CKNW To "Change" Frequencies

[SomeRadioGuy]

It's moving permanently to 730, according to radioinsight.com It's been simulcasting there and the remarks from radioinsight seem to indicate the signal is closer to Vancouver and better in the city. No word on what will happen to 980

CKNW To Move From 980 To 730

 

[fybush]

Same thing they did in Edmonton when they moved CHED from 630 to 880 - the 980 facility will be surrendered.

The only difference is that in Edmonton, AM is essentially dead and nobody has any reason to reapply for 630. In Vancouver, it's at least possible that another broadcaster might apply for a new 980 license.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

Same thing they did in Edmonton when they moved CHED from 630 to 880 - the 980 facility will be surrendered.

The only difference is that in Edmonton, AM is essentially dead and nobody has any reason to reapply for 630. In Vancouver, it's at least possible that another broadcaster might apply for a new 980 license.

Though, despite the bemoans of some, they should probably just let 980 go and never come back.......theyve already lost 1040 and 1410... clear up vancouver's dial a bit more, and leave some more revenue on the table. too many people think just cuse there is spectrum available, they should build it/rent it/lease it/operate it

 

[fybush]

Though, despite the bemoans of some, they should probably just let 980 go and never come back.......theyve already lost 1040 and 1410... clear up vancouver's dial a bit more, and leave some more revenue on the table. too many people think just cuse there is spectrum available, they should build it/rent it/lease it/operate it

It's Canada. The most likely scenario is one of the existing ethnic stations (600, 1200, 1320, 1470) applying to move to 980, so the net effect would still be one fewer AM signal. And as you well know, any application in Canada has to include an economic showing that the market can sustain it.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

It's Canada. The most likely scenario is one of the existing ethnic stations (600, 1200, 1320, 1470) applying to move to 980, so the net effect would still be one fewer AM signal. And as you well know, any application in Canada has to include an economic showing that the market can sustain it.

Point made.. but i wonder if that mvoe would be worth it? The market might sustain it..... but taking down or maintaining an old facility to move to and buy/lease a new property.. or modifying the old one to make it work on the new frequency.

i dont think that taken into account vs market sustainability is it.. they just look at market revenue?

 

[davideduardo]

It's Canada. The most likely scenario is one of the existing ethnic stations (600, 1200, 1320, 1470) applying to move to 980, so the net effect would still be one fewer AM signal. And as you well know, any application in Canada has to include an economic showing that the market can sustain it.

Imagine if the U.S. had such a requirement before Docket 80-90 was enacted. I'll bet that 90% of the upgrades and new allocations could not have met the type of sustainability that Canada imposed at the time.

I was able to secure a "dead" frequency in Quito where there were 42 AMs in a marke of just under a million people in 1964; a licence had no value because there were about 25 too many. Some billed less than U$S 250 a month plus trade for meals and rent and the like. By 1970, one owner had 5 of the top 10 stations, and nearly 50% of market revenue. Most of the rest did not show in ratings or contribute to any diversity in programming.

Our ongoing discussion of AM often does not include the fact that the vast majority of rated market AMs have inadequate signals, and, overall, many of all AMs are daytimers or "virtual daytime" with very low power and exist only to support and FM translator.

I wonder what percentage of AMs are viable on their own if they had not full FM or a translator?

 

[radiofan2023]

This morning Steve Bridges was talking about how he had to prove to the FCC that he had three years worth of finances to support KCJJ before getting the license in 1994. I’d never heard of anything like that before today. Does anyone know if that’s still a requirement for licensing a station or not?

 

[The New Chico]

Both 980 and 730 are still viable, as much as any AM is, given they are both 50kW day and night with arrays close to the population. Vancouver market is hemmed in by mountains and water, so much more compct than many.

730 definitely is a stronger signal. 980 will cover the "ethnic" areas of Richmond and Surrey very well- I suspect one of the S Central Asian outfits will gobble it up. It may replace a US border blaster like 1550 or1600 as both have had a series of technical issues of late.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

Imagine if the U.S. had such a requirement before Docket 80-90 was enacted. I'll bet that 90% of the upgrades and new allocations could not have met the type of sustainability that Canada imposed at the time.

I was able to secure a "dead" frequency in Quito where there were 42 AMs in a marke of just under a million people in 1964; a licence had no value because there were about 25 too many. Some billed less than U$S 250 a month plus trade for meals and rent and the like. By 1970, one owner had 5 of the top 10 stations, and nearly 50% of market revenue. Most of the rest did not show in ratings or contribute to any diversity in programming.

Our ongoing discussion of AM often does not include the fact that the vast majority of rated market AMs have inadequate signals, and, overall, many of all AMs are daytimers or "virtual daytime" with very low power and exist only to support and FM translator.

I wonder what percentage of AMs are viable on their own if they had not full FM or a translator?

I worked for an AM/translator 2 FM Cluster in NW PA.... they AM wont even survive on its own with a 250 watt 700 ft translator and its one of the oldest stations in the region, second only to one other AM slightly older

 

[fordranger797]

I wrote about this on the Canada forum, but I'll share it here as well: it's a wise move for CKNW to migrate down the dial to 730. 980 is arguably a pretty spotty signal around the region. I could barely hear it all in downtown Vancouver when I lived there. On the contrary, 730 is extremely strong.

What is the difference? The tower site for 980 is located pretty far out to the southeastern portion of the market. On paper, it doesn't seem like the signal should be as spotty as it is, but when you add in all of the electrical noise, it is really really bad.

What happens next with 980? That's a good question. It could go dark for good. Or perhaps an ethnic broadcaster (like Sher-e-Punjab) might be interested in it. This ownership group more recently brought an old Vancouver AM frequency back to life on 600. It's possible that they could do the same thing with 980 (and permanently migrate the rest of their programming off of 1550 in northern Washington State). 1550 sounds downright terrible, so it would be a big upgrade, with a flamethrower signal over their core listening area. Will it happen? We'll see.

The modern tower site for the old 1040/1410 transmitter is still sitting vacant along highway 99. I'm not sure what the logistics would be in getting it up and running again, but that's a site someone could potentially use (if the deal were right).

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

interesting to note, though it doesnt matter a hill o beans... 730 is very good up here most of the time.. 980 is not.. and right now, fccdata isnt showing any patten data/maps