands with a bigger coverage area?
The ESB option is not available for this frequency. It's too far east.
I know it's a difference because it would be broadcasting from a 1454 foot building vs a ground level tower. My whole thing is 94.7 when it was Country, it was obviously a lot stronger in the NJ suburbs and it was successful in the suburbs. However, the signals intended target is the city where the signal can be poor with the skyscrapers. I feel if it transmitted from ESB or even Times Square on lower power, it would still put out a strong signal, where it matters without causing new interference with existing stations.
I want to see a station like The Block succeed, but I don't want it's failures to be because of signal problems. Hopefully the new Lyndhurst location will serve these areas well.
As I said, it's not an option. If it was, they'd look into it. The best they can do is the Meadowlands.
A few years ago, WBGO moved from Newark to Times Square. They went from 20K to about 2500 watts because of interference with other stations. After the move, a lot of people on Long Island said they didn't notice any improvement.
If 94.7 could move to a Manhattan location, it would have done so years ago. It can't, for several reasons, primarily because of 94.3 on Long Island. The way the rules work, if you were already short-spaced to another station on a second- or third-adjacent channel when the current spacing rules went into effect in 1964, you don't have to protect them at all now. The Long Island station (then WGSM-FM) was short-spaced to WNYC-FM back then - but it was fully spaced to 94.7. And so the current spacing rules apply, under which 94.7 pretty much has to stay in New Jersey.
Why doesn't Audacy pay Connoisseur to move that station (now WWSK) a few miles to the east, downgrade it or buy it out and surrender the license? Don't NYC broadcasters have a history of doing that sort or thing in order to upgrade their signals in market #1.
It's a lot easier to do when you don't have $2 billion in debt.
This is definitely a Fybush question.
But, given the density of station assignments in the NE, I suspect that WWSK may have difficulty in moving. And it is likely that the chain reaction of one intended move might affect a whole handful of stations.
Couldn’t they move WWSK 94.3 to the WBZO 103.1 tower, which is also one of their stations and a slight bit to the East (I always wondered why they never combined antennas). I assume it is far enough to not be short spaced to WNEW and WKTU. Or couldn’t they just ask WWSK for a mutual interference waiver that would allow WWSK to send their signal further into Nassau County? If that helps the issue, it might be one of the bigger hurdles to get 94.7 on ESB or 1WTC (KTU was originally on 1WTC when WBZO 103.1 first came online).
Please see previous threads when WFME 94.7 was sold by Family Stations to Cumulus in October 2012.
These include many posts which posed similar questions re: 94.7 transmitter location(s).
I'll give you the short answer if you'd like to pass on reading the many posts above, some of them pretty creative:
Moving 94.7 to Empire can't happen!
The 94.3 Smithtown allocation is the main sticking point - it can't be moved or have its allocation simply deleted.
If 94.3 was ever attempted to be moved, a chain reaction would be set off with other multiple
short-spaced allocations in the Northeast which make it virtually impossible to get anything done.
These include many posts which posed similar questions re: 94.7 transmitter location(s).
I'll give you the short answer if you'd like to pass on reading the many posts above, some of them pretty creative:
Moving 94.7 to Empire can't happen!
The 94.3 Smithtown allocation is the main sticking point - it can't be moved or have its allocation simply deleted.
If 94.3 was ever attempted to be moved, a chain reaction would be set off with other multiple
short-spaced allocations in the Northeast which make it virtually impossible to get anything done.
One thing I don't understand is there are all these rules of spacing and interference. It was better understood, 10 years ago. Then you have all these translators that are popping up. Look up any city on RadioLocator and you will see there's translators occupying most distant and fringe signals. Granted, they are directional. 102.5 from Meriden, CT for example is short with 102.9 and covers half the distance of a full power.
Also short spaced WPRB and WKTU, both having HD. I'm sure there's IBOC interference in between.
Also short spaced WPRB and WKTU, both having HD. I'm sure there's IBOC interference in between.
It's a big mess that's been created by Congress and the FCC. It keeps engineers and lawyers busy. Everyone is fighting to keep their space in the spectrum.
Don't forget WNNJ
Other way around. WDRC-FM is on 102.9, the Long Island station it's short with is on 102.5.
Years ago they signed an agreement with WKTU which allowed WKTU to go non-directional from 1WTC
I believe an outright acquisition of WWSK would place Audacy over its FM ownership cap for the New York market.
While Audacy could conceivably offer to pay WWSK to downgrade or move farther east, if I were WWSK, I would be reluctant to accept such an offer! It would have to be big $$$.
Then, on top of that, there is the prospect of having to pay hefty rent for access to a skyscraper mounted tower in Manhattan.
I personally think the best move is for 94.7 to remain in Jersey. Maxxcasting repeater technology might be an option worth exploring where skyscraper shadowing is an issue.
Edit: I think Manhattan may be fully spaced to Brentwood to allow a second adjacent Class A to Class B situation. So, WWSK might not be the biggest roadblock after all. I know there is the 94.7 allotment in the Springfield, MA area, too.
While Audacy could conceivably offer to pay WWSK to downgrade or move farther east, if I were WWSK, I would be reluctant to accept such an offer! It would have to be big $$$.
Then, on top of that, there is the prospect of having to pay hefty rent for access to a skyscraper mounted tower in Manhattan.
I personally think the best move is for 94.7 to remain in Jersey. Maxxcasting repeater technology might be an option worth exploring where skyscraper shadowing is an issue.
Edit: I think Manhattan may be fully spaced to Brentwood to allow a second adjacent Class A to Class B situation. So, WWSK might not be the biggest roadblock after all. I know there is the 94.7 allotment in the Springfield, MA area, too.
Last edited:
As others have pointed out, this was extensively hashed out here a few years back, and nothing substantial has changed in the years since.
No site in Manhattan, whether ESB, 1WTC or 4TS, is fully spaced to WWSK for a class B.
WWSK can't be purchased and deleted, because while you can return a commercial FM license for cancellation, it doesn't remove the underlying allocation, which still exists and must still be protected.
WWSK is massively short-spaced under the pre-1964 rules to WYBC-FM. Any move that would take WWSK eastward away from Manhattan and WXBK would bring WWSK even closer to WYBC, and the pre-1964 rules say you can't create any additional net interference on top of what's already there. (In this particular case, the interference falls mostly over water, at least.)
WYBC can't really move anywhere because it's short-spaced to WHJY and WMAS.
And now there's an added issue, the 94.5 class A allocation that was dropped in at Sagaponack and which now has a CP that WLNG's owners bought at auction.
Are there some Hail Mary moves that could be pulled off, given enough money and willpower, to make something work? Maybe - but the people who know how to work the rules there aren't going to be sharing those moves here, for what I hope are obvious reasons. There's a value to knowing the most arcane parts of the rules and how to work them, and engineering consultants have to put food on the table, too.
No site in Manhattan, whether ESB, 1WTC or 4TS, is fully spaced to WWSK for a class B.
WWSK can't be purchased and deleted, because while you can return a commercial FM license for cancellation, it doesn't remove the underlying allocation, which still exists and must still be protected.
WWSK is massively short-spaced under the pre-1964 rules to WYBC-FM. Any move that would take WWSK eastward away from Manhattan and WXBK would bring WWSK even closer to WYBC, and the pre-1964 rules say you can't create any additional net interference on top of what's already there. (In this particular case, the interference falls mostly over water, at least.)
WYBC can't really move anywhere because it's short-spaced to WHJY and WMAS.
And now there's an added issue, the 94.5 class A allocation that was dropped in at Sagaponack and which now has a CP that WLNG's owners bought at auction.
Are there some Hail Mary moves that could be pulled off, given enough money and willpower, to make something work? Maybe - but the people who know how to work the rules there aren't going to be sharing those moves here, for what I hope are obvious reasons. There's a value to knowing the most arcane parts of the rules and how to work them, and engineering consultants have to put food on the table, too.
- Status