Family Stations Will Sell 94.7FM WFME Newark

[DToTheJ]

WBZH http://www.wbzh.net/(formerly WPAZ) Pottstown PA has been free form of some sort for over a year now...

If by "free form", you mean "various amateur oldies programs", then, yes.

 

[Play Freebird]

Those contour maps do not take into account building penetration. That mileage difference is huge.

Empire is in a unique situation inasmuch as what is confined in a relatively small area and density in population.

Good point. Not only does the FCC contour prediction method fail to take building penetration into account, but it also disregards shadowing on the far side of the buildings. In a highly built-up area like midtown Manhattan, there's not much difference at VHF between tall buildings and a rocky ridge -- but the buildings are excluded from most topographic databases, so they probably won't even be factored into a Longley-Rice study. There's also a receiver-induced intermod problem to deal with.

Z100 never would have gone "worst to first" without the move to Empire. Even Tribune moved 101.9 back to Empire from WTC after experience showed that the move downtown was a mistake. I reviewed that application (which required a minor spacing waiver) and found it interesting to analyze the signal measurements that were taken in the urban canyons.

 

[davideduardo]

In a highly built-up area like midtown Manhattan, there's not much difference at VHF between tall buildings and a rocky ridge -- but the buildings are excluded from most topographic databases, so they probably won't even be factored into a Longley-Rice study.

Nothing brought that home to me better than trying to listen to WCAA 105.9 at the Omni Hotel a 52nd and Madison, right across from the studios. In a 7th or 8th floor outside room, I could not get WCAA unless I held my top of the line Sony portable right to the window... yet with some twisting of the head, you can see the ESB from that location!

 

[fybush]

Family Radio getting the AM 610 signal was an extreme case. CBS went over the ownership cap in San Francisco AND Sacremento by owning AM 610, which is a local in both markets. So when CBS acquired the Sacremento CBS affiliate (forming a CBS/CW duopoly in addition to having a CBS/CW duopoly in SF) keeping the 610 signal was punitive. They had no choice but to trade it for an FM signal that wouldn't be a local in both markets.

This is not exactly correct.

CBS was not over the market cap in San Francisco, nor was it in danger of becoming over the cap. 610 was one of three AMs CBS owned in that market before the Camping deal; it also had three FMs (97.3, 99.7 and 105.3).

Nor was CBS over the radio market caps in either the Sacramento or Stockton radio markets.

Where the cap issue came into play was in an obscure provision of the radio/TV crossownership rules that created a contour-based cap. That cap was determined by the number of stations with city-grade signals over the city of license of the TV stations at play. CBS was fine with respect to acquiring KOVR-TV, licensed to Stockton, but the strength of the 610 signal over the city limits of Sacramento meant something had to go in order for CBS to keep Sacramento-licensed KMAX-TV, and that was 610.

It's convenient that Camping had the 106.9 signal available for trade (and 106.9, like the rest of the San Francisco CBS radio signals, doesn't city-grade Sacramento, it's true) - but 610 would have been spun off to make the Sacramento TV deal happen no matter what.

 

[badjef]

The guys from Shively could explain this better than me, but, suffice it to say, that when an antenna is put up, there are 3 dimensional considerations. We believe the higher we go with an FM, the farther the signal, but why is that? My belief is the signal vector is allowing too much signal to be absorbed in the ground, which becomes less of a factor the higher you go. A redesigned antenna that took into account the daisy-like pattern produced by the Alford at 102 was smoothed out when they took it up to the mast with a redesign that minimized an overload at street level plaguing that signal on 34th Street for years.

How does that figure into this? With WFME at West Mountain, it is sending the signal sideways into the most densly populated area in one direction and spreading the rest of it toward trees and bushes in the other directions. Putting it on Empire, it is sprinkling the signal more evenly.

(Of course, I am biased, as far as I'm concerned the area at 1250' the size of a pitcher's mound at the base of the antenna is what I call the "Center of the Universe.")

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

 

[Theater of My Mind]

With WFME at West Mountain, it is sending the signal sideways into the most densly populated area in one direction and spreading the rest of it toward trees and bushes in the other directions. Putting it on Empire, it is sprinkling the signal more evenly.

It's not exactly trees and bushes. There are ~5 million people living in WFME's primary coverage area on the NJ side alone. But I understand your point.

 

[MickeyD]

Since Newark is the city of license for 94.7 FM, I think Millenium, the owners of NJ101.5, would love to buy it so that they could cover Northern New Jersey. I guess my speculation is as good as anyone elses.

Bruce

This is the best idea I have seen so far.

 

[HHH]

The more I read, the more I think that ESPN will trade 1050 AM plus cash for WFME's 94.7 spot to get ESPN sports on FM, then either run it in mono from the current location (which might be pretty darn good!), or try for some kind of Empire or 4 Times Square directional/power reduction to address short spaces.

 

[Radio-X]

Why hasnt anybody suggested a booster? 4 Times Square has one now. It resolves multipath or overloading issues in Manhattan while allowing a pretty good signal from NJ.

Radio-X

 

[badjef]

Since Newark is the city of license for 94.7 FM, I think Millenium, the owners of NJ101.5, would love to buy it so that they could cover Northern New Jersey. I guess my speculation is as good as anyone elses.

Bruce

This is the best idea I have seen so far.

As somebody pointed out, it is now "Townsquare" that purchased Millenium, but be that as it may, I'm sure they, and Press, would be "chopping at the bit" for an opportunity such as that.

Cumulus may be over-leveraged after acquiring Citadel. Too bad, that would seem the most likely fit, so far - and they would be in the best position to move it to Empire.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

 

[klutch00]

WBZH http://www.wbzh.net/(formerly WPAZ) Pottstown PA has been free form of some sort for over a year now...

If by "free form", you mean "various amateur oldies programs", then, yes.

You say "oldies?" Well, maybe some of the material, but far from all of it! They are encouraging local musicians to have the station air their material. You say "amateur?" I've heard some amateur broadcasters that sound really awful. WBZH is not like that at all!

 

[Giacomo Siffredi]

In the column Tom Taylor writes for Radio-Info.com., is the assertion that Family Radio should be expected to want to negotiate a swap for an AM station, as they did in the San Francisco market. It is not clear whether this is based on solid information, or is just speculation, like the rest of this thread. If true, this would indicate that ESPN might have the edge among others interested in WFME, as they have WEPN on 1050 AM, to combine with a cash offer.

Family Stations was already facing two problems even before the May 21 advertising binge: An aging demographic and declining contributions from its audience. They were able to keep things afloat by running almost everything on the cheap. Minimum staff at outright-owned radio stations, aging equipment that would be fixed repeatedly (Both 106.9 and 94.7 each were off-air nearly a week during the past three years due to a breakdown), in-house production of 90% of their programming, while the other 10% was content from deceased preachers.

Before they burdened themselves with debt and public skepticism, such a transaction would have been much more likely. The aging and declining audience certainly would have followed them over to AM. And in that era, Tom Taylor's speculation would support the most likely deal.

But Family Stations isn't buying anymore. I think that was a factor in why CBS lost out on the Camden/Philadelphia deal. It was speculated on the R-I Philadelphia board that Family would have swapped 106.9FM with CBS for 610AM + cash. That didn't happen. CBS already moved the sports format to FM and is using 610AM to simulcast it, so at the time the deal closed, 610AM was already a redundant signal to CBS. CBS also owns two other AMs in that market they could have swapped and it didn't happen. Certainly, a Philadelphia AM is expensive but not as much as a New York AM.

There is also persistent speculation, which I have been unable to confirm, that the real property upon which their Oakland, California headquarters is located is up for sale.

 

[klutch00]

In the column Tom Taylor writes for Radio-Info.com., is the assertion that Family Radio should be expected to want to negotiate a swap for an AM station, as they did in the San Francisco market. It is not clear whether this is based on solid information, or is just speculation, like the rest of this thread. If true, this would indicate that ESPN might have the edge among others interested in WFME, as they have WEPN on 1050 AM, to combine with a cash offer.

Family Stations was already facing two problems even before the May 21 advertising binge: An aging demographic and declining contributions from its audience. They were able to keep things afloat by running almost everything on the cheap. Minimum staff at outright-owned radio stations, aging equipment that would be fixed repeatedly (Both 106.9 and 94.7 each were off-air nearly a week during the past three years due to a breakdown), in-house production of 90% of their programming, while the other 10% was content from deceased preachers.

Before they burdened themselves with debt and public skepticism, such a transaction would have been much more likely. The aging and declining audience certainly would have followed them over to AM. And in that era, Tom Taylor's speculation would support the most likely deal.

But Family Stations isn't buying anymore. I think that was a factor in why CBS lost out on the Camden/Philadelphia deal. It was speculated on the R-I Philadelphia board that Family would have swapped 106.9FM with CBS for 610AM + cash. That didn't happen. CBS already moved the sports format to FM and is using 610AM to simulcast it, so at the time the deal closed, 610AM was already a redundant signal to CBS. CBS also owns two other AMs in that market they could have swapped and it didn't happen. Certainly, a Philadelphia AM is expensive but not as much as a New York AM.

There is also persistent speculation, which I have been unable to confirm, that the real property upon which their Oakland, California headquarters is located is up for sale.

With that said, I wonder what if anything will happen to the two AM stations (WBMD @750 and the new WFSI @ 860) in Baltimore.

 

[CTListener]

In the column Tom Taylor writes for Radio-Info.com., is the assertion that Family Radio should be expected to want to negotiate a swap for an AM station, as they did in the San Francisco market. It is not clear whether this is based on solid information, or is just speculation, like the rest of this thread. If true, this would indicate that ESPN might have the edge among others interested in WFME, as they have WEPN on 1050 AM, to combine with a cash offer.

Family Stations was already facing two problems even before the May 21 advertising binge: An aging demographic and declining contributions from its audience. They were able to keep things afloat by running almost everything on the cheap. Minimum staff at outright-owned radio stations, aging equipment that would be fixed repeatedly (Both 106.9 and 94.7 each were off-air nearly a week during the past three years due to a breakdown), in-house production of 90% of their programming, while the other 10% was content from deceased preachers.

Before they burdened themselves with debt and public skepticism, such a transaction would have been much more likely. The aging and declining audience certainly would have followed them over to AM. And in that era, Tom Taylor's speculation would support the most likely deal.

But Family Stations isn't buying anymore. I think that was a factor in why CBS lost out on the Camden/Philadelphia deal. It was speculated on the R-I Philadelphia board that Family would have swapped 106.9FM with CBS for 610AM + cash. That didn't happen. CBS already moved the sports format to FM and is using 610AM to simulcast it, so at the time the deal closed, 610AM was already a redundant signal to CBS. CBS also owns two other AMs in that market they could have swapped and it didn't happen. Certainly, a Philadelphia AM is expensive but not as much as a New York AM.

There is also persistent speculation, which I have been unable to confirm, that the real property upon which their Oakland, California headquarters is located is up for sale.

With that said, I wonder what if anything will happen to the two AM stations (WBMD @750 and the new WFSI @ 860) in Baltimore.

Or the little 1000-watt daytimer in Vernon, CT, WCTF (1170).

 

[Giacomo Siffredi]

With that said, I wonder what if anything will happen to the two AM stations (WBMD @750 and the new WFSI @ 860) in Baltimore.

I would doubt anything will change for now. Both are essentially daytime-only AMs. WFSI (formerly WBGR) remains on-air past sunset, but drops to 66 watts at night which is the equivalent of a light bulb, so for all intents and purposes it is daytime-only also.

Both of those stations were purchased from CBS (then Infinity) around 2005, and together don't even run 5kW, so they can't be very expensive to maintain and operate. I would guess Family Radio retains them and the 1kW WCTF for now.

 

[klutch00]

With that said, I wonder what if anything will happen to the two AM stations (WBMD @750 and the new WFSI @ 860) in Baltimore.

I would doubt anything will change for now. Both are essentially daytime-only AMs. WFSI (formerly WBGR) remains on-air past sunset, but drops to 66 watts at night which is the equivalent of a light bulb, so for all intents and purposes it is daytime-only also.

Both of those stations were purchased from CBS (then Infinity) around 2005, and together don't even run 5kW, so they can't be very expensive to maintain and operate. I would guess Family Radio retains them and the 1kW WCTF for now.

I could see keeping both 750 and 860 if the former would broadcast the latter's previous nighttime broadcasts or something similar, but it doesn't. It will either simulcast 860 or do foreign language broadcasts (including CHINESE - I kid you NOT!).

 

[Giacomo Siffredi]

I could see keeping both 750 and 860 if the former would broadcast the latter's previous nighttime broadcasts or something similar, but it doesn't. It will either simulcast 860 or do foreign language broadcasts (including CHINESE - I kid you NOT!).

Then WBMD must be simulcasting their International feed which is broadcast over their shortwave radio station WYFR Okeechobee, Florida, which is also available as a stream on their website.

The Chinese programming apparently is Radio Taiwan International. It is also broadcast over one of the WFME-TV West Milford audio subchannels.

I suspect the reason why this service is carried via Family Radio outlets throughout the United States is because of the Chinese government's approval for Family Stations to build-out a 300 kW transmitter at Kouhu on the west coast of Taiwan. The RTI broadcasts are most likely another reciprocal agreement, similar to the later one they made with WYBE-TV when they wanted to expand the WFME-TV coverage to the Philadelphia market.

 

[nd2023]

Family Radio has a note program that pays high interest rates. It’s possible note holders are reacting to the failed end of the world predictions by Harold Camping, and no longer believe their money is safe at Family Radio at any interest rate and are pulling out tens of millions of dollars. That would explain the sales of WKDN and WFSI, with the looming sale of their money maker WFME. Selling their flagship station for NYC and the region seems like an act of financial desperation. Family Radio should explain what they’re doing publicly so investors don’t all jump ship…even that might not do any good. Who would believe Harold Camping, Family Radio’s president and general manager?

That looks like the classic Ponzi scheme. Pay off early investors with the money from later investors. And to avoid getting caught, they need to get the money now.

 

[nd2023]

http://fromthetentdoor.blogspot.com/2011/06/campings-radio-network-demise.html

According to this, the Family stations will become "rock and roll"

So could we see a competitor to Q104 or another alternative station like WRXP?

 

[TheBigA]

According to this, the Family stations will become "rock and roll"

I don't think that's a statement of fact. That's an interpretation of scripture.