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Franken FM End Date: 7/13/21

The big group owners just can't deal with competition. Especially if it gets ratings by providing formats the big companies refuse to provide. They'd twist the FCC's arm for an extra 0.1 ratings share. Now, some companies are even arranging to put translators on or rent space on their tower to others with AMs for a new translator, in order to blot out a competing format from an adjacent market. And yet they play both sides against the middle to prevent interference to their own stations' fringe service.

It may be trite to say, but radio is no longer fun.
 
Schroedingers Cat said:
The big group owners just can't deal with competition. They'd twist the FCC's arm for an extra 0.1 ratings share. Now, some companies are even arranging to put translators or rent space on their tower to others with AMs with a new translator in order to blot out a competing format from an adjacent market. And yet they play both sides against the middle to prevent interference to their own stations' fringe service.
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I honestly don't think there is any thought given to using translators block out of market signals.

First, those out of market stations don't buy the book in peripheral markets. There is no money in it.

Second, if you look at ratings based on listening locations, 95% of the FM home and work listening is inside the 65 dbu signal. So, whether an out of market station has fringe coverage in another market, stations don't benefit and can't sell whatever they get.

For example, the Riverside / San Bernardino market is fully covered by almost all the Mt Wilson FMs in LA. Yet none subscribe. No return on investment.

We protect signals because we know that in cases like thermal inversion situations, stations that are too nearby will and do interfere. It's insurance.

The biggest example of a station demanding extreme protection is an FM in Hazard, KY, that prevented a translator in far-off Lexington. A small, owner-operator station. Group owners would not have bothered... no return on investment for the lawyer fees and filings. The little guy likely did it all himself.
 
i wonder.. if WRME 87.7 continues to do well and this no iffs and or butts go digital date happens, could Weigel buy a regular chicago area station for the format. I'm sure someone would sell.
 
radioman148 said:
What is the price of a full FM in the Chicago market now?
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Cumulus got $21 million for WLUP two years ago. Weigel would probably not want to spend a lot for this. They mainly use this station to promote their TV service. I see them more likely to rent an HD or AM plus translator.
 
radioman148 said:
Would that format succeed on AM?
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I do not think so. And the very few viable Chicago AM's have successful formats they would not drop... 560, 720, 670 and 780. Even 1000, which is not a perfect signal, is not likely available.

And then there is the quality, the noise level and the image of AM as not being for music for the last 30 to 40 years.
 
DavidEduardo said:
I do not think so. And the very few viable Chicago AM's have successful formats they would not drop... 560, 720, 670 and 780. Even 1000, which is not a perfect signal, is not likely available.

And then there is the quality, the noise level and the image of AM as not being for music for the last 30 to 40 years.
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Same feeling here. I don't think music on AM is viable anymore.
 
WAIT would require a complete rebuild at a new site. The current site is owned by the local community college, which wants to use the land for expansion. As it is, the site is 45 miles from downtown Chicago. I'm not sure about the WCEV (or is it WRLL) site.
 
Good luck with running an analog carrier embedded in the digital signal. The technology isn’t new by any stretch of the imagination, but WRGB in Albany tried it, and the FCC told it to knock it off immediately. Unless the FCC decides to revisit that decision, I don’t see how anybody else gets away with it.
 
Re:

$10 says MeTV-FM will find its way onto a "regular" signal in Chicago if the digital conversion deadline for Franken-FM stations isn't extended. Might be a combination of a downtown translator + a west or northwest suburban signal. Or, it could be a combination of a Cook County focused AM signal such as AM 640 with one or more suburban FM signals.
 
MarkW said:
$10 says MeTV-FM will find its way onto a "regular" signal in Chicago if the digital conversion deadline for Franken-FM stations isn't extended. Might be a combination of a downtown translator + a west or northwest suburban signal. Or, it could be a combination of a Cook County focused AM signal such as AM 640 with one or more suburban FM signals.
Click to expand...

I agree. They will find a solution.
 
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