There is one crucial difference between Houston and Dallas. Dallas already has a Christian rock station - KVRK. Houston did not - at least not over the air until KSBJ finally put NGEN on a few translators. A big coverage gap still exists on NGEN for the 99.9% of the audience that doesn't have an HD radio, and that is essentially the Northern half of the Houston area, which includes affluent suburbs like Cypress, Jersey Village, Champion Forest, the Woodlands, Conroe - etc. Places that are of prime importance to radio stations. Not so in Dallas. KVRK happens to have a really good signal in Plano, Frisco, Richardson, Allen, McKinney - the same types of places as the northern suburbs of Houston.
How well will Air-1 fit in between KVRK and KLTY? If it is middle ground, it might find a niche. But it is a lot different situation than Houston, where people were really wanting something better than KSBJ.
About the commercial nature of KLTY - I've never had a problem with them. I've done Christian radio - and it is ALL commercial. Even if the license and legalities say non-comm, there is still big money changing hands. Air time is expensive, in short supply, and there is an endless line of preachers with checks. Doctrinal integrity? I've seen these dollar for hollar types chain smoking up a storm, have alcohol on their breath, in the news for domestic abuse - the station doesn't care as long as the check clears and the cassette doesn't jam in the deck. Worst offenders? The anti-CCM, KJV only types. Get them away from me, they can cuss us Christian rock programmers out with more profanities per sentence than a street gang. Money money money changers pretty much all. Among station owners - so much paranoia about offending the least common denominator musical taste that you end up with Christian Delilah all the time preacher tapes aren't running. Reaching people for Christ? They would like to think so --- but that is totally a secondary consideration. If it doesn't make money, it doesn't pay the bills and is off the air. So - next time you think about who has integrity - think again about the freedom from that type of riff-raff a station has if advertisers actually pay the bills, instead of poor quality brokered preaching.
