Dallas now has one could Houston be next?

[omega]

I'll make it short and sweet! Dallas now has ''LA LUZ'' a spanish christian format on FM so i dare ask the Quesiton could this format work in Houston in 1998 Daniel Melendez tried it when he created RADIO VISION on KLVL 1480 and even though it was on a limited signal it did very well for about 3 years would a similar format on fm make the difference in this market?

 

[Mike O]

I'll make it short and sweet! Dallas now has ''LA LUZ'' a spanish christian format on FM so i dare ask the Quesiton could this format work in Houston in 1998 Daniel Melendez tried it when he created RADIO VISION on KLVL 1480 and even though it was on a limited signal it did very well for about 3 years would a similar format on fm make the difference in this market?

On a good coverage FM a Spanish Christian station would probably do fairly well in Houston. A format simular to KSBJ only in Espanol would likely draw the same percentage of listeners, perhaps a bit higher. Actually that may not be a bad format for 97.5, the signal would be best in the primary target areas. It wouldn't do nearly as well as a city signal, but better than the crap on now or the planned third all Sports station.

Actually there are two Spanish Christian networks on the air in Houston now, only they are on translators or low power stations.

Aleluya Christian Broadcasting from Pasadena; 912 Curtis St; Pasadena 77502.
Primary a Spanish version of Contemporary Christian Music.
They have been on the air since December 14th, 2000 when they bought KBRZ 1460 and then bought KFTG 88.1 on March 10th of 2003.

They bought the old KJIC on 88.1 but with only 440 watts at 30 meters the signal is very limited to the greater Pasadena area. The old KJIC moved to Santa Fe to 90.5 with 7700 watts at 177 meters. KFTG has a construction permit for 700 watts at 57 meters, but highly directional east and will have even less of a signal in Houston.

They also own KBRZ 1460 in Freeport with the antenna in Oyster Creek (town) with 500 watts day and 212 watts night non-directional fulltime. However the station needs some serious work done on it, I use to receive KBRZ in the Galleria area with a fair signal and I can barely hear them now, or they are operating with very low power. In fact I use to be able to get KBRZ on many nights, mainly after midnight when the frequency wasn't so crowded with stations.

They have three active construction permits:
88.1 K201DZ 10w/90m Galveston
93.3 K227BD 200w/90m Freeport
95.1 K236AR 41w/253m Angleton and probably 50 applications in the greater Houston area for translators from 2003 that are still waiting for some action, along with another hundred filed by other organizations.

Actually I believe that KBRZ 1460 can be upgraded to higher power and place a fairly good signal over Houston daytime, even with the KLVL 1480 upgrade recently completed. I guess their plan is to use a bunch of translators around the city and suburbs, if they get the permits.

The other Spanish Christian broadcaster is Paulino Bernal Evangelism from the Valley. They rely totally on translators and also have a good amount of applictions in from 2003 waiting to be acted on. This is much more a preaching station. Their translators relay the signal of KCZO from Carrizo Springs, TX.
88.1 K201EU 250w/61m Katy - this station really gets out for a low power station, the signal covers KFTG in the Galleria area and carries to downtown from an antenna northwest of Katy.
88.1 K201FA 50w/60m Freeport
89.5 K208DK 50w/85m El Campo
89.7 K209DB 50w/16m Edna
90.3 K212FE 25w/45m Bay City
91.1 K216EI 50w/45m Louise

Mike O

 

[omega]

C'mon guys this is a question worth answering!

 

[rbrucecarter5]

They've had some sort of Spanish Catholic up here on 850 for a couple of weeks - I've heard Spanish preaching on various AM's - nothing of note. The only Spanish FM up here is a translator on 106.5 in Greenville - pretty good music. Doesn't reach much of the area, though, only extreme NE suburbs. I thought 106.5 was full time Spanish religious in Houston - when 106.5 first signed on I thought I was receiving it.

 

[OldGringo]

They've had some sort of Spanish Catholic up here on 850 for a couple of weeks - I've heard Spanish preaching on various AM's - nothing of note. The only Spanish FM up here is a translator on 106.5 in Greenville - pretty good music. Doesn't reach much of the area, though, only extreme NE suburbs. I thought 106.5 was full time Spanish religious in Houston - when 106.5 first signed on I thought I was receiving it.

106.5 in Houston is Recuerdo, Spanish adult hits. #1 Spanish in the PPM. Before that, it was AC for several years, and mostly Tejano for several decades as KQQK.

Liberman just debuted a contemporary Christian format in Dallas on one of the FMs he took over on Friday.

 

[Mike O]

C'mon guys this is a question worth answering!

Omega the answer to your question without all the other stuff I had in my first post is yes. A good city signal FM would do as well percentage wise as English KSBJ. Unfortunately Spanish Christian has been on limited coverage AM's so far and none have covered much of the city very well. The other problem is the format is fragmented over various stations, so you have jump around the dial to listen to Spanish Christian. Most of the Hispanic population ignores AM radio in favor of the FM stations today.

Mike

 

[omega]

What company would you say would consider or would even take a gamble with this type of format? i wish 92.1 would have given this format a try instead of the mera mera flop!

 

[OldGringo]

What company would you say would consider or would even take a gamble with this type of format? i wish 92.1 would have given this format a try instead of the mera mera flop!

Only Liberman, and with a rimshot. The vast majority of Mexican heritage Hispanics are Catholic, and not into preaching and teaching or contemporary Christian music in Spanish for the most part. It is a really tiny niche. When you stop seeing a Virgin of Guadalupe statue or picture in Mexican homes, then the format might have a chace.

Elsewhere, it is a viable format for marginal AMs, like KLTX in LA that gets about a 0.8 share, and sells enough paid programming to be viable.

 

[purpledevil]

The perfect outlet is sitting in Liberman's cluster. Once the KJOJ upgrade is complete, 103.3 should cover a good chunk of real estate and be returned to a stand alone station again.

"Only Liberman, and with a rimshot."
Without mentioning KQUE/Houston, and from the looks of the numbers, no one does, how is this an earth shattering prediction? All of the other Liberman signals ARE rimshots. Did I miss something? And what's with the stereotype? I didn't see it in the "How to live as a Mexican" handbook that a Virgin Guadalupe statue was required. This whole argument is suspect.

 

[omega]

Yeah its a surprise to me to see eduardo make such a comment ive been in the spanish christian format actualy i was, a major part of the programming back in the first days ok KLVL RADIO VISION and i can tell you the station had a great income and it paid the bills no problem and it could also put together thousands of people for its concerts and big events and that more then what i can say for many other stations in Houston that are operating now!

 

[Mediafrog+]

Once the KJOJ upgrade is complete, 103.3 should cover a good chunk of real estate and be returned to a stand alone station again.

The 103.3 upgrade has been talked about for years. The most recent application on file appears to be for approx 1950' at the current transmitter location. It will improve the signal, but will still be quite inferior to the other rimshots.

I recall that during the massive divestitures in 2000, prospective owner El Dorado was planning to break the simulcast with 98.5 and launch a stand-alone format on the frequency. That sale fell through, and eventual owner Liberman has continued the simulcast, which has been going on for about 11 years now.

I still think an upgraded 103.3 would be a perfect place for Houston's first Vietnamese format, perhaps simulcast with 880 which would reach those areas 103.3 misses.

 

[OldGringo]

Yeah its a surprise to me to see eduardo make such a comment ive been in the spanish christian format actualy i was, a major part of the programming back in the first days ok KLVL RADIO VISION and i can tell you the station had a great income and it paid the bills no problem and it could also put together thousands of people for its concerts and big events and that more then what i can say for many other stations in Houston that are operating now!

One thing is to get a few people at a concert. The biggest Houston stations have cumes approaching 1.5 million in the PPM, and to be successful with an ad based model, you need a cume of over 300,000... and there are probably not even a fifth of that number in Spanish dominant non-Catholic Christians in the Houston metro. So such a station would have to be based on sale of teaching and preaching, not "contemporary Christian" like a Spanish KLTY or such as WBRQ is in Puerto Rico.

A dog daytimer could certainly make some moeny here, but as a program sales station... even one of the inferior fulltime AMs. But a fulltime, good coverage AM or any real FM could not pay back the acquisition costs with contemporary Christian, and, doubtfully, with Spanish Christian teaching and preaching. First generation Spanish dominant listeners are predominantly Catholic and will not go for such a format.

 

[OldGringo]

The perfect outlet is sitting in Liberman's cluster. Once the KJOJ upgrade is complete, 103.3 should cover a good chunk of real estate and be returned to a stand alone station again.

"Only Liberman, and with a rimshot."
Without mentioning KQUE/Houston, and from the looks of the numbers, no one does, how is this an earth shattering prediction? All of the other Liberman signals ARE rimshots. Did I miss something? And what's with the stereotype? I didn't see it in the "How to live as a Mexican" handbook that a Virgin Guadalupe statue was required. This whole argument is suspect.

I was using an anecdotal comment to show that first generation, Spanish dominants from Mexico or Central America are about 99% Catholic, and don't use evangelica Christian radio. In fact, until just a few years ago, religious radio of any kind was prohibited in Mexico, and there are only a couple of religious stations in the whole country today. The Mexican population has almost ZERO tradition of listening to any kind of religion on the radio, although Central America has long been filled with evangelical Christian stations like Faro del Caribe in Costa Rica and such.

What I am saying is that a station, like a bad rimshot, that cost very little, might make it. Anything else can not pay the cost of capital.

 

[jd]

The 103.3 upgrade has been talked about for years. The most recent application on file appears to be for approx 1950' at the current transmitter location. It will improve the signal, but will still be quite inferior to the other rimshots.

You're right. It's from the curent site near Sargent, and the city-grade signal wouldn't even make it into Harris County. But the 60dBu ("service area") contour will skirt the southwest part of Houston and the towns along the Gulf Freeway from Clear Lake to Galveston. Proposed coverage can be found on page four at: http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getattachment_exh.cgi?exhibit_id=258504

About the only thing that could make any difference is the recently discussed downgrade for KLTN 102.9, which was requested by KVJM 103.1 up in the Bryan/College Station area. Even so, a change of a few miles for a KJOJ transmitter site (if it were indeed possible) wouldn't improve the signal that much.

I still think an upgraded 103.3 would be a perfect place for Houston's first Vietnamese format, perhaps simulcast with 880 which would reach those areas 103.3 misses.

So do I, but remember who owns it. The idea of a Spanish Christian format would for me, too. I'd be surprised to see Liberman make the switch, although the station they're using for the format in the Dallas area is somewhat of a similar rim-shot. The real questions remain, however: can "La Luz" work in Big D and could it work in Houston? Secondly, if Liberman were going to do it, wouldn't it have made sense to switch simultaneously in the two markets?

 

[omega]

My question is will liberman be operating this format or just LMA it? i dont see any church in Dallas beeing big enough to pay 120 thousand dls a month to rent a station in such a big market! If their is not enough people how to u explane that in 1998-2001 we had 5 different christian stations in AM in Houston alone and they all had their people and were supported by the people! Im just gona have to disagre with you mr gringo ive been their done that and this format can work in Houston!

 

[OldGringo]

My question is will liberman be operating this format or just LMA it? i dont see any church in Dallas beeing big enough to pay 120 thousand dls a month to rent a station in such a big market! If their is not enough people how to u explane that in 1998-2001 we had 5 different christian stations in AM in Houston alone and they all had their people and were supported by the people! Im just gona have to disagre with you mr gringo ive been their done that and this format can work in Houston!

If you figure each of the Liberman FM's in Dallas is worth between $15 and $20 million based on signal, then to pay down debt, they have to make about $1.5 million to $2 million per station minimum to pay down the debt or to get a decent return on investment. That means billing at last $4 million each.

While little AMs that are worth a million or so can make money on paid religion, nobody can do contemporary Christian, which is the subject of the conversation, without high billings. One thing is sustaining little stations on tiny budgets, and another is sustaining a $20 million dollar FM. KLVL in Houston has been sold twice recently, once for $1 million and once for $1.2 million. Very different from the FMs. KHCN in Galveston went for $150 thousand, as an example of what a bad AM is worth.

 

[jd]

If you figure each of the Liberman FM's in Dallas is worth between $15 and $20 million based on signal, then to pay down debt, they have to make about $1.5 million to $2 million per station minimum to pay down the debt or to get a decent return on investment. That means billing at last $4 million each.

I'd put KZMP (the "La Luz" station) in the Dallas market on the low end of your estimates, as I would KJOJ.

KLVL in Houston has been sold twice recently, once for $1 million and once for $1.2 million. Very different from the FMs. KHCN in Galveston went for $150 thousand, as an example of what a bad AM is worth.

Your comparison of FM to AM is well noted, but if you're referring to the sale of KILE 1400 (now KHCB) to Houston Christian Broadcasters, that happened in 1990. It was what I'd term a distress sale, and even if the $150K figure is correct I'm not sure that it has any bearing in 2006. Galveston's other AM, KGBC 1540, was sold by a local consortium to SIGA (KLVL owners) in 2002 for a reported $900,000.

 

[omega]

I was present when the 1540 AM station was sold 4 years ago to DR Gabriel Arango (Siga) for what was short of a million dls anyways i really dont think that KLVL today is worth 1.2 million Arango would not sell it for less then 4.5 million but in any case its a gold mine cause with christian spanish programming it was bringing in about 1 hundrer thousand dls free that was including staff and expenses and your not giving anything other then just time on your station! all i say is It can work Take for exaple KFTG 88.1 its a lpfm in pasadena with what about 250 watts and you walk in their and my good freinds and,they have every hour of the day mon-sat completly sold out by people who want to have their own shows and thats on a LP this format has potencial remember the purpose of this format is to win people over so your possible lisseners can double or triple if you deliver good programing cause you attract all kinds of people not just mexican or central american!

 

[OldGringo]

I was present when the 1540 AM station was sold 4 years ago to DR Gabriel Arango (Siga) for what was short of a million dls anyways i really dont think that KLVL today is worth 1.2 million Arango would not sell it for less then 4.5 million but in any case its a gold mine cause with christian spanish programming it was bringing in about 1 hundrer thousand dls free that was including staff and expenses and your not giving anything other then just time on your station! all i say is It can work Take for exaple KFTG 88.1 its a lpfm in pasadena with what about 250 watts and you walk in their and my good freinds and,they have every hour of the day mon-sat completly sold out by people who want to have their own shows and thats on a LP this format has potencial remember the purpose of this format is to win people over so your possible lisseners can double or triple if you deliver good programing cause you attract all kinds of people not just mexican or central american!

If you think about it, you are agreeing with me. These AM Spanish religious stations are very small. For example, making $100 thousand on a $1 million investment is only a fair return given the risk and the ability to get 100% safe returns in the 7% to 10% are available with conventinal investments. In perspective, $100 is the average billing for one single day (OK, weekday) on KLTN. Thre are $400,000,000 dollars in radio revenue in the Houston market.

And, taking about Spanish language Christian programming in Houston, if you do not get Mexican and Central American, who else is there? Out of 1.4 million Hispanics in Houston, less than 30 thousand are from someplece other than Mexico and Central America.

 

[omega]

what i meant was that a format like this atracts mexican cause it plays regional mexican musica (Norteno) but also atracts other lisseners like central and south americans because it can play from anything from salsa merenge thru hip hop and rap and down to alabanza y adoracion and it covers a large area not just a single target!