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Expected format flips in the next few months?

We need more "variety" on the FM dial. I know this is a sensitive (and sometimes political) subject, but we have plenty of Spanish/ethnic and religious stations. Demographic "European" or may I say "white" listeners are leaving the FM dial, for the lack of variety.
Stop there and readjust your thinking.

Nearly all Hispanics are classified in the Census as "white". And nearly all Lain Americans are in some percentage of European (Spanish and Portuguese) heritage.

And the people you are referring to, in research called "non-Hispanic whites", are only 39% of the San Francisco market.

So a lot of the programming in the market is based on what the other 60% of the market... Black, Hispanic, Asian being the largest groups... wants.
Many leave the region altogether for a slew of factors, including, but not limited to there chose of OTA local radio.
I doubt anyone has left this, or any other market, because there were not the kinds of radio stations they would prefer.
For instance, having one, lonely country station (94.5) in the bay area is frankly BS. The bay area deserves two good country stations.
No, it does not because there is very limited appeal of country among the ethnic groups I mentioned as well as among immigrants from places like Iran or Armenia or the central European nations. And country does not do as well where there is little country-based culture.

Country has only been successful on more limited signal stations going back 60 years or more.
I would like to see a few stations flip. I, myself have almost given up on terrestrial radio (and I'm of European decent), for the constant changing of formats and language.
There are plenty of alternatives online for people who are so firmly embedded in "white culture".
Lastly, as I said above, this is a very sensitive topic, but if you plan to come to the USA and call this land home, you should learn English (assimilate).
In American history going back for over 200 years, immigrants who did not come from England have pretty much kept their language as they worked, often several jobs, to make a better life for their families. It's the second generation that becomes bilingual, and by the third generation they just know a little "kitchen talk" to speak with grandma.

If you read about linguistics, a person who is not bilingual or a polyglot by early adolescence has a very hard time with a second language. Most immigrants have their first contact with English a decade later than that... and they are too busy and tired every day to spend hours and hours learning a difficult language.
Nothing wrong with tuning into your home language, but that's why there is an open variety of formats and listening options at the lower end of the FM dial (87-91.9).
The US has had media in other languages going back to colonial times. But beyond that, why should immigrants who become part of America not continue to enjoy their favorite music and styles that they grew up on? Like language, musical taste is formed in pre-adolescence and early adolescence.

Besides reminding you that "San Francisco" was born as a fully Spanish speaking town, you should also be aware that America was built with immigrants from dozens and dozens of nations such as the Spanish and Chinese, as well as Original Nations, in California and, elsewhere, everything from the Irish to the Dutch to Germans, Italians, Poles, Indians, Iranians, Russians, and many more who came freely. And, of course, those from what are today several dozen nations in Sub-Saharan Africa who came against their will but are now a large part of our nation and our amalgamation of cultures.

Beyond that, radio is a business. If advertisers want to reach Hispanics and Asians in the Bay Area, they will buy time on a station in a language that is most effective in reaching them. Radio is a business, and station owners will target ad markets with different languages and music styles.
The bay area does not need 8 Spanish stations,
The market has 72 commercial stations. There are only 4 (one with two non-overlapping signals) significant Spanish language stations (and none of those is one of the better signals). There are a number of formats that are not even covered at all in the market.
12 religious stations,
Of course, most of the religious stations are AM and use mostly inferior facilities that would, otherwise, be off the air.
and then throw in one classic rock and one country station just to keep everyone happy (I'm exaggerating the numbers for an example).
The reason there are no more country stations or classic rock ones is that advertisers and listeners will not support any more of them.
You can't have an extreme at one end (12 religious stations tying up the FM dial) without the augment for the other. Picking on religious stations for a moment, when is one to many? 10, 15, 20, or when "your" station is next to get the ax?
"Your" station was sold to a religious group because it could not make money and there was no buyer who wanted to do anything else with it.
So, we need more variety on the FM dial in the Bay Area. What will flip next, i do not know, but we should distribute the listening options evenly for all.
Yes, if we use that logic, there are too many stations programming for that tiny part of the market that is non-Hispanic white. Do you know what "hoist on his own petard" means? (You just did exactly that!)

Every time I think that our country is moving away from bias, prejudice and racism I find that there is still an "inner George Wallace" in many.
 
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KMEL needs to return to it's 90's roots. This stuff they call music today, is just noise. I use to listen to "hip/hop and R&B. Somewhere along the way, hip/hop merged with rap, and now it's rap crap with a familiar beat (usually w/ the old school rhythmic beat). Today, KMEL would look no different from the old KSOL of yesteryear (which was mostly rap back in 90's). Maybe, if KMEL flipped to old 98.1 KISQ format.

KOSF is perfectly fine where it sits.

We could use a another Jazz station in the Bay area.

We need more "variety" on the FM dial. I know this is a sensitive (and sometimes political) subject, but we have plenty of Spanish/ethnic and religious stations. Demographic "European" or may I say "white" listeners are leaving the FM dial, for the lack of variety. Many leave the region altogether for a slew of factors, including, but not limited to there chose of OTA local radio. For instance, having one, lonely country station (94.5) in the bay area is frankly BS. The bay area deserves two good country stations.

I would like to see a few stations flip. I, myself have almost given up on terrestrial radio (and I'm of European decent), for the constant changing of formats and language.

Lastly, as I said above, this is a very sensitive topic, but if you plan to come to the USA and call this land home, you should learn English (assimilate). Nothing wrong with tuning into your home language, but that's why there is an open variety of formats and listening options at the lower end of the FM dial (87-91.9). The bay area does not need 8 Spanish stations, 12 religious stations, and then throw in one classic rock and one country station just to keep everyone happy (I'm exaggerating the numbers for an example).
You can't have an extreme at one end (12 religious stations tying up the FM dial) without the augment for the other. Picking on religious stations for a moment, when is one to many? 10, 15, 20, or when "your" station is next to get the ax?

So, we need more variety on the FM dial in the Bay Area. What will flip next, i do not know, but we should distribute the listening options evenly for all.
Boy the way Glen Miller played.....
 
To @formula72, just because you might want something on the radio dial, doesn't mean it'll work in your area. If the market isn't friendly towards those styles of music you like, then don't expect them to be heard. For all the years I've been keeping up with the San Francisco area, I've never seen them as a Country powerhouse. That market doesn't have enough support for that style of music. Where I come from Urban and Country are kings here. Top 40, Rock and Classic Hits may have a market. Non-Commercial Christian and Public radio also has a place here but most of the players cater to either some form of Urban or Country. Now for a twist, the Montgomery area is seeing a growth in the Spanish speaking populace. Hence the reason why WRBZ 1250 AM/95.5 FM made the flip to the Spanish format. It's something that Mr. Terry Barber saw an opening for and he took it. The station itself may not be a top 10 player there but hey, the people that like this program now have something on the radio. If your area had enough support for a full powered Country station, someone would've already ran with the format. Since it doesn't, then don't expect one to pop up anytime soon. Each market is different and the radio providers cater to what they think will work best for them and the people they're catering to. In the case of Montgomery, glad that Mr. Terry went Spanish with WRBZ. He saw that this populace and market was growing and felt the time was right to give them a radio station of their own. Hope he'll have great success with the presentation. Now if the Country audience and market were to expand and grow, I would see someone running with the format, in your city. Since I don't see it happening, I'm not looking for it to have a home on the dial anytime soon. Just saying.

Dan <><

P.S. Now for another twist. When I first signed on, I thought I was going to do CCM and SG music only but the populace factor, market and God Himself had other plans for me. Hence the reason why, I do Christian Variety Hits. I mix in many different styles and so far, this presentation is still having success. Still online at wpjb.org, for those wanting to check me out.

Now...Back to our original post and just remember this, what works in one place, may not work elsewhere. Unless the market and populace wants something to be heard, don't expect a radio station to broadcast it. The broadcasters are only doing what the market and audience wants.​
 
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KMEL needs to return to it's 90's roots. This stuff they call music today, is just noise. I use to listen to "hip/hop and R&B. Somewhere along the way, hip/hop merged with rap, and now it's rap crap with a familiar beat (usually w/ the old school rhythmic beat). Today, KMEL would look no different from the old KSOL of yesteryear (which was mostly rap back in 90's). Maybe, if KMEL flipped to old 98.1 KISQ format.

KOSF is perfectly fine where it sits.

We could use a another Jazz station in the Bay area.

We need more "variety" on the FM dial. I know this is a sensitive (and sometimes political) subject, but we have plenty of Spanish/ethnic and religious stations. Demographic "European" or may I say "white" listeners are leaving the FM dial, for the lack of variety. Many leave the region altogether for a slew of factors, including, but not limited to there chose of OTA local radio. For instance, having one, lonely country station (94.5) in the bay area is frankly BS. The bay area deserves two good country stations.

I would like to see a few stations flip. I, myself have almost given up on terrestrial radio (and I'm of European decent), for the constant changing of formats and language.

Lastly, as I said above, this is a very sensitive topic, but if you plan to come to the USA and call this land home, you should learn English (assimilate). Nothing wrong with tuning into your home language, but that's why there is an open variety of formats and listening options at the lower end of the FM dial (87-91.9). The bay area does not need 8 Spanish stations, 12 religious stations, and then throw in one classic rock and one country station just to keep everyone happy (I'm exaggerating the numbers for an example).
You can't have an extreme at one end (12 religious stations tying up the FM dial) without the augment for the other. Picking on religious stations for a moment, when is one to many? 10, 15, 20, or when "your" station is next to get the ax?

So, we need more variety on the FM dial in the Bay Area. What will flip next, i do not know, but we should distribute the listening options evenly for all.
Wow…where to begin?
 
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KPWX 104.9 Cowpoke Radio broadcasts from Banta, Calif., right next to Tracy, on the east side of the Altamont Pass. I guess that could be considered the Bay Area. So that's 3 country stations. Their format is Country Gold - and they sound just like a honky tonk in Texas 75 years ago. They play the "Bakersfield sound", featuring artists like Buck Owens, and other Calif. country artists. I don't know of any other country station that plays music from the 40's.
I used to think they were intentionally doing a parody by playing Ferlin Husky, Marty Robbins, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn and Gene Autry, but they are absolutely serious. "The biggest little station in the world".

 
TV Choppers are rare these days. I think there is only one operating these days in the SF/Oakland/SJ market, shared by the ABC, NBC and CBS stations, and it is operated by a contractor to the TV stations.

Most markets outside the top 20 no longer have a TV news chopper.
True and TV Choppers are more known in Los Angeles though.

I know there is one Helicopter that may sometimes go to the Bay Area it's KCRA-TV's Livecopter 3 out of Sacramento. It's due to Fairfield and Suisun city, happen to be located on the border of two TV Markets Sacramento and San Francisco. Whenever one of the Bay Area TV stations have to cover events like a wildfire in other parts of the Bay Area there's also Livecopter 3 that comes in and report there's a wildfire in Fairfield and Vacaville in those types of situations.
 

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I don't understand why they have a graphic showing their broadcast area, or why they bill themselves as 104.9. In fact, their website bills them as AM and FM.
View attachment 5061
Daryl, are you anywhere close to Banta or Tracy? Can you actually tune that "station" in on an actual radio? I checked two different information websites, and neither of them show a KWPX (or KPWX) in that area. Nor do they show anything on 104.9, where there's already a KDFC repeater in Sunnyvale/Fremont which covers the South Bay and Peninsula, and is a little too close for a Tracy-area allocation too. Scott Fybush is probably right about it being a streamer, unless it's either a pirate, a wannabee running a Part 15 micro-transmitter out of their attic, or a "Chuckie" living in fantasy-land.
 
It's a webcaster with an active imagination. The "frequency" is just part of the concept. Indeed, outside of the logo, it's mentioned nowhere else on the website, as far as I can tell.

As for AM, the make-believe organization behind KWPX, Westside Public Radio of Banta, has dedicated a page on the KWPX website to KWPX's "sister station," KRAK 1140 Sacramento. But it, too, is a mere prop in this mock-up of a real radio station. There once was a KRAK on 1140 in Sacramento, but that was several decades ago. A little basic internet research reveals that the frequency is now occupied by KHTK, a sports/sports talk station.
 
It's a webcaster with an active imagination. The "frequency" is just part of the concept. Indeed, outside of the logo, it's mentioned nowhere else on the website, as far as I can tell.

As for AM, the make-believe organization behind KWPX, Westside Public Radio of Banta, has dedicated a page on the KWPX website to KWPX's "sister station," KRAK 1140 Sacramento. But it, too, is a mere prop in this mock-up of a real radio station. There once was a KRAK on 1140 in Sacramento, but that was several decades ago. A little basic internet research reveals that the frequency is now occupied by KHTK, a sports/sports talk station.
Reading through your post, I'm surprised that there isn't any requests to rebrand by the TV station. Don't companies usually reserve the right to not allow a likeness of call letters that they license? For example, I shouldn't be able to image buisness under the name "WNYW" as those calls are held by FOX, right?
 
Reading through your post, I'm surprised that there isn't any requests to rebrand by the TV station. Don't companies usually reserve the right to not allow a likeness of call letters that they license? For example, I shouldn't be able to image buisness under the name "WNYW" as those calls are held by FOX, right?
If all you have are the calls, the only protection is the FCC not assigning them to someone else (on a different band) without your permission.

To prevent a non-broadcaster from using your calls, you need to service mark them. I'd be surprised if neither Paxson nor Scripps did that for KWPX-TV, but it's possible. Or they did and they're unaware of "Cowpoke Radio" or don't think it causes enough of an issue for them in Seattle to warrant the billable hours for the lawyers.
 
Daryl, are you anywhere close to Banta or Tracy? Can you actually tune that "station" in on an actual radio? I checked two different information websites, and neither of them show a KWPX (or KPWX) in that area. Nor do they show anything on 104.9, where there's already a KDFC repeater in Sunnyvale/Fremont which covers the South Bay and Peninsula, and is a little too close for a Tracy-area allocation too. Scott Fybush is probably right about it being a streamer, unless it's either a pirate, a wannabee running a Part 15 micro-transmitter out of their attic, or a "Chuckie" living in fantasy-land.
So, I did a little digging because of course I did and here's what I can find...

CowpokeRadio.com was registered as a domain on August 24, 2016. The first Facebook post was August 31, 2016. And the next day, September 1, 2016, a post contained this:

Cowpoke Radio broadcasts locally on AM and FM, and all around this cotton-pickin' planet via the Interwebs.

Here's Banta, CA:

Screenshot 2023-06-07 at 6.37.17 AM.jpg


Tracy, which has become a bedroom community for Bay Area commuters, and is 100,000-plus people, is only four miles to the west, but none of their stuff talks about that potential audience.

To me, that suggests a part 15, which allows broadcasting on both AM and FM. If you see the yellow marker for the Banta Inn, at the center of the screen---the Facebook post says CowpokeRadio is across 7th Street, in this building, which actually fronts G Street:

1024px-J._Brichetto_Building,_Banta,_California.png

So assuming that the server and transmitters are actually in there, here's the logical OTA (via Part 15) coverage map for Cowpoke Radio:

Screenshot 2023-06-07 at 6.45.21 AM.jpg

All that said, though...and I know Kelly will be here shortly to ask why the guy didn't just use a baby monitor and double his signal---I gotta respect this. The guy (who never identifies himself in his FB posts or on the website and whose ID is redacted from the whois search) created a whole fantasy thing that looks and feels like a rural California Country station from the early 60s, and he's kept it going for seven years.
 
If all you have are the calls, the only protection is the FCC not assigning them to someone else (on a different band) without your permission.

To prevent a non-broadcaster from using your calls, you need to service mark them. I'd be surprised if neither Paxson nor Scripps did that for KWPX-TV, but it's possible. Or they did and they're unaware of "Cowpoke Radio" or don't think it causes enough of an issue for them in Seattle to warrant the billable hours for the lawyers.
Thank you for the clarification. My brain went straight to confusion amongst the audience, thinking the two were avoided. However, I didn't know the laws/rules concerning it.
 
It's a webcaster with an active imagination. The "frequency" is just part of the concept. Indeed, outside of the logo, it's mentioned nowhere else on the website, as far as I can tell.

As for AM, the make-believe organization behind KWPX, Westside Public Radio of Banta, has dedicated a page on the KWPX website to KWPX's "sister station," KRAK 1140 Sacramento. But it, too, is a mere prop in this mock-up of a real radio station. There once was a KRAK on 1140 in Sacramento, but that was several decades ago. A little basic internet research reveals that the frequency is now occupied by KHTK, a sports/sports talk station.
KRAK 1140 was the major Country station in the Sac market.
 
OHHHHH ! 😅 I get it now. Thank you to everyone who took the time to reply. Thank you Weiserguy, CTListener, Michael, TomasEstefan, Least, -- and everyone.

I live about 50 miles northwest of Banta. I'm in the hills of Contra Costa County, and Banta is in the adjoining San Joaquin County. So, I can't hear KPWX over the air, especially with the bad FM reception in these hills along the I-680 corridor, and especially since their "map" shows that they only reach several miles. But, I thought that the next time I go shopping at the Outlet Shops in Livermore, then I'll just drive down the hill and go visit this station in Banta, slightly east of Tracy. Because they say on their website that they are "open all day and all night too", I was going to call them first, then ask if I could drop by and look at their facilities in that little building in "downtown"😂 Banta.

But, obviously since no one is there, then no one would answer the phone. So, the whole thing is only make-believe ( to paraphrase an Elvis song).

I get so starry-eyed and fascinated about radio, that I tend to believe everything without investigating it. So, thank you to everyone who was so kind to me and did not scold me about this. I'm trying to learn as fast as I can, and I appreciate the courtesy and civility. :):):)-- Daryl
 
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