Classic Country coming to the FM dial-SA

[saradio1]

From Allaccess:

HOUSTON CHRISTIAN BROADCASTERS, INC. is selling FM translator K285EU/MENDOZA, TX to COX RADIO, INC. for $250,000. The translator, serving the SAN ANTONIO area, will rebroadcast COX's Classic Country KKYX-A/SAN ANTONIO.

From radio-locator:
http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=K285EU&service=FX&status=L&hours=U

 

[jras20]

What a waste. It hardly gets around San antonio, much less the main listening area. They should simulcast it on 106.7 that would make more since.

 

[fredcantu]

I wonder if KKYX will flip formats once it has a presence on FM?

 

[jras20]

I wonder if KKYX will flip formats once it has a presence on FM?

I hope not with that coverage on FM.

 

[Kent]

What a waste. It hardly gets around San antonio, much less the main listening area. They should simulcast it on 106.7 that would make more since.

It has a CP that will increase its signal quite-a-bit from the map on Radio-Locator. You can find it if you check out the FCC's page. It still doesn't cover all of San Antonio, but it covers most of the northside.

 

[jras20]

What a waste. It hardly gets around San antonio, much less the main listening area. They should simulcast it on 106.7 that would make more since.

It has a CP that will increase its signal quite-a-bit from the map on Radio-Locator. You can find it if you check out the FCC's page. It still doesn't cover all of San Antonio, but it covers most of the northside.

Only a few miles of coverage and AM has half of Texas. Kind of waste there.

 

[saradio1]

Who's to say this isn't a smokescreen? ???

Also, the coverage might not cover all of SA but it will cover a heavily populated area of SA.

 

[Kent]

Only a few miles of coverage and AM has half of Texas. Kind of waste there.

Yet that lowly FM translator could easily end up getting more listeners than 680!

 

[Kent]

Who's to say this isn't a smokescreen? ???

For what? Cox doesn't do any HD2's in San Antonio, and you could probably count the number of them company wide on one hand.

Also, the coverage might not cover all of SA but it will cover a heavily populated area of SA.

Correct!

 

[jd]

It has a CP that will increase its signal quite-a-bit from the map on Radio-Locator. You can find it if you check out the FCC's page. It still doesn't cover all of San Antonio, but it covers most of the northside.

That's still in the application stage, having just been accepted for filing. But it will probably be approved unless someone at the FCC asks some tough questions.

Where is Mendoza, anyway? It's northeast of San Marcos, a lot closer to Austin than San Antonio, and that's the community of license for this translator. Never mind the fact that COL's mean little to actual broadcast stations and even less to a translator, but do take note of a recent FCC probe into "leap-frogging" (or "multi-hopping"). Specifically, they accused a Wisconsin translator's licensee of violating FCC rules by effectively getting a "major" change approved "by a succession of serial minor change applications." That is, they got approval to move the translator from Beloit WI to West Allis (suburban Milwaukee) WI, a distance of around 60 miles.

[ more on the "multi-hop" issue: www.broadcastlawblog.com/2012/02/ar...-availability-of-translators-for-am-stations/ ]

[ letter from the FCC to the Wisconsin translator licensee: http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getimportletter_exh.cgi?import_letter_id=31446 ]

The "Mendoza" translator is at its present location because a series of "minor" moves were made, with the only real restriction being that the proposed "service contour" overlapped with the licensed one. What's the difference between the moves made by this translator and the one in Wisconsin? Even the distance from Mendoza to Datapoint Drive in San Antonio is about the same as from Beloit to West Allis, Wisconsin.

If you read the letter from the FCC you saw that they asked some very direct questions, specifically where the station was built, who gave permission to use the transmitter sites that were used, how long the station operated at each location, what primary station's signal did the translator rebroadcast at each site, and what the applicant's ultimate purpose in the moves was. (quote from Broadcast Law Blog)

If the FCC decided to question Cox about the latest minor change (move) application, would they ask Houston Christian Broadcasters to furnish information as well? After all, they're the ones who started the moves. The FCC might want to ask a site-specific question dating back to the initial construction permit, "Was the station built?"

 

[saradio1]

Depending on the revenue of KKYX, here's the other possibility.
This took place in Birmingham, AL-
Cox Radio has made a surprising adjustment to one of its Birmingham stations: 1320 WENN has apparently dropped its urban-talk format for one that features neo-soul and urban/alternative acts. Paired with the W270BW 101.9.

Classic Country goes bye bye and a new format debuts on 680 and 104.9.

Needless to say, it will be interesting what Cox does with 680AM and 104.9.

 

[imtomclay]

Now here is a possiblity...if KKYX were to go talk, since Cumulus has no presence in SA, THEY COULD go with a direct competitor to WOAI and KTSA that would have FM coverage overthe northside where the money demo lives, and with programming like Huckabee, Clark Howard, Boortz and some local news, plus the farm programming from Larry Marble, you have a station that costs you no more than KKYX does now, gives you something unique to the cluster, and would let you flip 106.7 to Classic country...just a posibility ???

 

[Anonymouse]

With programming like Huckabee, Clark Howard, Boortz and some local news, plus the farm programming from Larry Marble, you have a station that costs you no more than KKYX does now, gives you something unique to the cluster, and would let you flip 106.7 to Classic country...

Howard and Boortz are already on 92.5 Failbox.

As for 104.9, anyone have an idea when it'll be up in SA? Nothing on 104.9 here on the northside.

 

[daypart]

As for 104.9, anyone have an idea when it'll be up in SA? Nothing on 104.9 here on the northside.

my vote would be never, since I use that frequency for the FM modulator that feeds my MP3 player into my car radio. :'(

 

[jd]

As for 104.9, anyone have an idea when it'll be up in SA? Nothing on 104.9 here on the northside.

I'll follow that up with another question. Has anyone ever heard this translator in the San Antonio area? For that matter, did the translator actually operate from each of its previous locations?

I don't have any vested interest or an axe to grind here, but this whole thing is suspicious. As I mentioned earlier, the FCC questioned whether a translator in Wisconsin had effected a "major" change in moving about 60 miles "by a succession of serial minor change applications." For that translator, it involved six locations, but in the case of the 104.9 Mendoza translator the relocation to the Cox complex would be its tenth location since it was originally licensed in Mendoza.

The following is a list of locations for the translator derived from the respective applications, showing the date the FCC accepted the application with the date it was licensed in parentheses. (Mileage is approximate.)

10/16/00 (09/10/01) original CP, 1 mile ESE of Mendoza
11/23/09 (12/04/09) 8 miles E of San Marcos
12/08/09 (12/16/09) 10 miles SE of San Marcos
03/23/10 (04/19/10) 11 miles E of New Braunfels
08/03/10 (09/17/10) 7 miles ESE of New Braunfels
12/30/10 (01/25/11) 7 miles E of Cibolo
03/14/11 (04/14/11) 1/2 mile SSE of Cibolo
05/17/11 (06/16/11) Converse, off Gibbs Sprawl Road
08/08/11 (09/15/11) San Antonio, Jones Maltsberger NE of Bitters
03/09/12 (pending) San Antonio, 8122 Datapoint

Does that resemble a "serial minor change" application list?

 

[willdav713]

What a waste. It hardly gets around San antonio, much less the main listening area. They should simulcast it on 106.7 that would make more since.

When Vizon Communications (former owners of KMMX KMIX 106.7 went bankrupt) Cox bought them out, and KKYX was simulcasted on FM in 1992.

Now why on earth would Cox air Classic Country KKYX AM on a low grade translator, when they could just flip 106.7 back to KKYX? What I see as a better move is place KKYX on 105.3 FM (They were once Country, too) and move KSMG to 106.7 as a mainstream adult contemporary station dropping the Hot AC format.

 

[Kent]

When Vizon Communications (former owners of KMMX KMIX 106.7 went bankrupt) Cox bought them out, and KKYX was simulcasted on FM in 1992.

Close. It was actually Cox's predecessor, New City Communications, that took 106.7 over in an LMA and eventually bought it from Vision.

Now why on earth would Cox air Classic Country KKYX AM on a low grade translator, when they could just flip 106.7 back to KKYX?

Simple. Classic country normally underbills its ratings share. I suppose it's possible, given how 106.7's done, classic country wouldn't do any worse than it's currently doing, but most operators would rather go for a format that has a higher power ratio.

What I see as a better move is place KKYX on 105.3 FM (They were once Country, too) and move KSMG to 106.7 as a mainstream adult contemporary station dropping the Hot AC format.

Bad move! Unless things have changed recently, KSMG outbills its ratings share significantly and has been on the upswing for quite some time (other than a weaker than normal December book). You don't move a station that bills what Magic does, especially when it's on the upswing and is on track to become the number two biller in your cluster. Besides, is anyone going to remember that 105.3 used to be country? That was almost 30 years ago! After a couple or three years, you could probably get away with saying you made a mistake and were taking a station back to its heritage, but there's no way you could do it after 30!

 

[fredcantu]

IIRC--The Mendoza station was originally part of a Catholic low power rimshot network around Austin. And if you haven't kept track of the Emmis translator in Austin on 102.7, it has now cracked the top 10 with a syndicated Comedy format, passing a lot of full power stations. A translator cannot originate programming... but there is huge loophole that lets it be fed by a local HD subchannel or a local AM.

 

[saradio1]

IIRC--The Mendoza station was originally part of a Catholic low power rimshot network around Austin. And if you haven't kept track of the Emmis translator in Austin on 102.7, it has now cracked the top 10 with a syndicated Comedy format, passing a lot of full power stations. A translator cannot originate programming... but there is huge loophole that lets it be fed by a local HD subchannel or a local AM.

Excellent point fredcantu. This is why I say it will be interesting to see if Cox keeps Classic Country or ditches it for a format that will increase revenue.

There's several scenarios that could happen with this new translator-
1. Move the current format on X106.7 to 680 AM & 104.9, in hopes of stealing listeners from 104.5 KZEP. Thus, launching a new format on 106.7.
2. Launch a new format on 680 AM and 104.9.
3. Activate their HD-2 with a new format and simulcast on 104.9.
4. Simulcast Classic Country on 104.9 which is currently being reported.

IMO, they will target the 18-34 demos with either Alternative, Top 40 Dance or Hip Hop. Cox currently doesn't have station in SA attracting this demo. My vote is for Top 40 Dance. Dance music has been on the rise for several years and now has become mainstream. This will also create havoc with Top 3 stations targeting the 18-34 demos.

 

[jras20]

I still say 104.9 will be a waste, if people are using phones, mp3 players, ETC. for FM, high powered stations will bleed right through that LP.