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Fresh Talk 96.5

What I thought would happen has happened. Fresh Talk is changing frequency from 93.3 to 96.5 starting January10th. According to a Facebook post, Fresh Talk will add Mike Huckabee and Dennis Miller to their line-up that includes Gllenn Beck and Andy Dean. Likely it will pave the way for 93.3 to become an all sports station, making it the third station in LR with a sports format with 103.7 the Buzz and the Sports Animal 920 AM.
 
93.3 will go to an all sports format starting Thursday. In addition to Game On and Sports Talk with Bo Mattingly, they will add the Tim Brando Show and Fox Sports Radio.
 
I really hope they follow their own lead from 93.3 and turn off the stereo pilot on 96.5 when it goes talk. It really helps those lower powered signals on marginal and fringe areas.
 
One has to start wondering if SportsAnimal 920 will survive all this. They are down to just one local show with just CBS Sports Radio the rest of the time.
 
Arkansas Business wrote about the pending changes:

http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/art...ort&utm_campaign=newsletter&enews_zone=195007

Neal Gladner told me he tried a year ago to get Huckabee on Fresh Talk when the show launched, but Cumulus refused, even though it wasn't airing it on its own station KARN because they didn't want to drop Rush and didn't want to help a competitor. But I guess the company finally decided it was important enough to air Huckabee in a market where he was so well known. Of course Gladner has now left the state. Very interesting. Talk about market saturation for talk and especially for sports. I'd guess KARN has the most to potentially lose with these developments.
 
How many sports stations and conservative talk stations can Central Arkansas support? I just don't see it. Personally, I listen to neither.
 
I think both stations could be more successful if they would strengthen their signals. KKSP, I believe is on a 6,000 watt transmitter and KHTE is 12,500 watts. I didn't realize that two groups in one bought 93.3 and 96.5 FM. When did this happen and are these the only stations that Capitol City owns?
 
Yes they made the switch. Now they need to back off the processing and turn off the stereo pilot. That's not exactly a great signal to begin with and right now it's on the edge of distortion on voices. It's a little unpleasant and rather fatiguing to listen to. I kept switching back to KARN to relieve my hearing while driving and forgetting to go back even though I kind of enjoy listening to Dennis Miller and Andy Dean.

radioaircheck said:
has the station switched yet?
 
KHTE (both the last format K-Hits and the previous format "96.5 The Party Station") had the worst sounding audio in Central Arkansas. Over processed and add the present-day "loudness wars" to Top 40/CHR music it made things worse. 96.5 comes in decent in the car in Star City and towards Pine Bluff, but other than the 6-8am show, there's nothing worth my time to listen.

The problem is that 93.3 and 96.5 are rimshot stations and are shoehorned. Neither station can increase power or tower height, they will never have the coverage of the heritage stations in Little Rock (94.1, 95.7, 98.5, 103.7).
 
96.5 was one of the worst sounding stations anywhere. You would think that they were trying to make it sound bad on purpose it was so bad.
 
Michael said:
96.5 was one of the worst sounding stations anywhere. You would think that they were trying to make it sound bad on purpose it was so bad.

I would somewhat disagree. The original 1999-2001 version of KGPQ (99.9) in Monticello when it first went on the air had AM Radio-like frequency response, sounded like a wet blanket over a subwoofer. Also the pre-1998 version of KHBM-FM Monticello (before switching to satellite-fed programming, frequency change, and a power upgrade) had the worst-sounding carts , the music sounded slooooooow and also were plagued by low-high frequency response.

But for the loudest station, KHTE 2002-2013 held that title well.
 
Prentiss, Did you ever manage to hear WWUN 101.7 in Clarksdale 90's and early 2000's. It took the cake as the overall worst FM I have ever heard. 2nd runner up was 95.3 KJKK Murphreesboro, Ar.
 
Michael said:
Prentiss, Did you ever manage to hear WWUN 101.7 in Clarksdale 90's and early 2000's. It took the cake as the overall worst FM I have ever heard. 2nd runner up was 95.3 KJKK Murphreesboro, Ar.

*perks up*

Could never hear WWUN because of KKRN (now KVLO) Humnoke AR going on the air from 1995 onward. KQEW Fordyce AR was originally on 101.7 and remained there until the early 90's and moved to 102.3. Never heard KJKK.

Another crappy station from the 80's I remember hearing via tropo and what I would call a 'notorious' pest was KWEH 97.1 (now KAMD-FM) Camden AR. Another prime example of FM Stereo audio with NO high frequency response (my hearing was better then than now). I've heard some AM stations sounding better.
 
WWUN moved to 101.5 a while back but was sold and moved. KAMD sounds okay now but it's not very interesting to listen too.

KJKK is now KMTB on 99.5.
 
New name for KHTE (Fresh Talk) is now 96.5 The Voice. Also former KARK-TV anchor/reporter and former press secretary for Gov. Mike Huckabee Alice Stewart will take over the 6-8am time slot left vacant when Neal Gladner left in December to move to a new job in Louisanna.
 
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