Rest of Arizona K-Love acquires 95.1 KTTI & 100.9 KQSR in Yuma leaving KJLZ 93.1 as lone commercial English station

[SomeRadioGuy]

Like I said before, it's not a given that every listener from KTTI and KQSR will start listening to KJLZ regularly, especially males since Hot AC is a female-dominant format. Some of the country listeners may continue to listen to K-Love on 95.1. The kids will listen to XHMIX.

Yes, it will benefit KJLZ, but not to the extent you think it will. More in revenue than ratings. There are just so many more options outside of traditional radio for listeners out there.

Theres no intention for Monster Media to buy KBLU from what i know and i really dont think theres going to be much change at 93.1 maybe 1400 but not 93.1

 

[EricStein]

Theres no intention for Monster Media to buy KBLU from what i know and i really dont think theres going to be much change at 93.1 maybe 1400 but not 93.1

I doubt 1400 will see any benefit from the loss of KTTI. AM radio is dead for music if there is no FM translator available. The country loving audience has no choice but to stream.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

I doubt 1400 will see any benefit from the loss of KTTI. AM radio is dead for music if there is no FM translator available. The country loving audience has no choice but to stream.

Am radio is .. mostly dead for music but theres always outliers. I know the manager and one of the owners for monster media. i even do commercials for them from time to time.

 

[ted chittenden]

I doubt 1400 will see any benefit from the loss of KTTI. AM radio is dead for music if there is no FM translator available. The country loving audience has no choice but to stream.

Right now, there are no country-formatted radio stations serving the Imperial Valley west of Yuma. This situation started back in 2016 when KROP at 1300 kHz signed off of the air. (That station is now back with English religion.) But that was classic country. There hasn't been a new country outlet serving the area since KSEH at 94.5 mHZ (also from Brawley) was sold to Entravision back in the early 2000s. True, one can pick up Palm Springs' KPLM at 106.1 mHz from the northern and western parts of that valley as well as KDES at 98.5 98.5 mHz from the same market but neither station makes it down to Calexico. And, like SomeRadioGuy, I really don't see Yuma country fans going en masse to the Internet to listen to country tunes so I think KCYK will do okay.

That said, I also very much wonder what will happen to KBLU and its nice 560 signal that puts in a pretty good signal in Blythe, CA, during the daytime. I guess we'll soon find out.

 

[NoWayNoCC]

I know the FCC doesn't care, but this is exactly the sort of thing that people need to stop. This will be a near-monopoly that doesn't offer any local content whatsoever.

 

[CTListener]

I know the FCC doesn't care, but this is exactly the sort of thing that people need to stop. This will be a near-monopoly that doesn't offer any local content whatsoever.

Not only doesn't the FCC care, but most "people" don't really care, either. If the new owners were to keep the country format at KTTI, would listeners leave en masse if the DJs weren't from Arizona but rather piped in from elsewhere? Would it even make any difference if the jocks had the Southern accents most frequently associated with country music? WHN was the most successful country station above the Mason-Dixon Line in the '70s with personalities like Lee Arnold, from Scranton, and Del DeMontreux, from Brooklyn. You can't tell me that WHN's audience would have deserted the station (and country music) if WHN had brought in syndicated hosts, whether their voices were "country" or not.

 

[davideduardo]

Important to note that Yuma is about two-thirds Hispanic, a key element in determining viable formats. .

 

[davideduardo]

Right now, there are no country-formatted radio stations serving the Imperial Valley west of Yuma. This situation started back in 2016 when KROP at 1300 kHz signed off of the air. (That station is now back with English religion.) But that was classic country. There hasn't been a new country outlet serving the area since KSEH at 94.5 mHZ (also from Brawley) was sold to Entravision back in the early 2000s. True, one can pick up Palm Springs' KPLM at 106.1 mHz from the northern and western parts of that valley as well as KDES at 98.5 98.5 mHz from the same market but neither station makes it down to Calexico. And, like SomeRadioGuy, I really don't see Yuma country fans going en masse to the Internet to listen to country tunes so I think KCYK will do okay.

That said, I also very much wonder what will happen to KBLU and its nice 560 signal that puts in a pretty good signal in Blythe, CA, during the daytime. I guess we'll soon find out.

Imperal County is about 85% Hispanic. That affects radio formats like no other California county.

 

[K.M. Richards]

I know the FCC doesn't care, but this is exactly the sort of thing that people need to stop. This will be a near-monopoly that doesn't offer any local content whatsoever.

It does not matter one bit how often anyone expresses a sentiment like this.

The business has changed dramatically in the past couple of decades. Given the competition from other platforms that have essentially stolen audience from terrestrial radio, it is a miracle that we remain on the air at all anymore.

The lack of local content does not matter to the vast majority of listeners. If it did, those listeners would not have left even when the amount of local content was much higher. Those who think otherwise are wearing the proverbial rose colored glasses.

It's not going to get any better by complaining about it on a message board ... especially since nothing posted here has any effect whatsoever on the industry. In order for things to go back to the way they were, you would have to eliminate streaming. And SiriusXM. And personal MP3 players. I doubt that anyone thinks whining about it is going to even start to reduce the presence of those media, so the complainers you might just as well stop visiting RD and find a more productive use of your time.

And those of us who are in the business will go back to finding ways to survive all this competition.

 

[EricStein]

It does not matter one bit how often anyone expresses a sentiment like this.

The business has changed dramatically in the past couple of decades. Given the competition from other platforms that have essentially stolen audience from terrestrial radio, it is a miracle that we remain on the air at all anymore.

The lack of local content does not matter to the vast majority of listeners. If it did, those listeners would not have left even when the amount of local content was much higher. Those who think otherwise are wearing the proverbial rose colored glasses.

It's not going to get any better by complaining about it on a message board ... especially since nothing posted here has any effect whatsoever on the industry. In order for things to go back to the way they were, you would have to eliminate streaming. And SiriusXM. And personal MP3 players. I doubt that anyone thinks whining about it is going to even start to reduce the presence of those media, so the complainers you might just as well stop visiting RD and find a more productive use of your time.

And those of us who are in the business will go back to finding ways to survive all this competition.

And that's why lots of small market stations still use the satellite-fed formats, dead air gaps and all, despite it sounding very unprofessional (even with the somewhat tighter "semi-custom" formats available to owners). Like SomeRadioGuy said, if the local elements (news, weather, etc.) are done well, the listeners won't care.

The last time I went through Yuma, the El Dorado FMs had the worst audio amongst the English-language stations there. Although it would have bothered me if I were a local, it didn't stop the stations from being #1 and #2 in the market. If they play the right music, people will still listen.

 

[exbloguero]

Not “the only game “ as there are about a dozen stations from the San Luis Río Colorado side of the market.

Don't forget the stations in Mexicali, Sonoyta, and Peñasco. They have strong signals in Yuma.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

And that's why lots of small market stations still use the satellite-fed formats, dead air gaps and all, despite it sounding very unprofessional (even with the somewhat tighter "semi-custom" formats available to owners). Like SomeRadioGuy said, if the local elements (news, weather, etc.) are done well, the listeners won't care.

The last time I went through Yuma, the El Dorado FMs had the worst audio amongst the English-language stations there. Although it would have bothered me if I were a local, it didn't stop the stations from being #1 and #2 in the market. If they play the right music, people will still listen.

Somewhat tighter semi custom?

they are so incredibly tight it is amazing. ive heard them, i worked for one of them! and very custom, all about the effort the station puts in

 

[K.M. Richards]

And that's why lots of small market stations still use the satellite-fed formats, dead air gaps and all, despite it sounding very unprofessional (even with the somewhat tighter "semi-custom" formats available to owners). Like SomeRadioGuy said, if the local elements (news, weather, etc.) are done well, the listeners won't care.

Doesn't even have to be as sophisticated as a feed from a satellite customized to the local market.

As pretty much all the regulars here know, as part of my consulting agreement with Don Davis' New Mexico stations I directly program one of his Albuquerque stations (KRKE) with The Eighties Channel™. I create the automation logs with all of the music and imaging and upload them directly to the server there, and Don's traffic software merges the commercial logs into mine and the automation computer just runs it. I even have remote access to the automation in case something glitches and I am the first to notice it.

While we do not subscribe to Nielsen, the reason for that explains our success. Don and I believe that the most important ratings come from the local businesses who are the station's advertising clients. If they like what they hear on the air between their spots, they will keep renewing their agreements. Don is making money, while freed from having to worry about the on-air presentation, the advertisers are obviously happy because they stay with us for months -- sometimes even years -- at a time, and everything I know from a half century's experience about tightness goes into the product I create for Don and his team to sell.

But my friend Paul Walker's point is well taken. A station that cares about what is being sent to the transmitter -- regardless of how it originates -- will always sound better than the ones who just plug in the satellite receiver and walk away.

(BTW, Paul, congrats on the nice write up in Radio World.)

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

Doesn't even have to be as sophisticated as a feed from a satellite customized to the local market.

As pretty much all the regulars here know, as part of my consulting agreement with Don Davis' New Mexico stations I directly program one of his Albuquerque stations (KRKE) with The Eighties Channel™. I create the automation logs with all of the music and imaging and upload them directly to the server there, and Don's traffic software merges the commercial logs into mine and the automation computer just runs it. I even have remote access to the automation in case something glitches and I am the first to notice it.

While we do not subscribe to Nielsen, the reason for that explains our success. Don and I believe that the most important ratings come from the local businesses who are the station's advertising clients. If they like what they hear on the air between their spots, they will keep renewing their agreements. Don is making money, while freed from having to worry about the on-air presentation, the advertisers are obviously happy because they stay with us for months -- sometimes even years -- at a time, and everything I know from a half century's experience about tightness goes into the product I create for Don and his team to sell.

But my friend Paul Walker's point is well taken. A station that cares about what is being sent to the transmitter -- regardless of how it originates -- will always sound better than the ones who just plug in the satellite receiver and walk away.

(BTW, Paul, congrats on the nice write up in Radio World.)

Thank you!

And Yuma, because of my connection to MM.. is one of those markets ive learned about that normally wouldnt be in my wheelhouse. Z93 is not changing.

As for what goes to the transmitter and caring about it.... KSKO, for what it is... sounds good.. but i dont overly worry about like...i dont wanna make it sound like im lazy.. but i prioritize local content... interviews, events.... sometimes i run 4 songs without a liner, i have a few different voices doing liners. But listeners know we care and i have fostered and built up a very positive relationship for community involvement here.. and thats why we succeed despite being a bit quirk and haphazard at times

 

[crainbebo]

Sounds like SiriusXM will get an increase in subscriptions in Imperial County CA and Yuma County AZ. Even in a majority-minority county like Yakima County WA, there's classic hits, classic rock, active rock, and two country stations. Not everyone in Yuma wants to listen to Forrest Frank, ranchera music, or Taylor Swift.

 

[K.M. Richards]

Not everyone in Yuma wants to listen to Forrest Frank, ranchera music, or Taylor Swift.

That region has long been "majority minority" Latino/Hispanic, due to the agriculture which has dominated the area for decades.

KVYE signed on channel 9 with Univision programming, which made it one of the very few VHF stations in the analog era to be entirely non-English language. Even now, every U.S.-based Spanish language network is carried over the air in the market. Plus about a half-dozen Mexicali stations carrying pretty much every Mexico-based network.

According to census data, the area is 75% Hispanic. I think the "not everyones" are outnumbered, and I bet even EMF will find the potential audience for their English-language formats deficient.

 

[CTListener]

Sounds like SiriusXM will get an increase in subscriptions in Imperial County CA and Yuma County AZ. Even in a majority-minority county like Yakima County WA, there's classic hits, classic rock, active rock, and two country stations. Not everyone in Yuma wants to listen to Forrest Frank, ranchera music, or Taylor Swift.

A tiny drop in a very big bucket. SXM has over 30 million subscribers. The number of new subscriptions generated by this move might hit mid-triple digits, and even that may be overly optimistic. Few are so obsessed with radio (or music, for that matter) that the first thing they'll do after Christian contemporary music replaces country music on the station they listen to on the commute will be to pay for radio. The fact that SXM has only 30-something million subscribers after 25 years should tell you just how hard it's been to sell pay radio.

 

[EricStein]

A tiny drop in a very big bucket. SXM has over 30 million subscribers. The number of new subscriptions generated by this move might hit mid-triple digits, and even that may be overly optimistic. Few are so obsessed with radio (or music, for that matter) that the first thing they'll do after Christian contemporary music replaces country music on the station they listen to on the commute will be to pay for radio. The fact that SXM has only 30-something million subscribers after 25 years should tell you just how hard it's been to sell pay radio.

From my observations, people who want country or '80s music in Yuma post-switch could just open a free ad-supported Spotify account to stream in their car or wherever, because the average listener can "tune out" the commercials, even as the copy and production of most advertising gets much worse. I personally can't stand much of the ads airing on radio these days, but most don't care.

 

[ted chittenden]

According to census data, the area is 75% Hispanic. I think the "not everyones" are outnumbered, and I bet even EMF will find the potential audience for their English-language formats deficient.

That said, keep in mind that EMF is running the English-formatted K-Love in San Juan, PR, a city that has a lot fewer English speakers than either Yuma or the Imperial Valley. Even if I don't care for their formats or their message, EMF will probably make out OK in the Yuma market.

 

[Frequency1]

EMF does have a Spanish language service Radio Nueva Vida that they just merged into K-Love.