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Rest of Arizona KBLU AM 560 Silenced: Yuma’s 80+ Year Radio Legacy Ends

bob_international

bob_international

- Written by Andre Isaacs on Facebook

KBLU AM 560 Silenced: Yuma’s 80+ Year Radio Legacy Ends Amid K-LOVE Deal
KBLU AM 560 was more than just a frequency, it was the voice of Yuma for generations. From its early days in 1940 as KYUM, to its transition to KBLU in 1969, it informed, entertained, and connected Yuma for over 80 years. Lou Dobbs once launched his career here, and countless local stories unfolded on its airwaves. This is also where our very own Jonny Porter got his start over 15 years ago. From breaking news to heartfelt community discussions, KBLU embodied Yuma’s spirit. As we say goodbye, we honor its enduring legacy. Though the static settles today, KBLU’s impact echoes through Yuma’s history.
After more than 80 years on air, KBLU AM 560, a cornerstone of Yuma radio since 1940, will go silent today. This local icon, where Lou Dobbs once got his start, is a casualty of K-LOVE’s purchase of 95.1 KTTI and 100.9 The River, both number 1 and number 2 stations in Yuma. We don’t yet know when those music stations will go dark, but as of today, KBLU’s signal will fall silent.
Russ Clark, the beloved morning host, will continue on Facebook at “The Russ Clark Show.” Follow What’s Up Yuma for more updates as they emerge and to stay tuned to Russ’s next chapter.
 
bob_international said:
- Written by Andre Isaacs on Facebook

KBLU AM 560 Silenced: Yuma’s 80+ Year Radio Legacy Ends Amid K-LOVE Deal
KBLU AM 560 was more than just a frequency, it was the voice of Yuma for generations. From its early days in 1940 as KYUM, to its transition to KBLU in 1969, it informed, entertained, and connected Yuma for over 80 years. Lou Dobbs once launched his career here, and countless local stories unfolded on its airwaves. This is also where our very own Jonny Porter got his start over 15 years ago. From breaking news to heartfelt community discussions, KBLU embodied Yuma’s spirit. As we say goodbye, we honor its enduring legacy. Though the static settles today, KBLU’s impact echoes through Yuma’s history.
After more than 80 years on air, KBLU AM 560, a cornerstone of Yuma radio since 1940, will go silent today. This local icon, where Lou Dobbs once got his start, is a casualty of K-LOVE’s purchase of 95.1 KTTI and 100.9 The River, both number 1 and number 2 stations in Yuma. We don’t yet know when those music stations will go dark, but as of today, KBLU’s signal will fall silent.
Russ Clark, the beloved morning host, will continue on Facebook at “The Russ Clark Show.” Follow What’s Up Yuma for more updates as they emerge and to stay tuned to Russ’s next chapter.
Click to expand...
Along with the silent KZAC, the 560 frequency has become quite an empty wasteland in the western states. Although KLZ and KMON should become decent catches in the western US at night.

Yuma now officially has two remaining English language commercial radio stations. MonsterMedia, the owner of those two (KLJZ and KCYK) will now clean up in local radio advertising sales.

KBLU was conservative talk, and only had one local morning show. No big loss in my opinion. I suspect more live and local programming on KLJZ and KCYK to make up for the loss.

Judging by the change of call sign for KQSR (will be KYLK) on March 13, the K-Love takeover, including KTTI, should occur by then.
 
KilowattKat said:
Along with the silent KZAC, the 560 frequency has become quite an empty wasteland in the western states. Although KLZ and KMON should become decent catches in the western US at night.

Yuma now officially has two remaining English language commercial radio stations. MonsterMedia, the owner of those two (KLJZ and KCYK) will now clean up in local radio advertising sales.

KBLU was conservative talk, and only had one local morning show. No big loss in my opinion. I suspect more live and local programming on KLJZ and KCYK to make up for the loss.

Judging by the change of call sign for KQSR (will be KYLK) on March 13, the K-Love takeover, including KTTI, should occur by then.
Click to expand...
Will KLJZ/KCYK get more advertisers, or will the displaced listeners just give up on terrestrial radio because they don't like the choices they have? They're already running a lean operation, and someone on this board who has inside contacts with that group says no changes will be made.

Remember, with 560 off the air, 550 KFYI will come in like a local in Yuma (at least during the day). Not a major loss for conservative talk fans.
 
EricStein said:
Will KLJZ/KCYK get more advertisers, or will the displaced listeners just give up on terrestrial radio because they don't like the choices they have? They're already running a lean operation, and someone on this board who has inside contacts with that group says no changes will be made.
Click to expand...
Time will tell.
 
Gosh darn it...KBLU was a top 'wanted' station on my DX list, given the silence in SF. RIP KBLU, 1940-2026.
Perhaps very strong aurora could bring XEOC Mexico City to the 560 frequency here. But at 500 watts, probably unlikely.
 
EricStein said:
Remember, with 560 off the air, 550 KFYI will come in like a local in Yuma (at least during the day). Not a major loss for conservative talk fans.
Click to expand...

While KFYI will come in better in Yuma to some less selective receivers, it will not in any way sound like a local in that town--it is too far away from KFYI's transmitter for that! The best that can be said is that distance reception for KFYI will improve for any who wish to listen to its programming.
 
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KBLU signed off at 630pm tonight.

The expected close date of the sale according to my source is on about March 13.

It IS Expected that KLJZ/KCYK will see an increase in advertising

KZLJ nor KCYK are changing formats.. they are doing quite well now and will only get better now
 
More from Radio Insight...

An interesting fact that I didn't know about is that at one point former owner Clear Channel tried to move 560 KBLU to Las Vegas.

radioinsight.com

KBLU Yuma Shuts Down

With the sale of its sister FM's set to close shortly, El Dorado Broadcasters pulled the plug on News/Talk 560
radioinsight.com radioinsight.com
 
I guess this also reflects the poor economic state of the region. Yuma is a city of almost 95,000 and the metropolitan area is 203,000. Yet it will now have only two commercial radio stations, 1400 KCYK Classic Country and 93.1 KLJZ Hot AC. (KCYK doesn't even have a translator.) Everything else on the local radio dial is non-commercial: 1320 and 88.9 are public radio/NPR formats, 104.5 airs a Farm Workers' Campesina format and there are two non-commercial Christian stations, 91.9 in Spanish and 88.1 in English. They'll soon be joined by K-Love and Air 1.

Yuma is in a fairly remote part of the country. But let's contrast that to Fairbanks, Alaska, also remote from other media. Fairbanks is a city of 32,000 and the borough is 96,000, half the size of Yuma. Fairbanks has plenty of commercial FM stations: Two Country and a Classic Country, Top 40, Classic Rock, Active Rock, Adult Hits, Alternative. Also five AM stations, two Talk, one Sports, two Christian.

OK, admittedly everyone in Fairbanks speaks English. Yuma is divided between two languages. But hey, there aren't a lot of U.S. based stations broadcasting in Spanish either. I guess Yuma's Spanish-dominant listeners can hear Mexicali FM stations but they are 50 miles away. They don't pay any attention to Yuma.

In a market with 203,000 residents, wouldn't someone have rescued Yuma's one AM talk station or put it on FM? Again, Fairbanks has two AM talk stations and an AM Sports station serving half the population of Yuma.
 
Gregg. said:
In a market with 203,000 residents, wouldn't someone have rescued Yuma's one AM talk station or put it on FM?
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Which language would you use to make money? English? Spanglish?

At the end of the day, it seems to be evident that most of that market doesn't care for "talk" stations - as entertainment.
 
KilowattKat said:
Along with the silent KZAC, the 560 frequency has become quite an empty wasteland in the western states. Although KLZ and KMON should become decent catches in the western US at night.
Click to expand...
Listening to the Point Reyes (CA) SDR this morning, KMON (not KPQ!) was coming in, slowly fading until it became totally unlistenable shortly after 9 am Pacific time...not that it was very listenable at any time, but I could at least make out the call letters. I mention this because it's possible there will be some surprises on the channel, assuming KZAC vacates it altogether.

KilowattKat said:
Yuma now officially has two remaining English language commercial radio stations. MonsterMedia, the owner of those two (KLJZ and KCYK) will now clean up in local radio advertising sales.
Click to expand...
Considering the $375,000 sale price for a C2 and an A, there may not be all that much to clean up with.

According to Wikipedia (yes, I know), Latinos comprised more than 60% of the population of Yuma counted in the 2020 Census. Also:

"The Yuma Metropolitan Statistical Area has the highest unemployment rate in the United States as of 2018 at 20.9%. A large percentage of the work force is employed seasonally in agriculture, contributing to apparent unemployment."

I can't readily find stats on language usage. It wouldn't surprise me if the majority of the population of Yuma was bilingual and possibly Spanish-dominant. There is a certain seasonal market of Midwesterners who spend the winters there (I'm personally acquainted with one such individual) but that's not a year-round audience.

Looking just at the US side of the border may provide an incomplete picture of the market. In addition to stations in Yuma and nearby, fccdata.org lists four FM stations plus a fifth, vacant, allocation across the border in San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora, population more than 176,000 (nearly double that of Yuma). IFT data shows an additional FM station, plus four AM stations - two fulltime, two daytimers. The border splits San Luis Río Colorado from San Luis, Arizona, which is just southwest of Yuma.
 
kwthom said:
Which language would you use to make money? English? Spanglish?
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As I said, Yuma is a market that's roughly half English, half Spanish, while Fairbanks is all English. But Fairbanks metro area is 96,000 while Yuma is 203,000. I assume there are 96,000 English-dominant employed Yuma residents.

If Fairbanks can support two AM talk stations, as well as nearly a dozen commercial FM stations, certainly the English-speaking population of Yuma can support at least PART of what Fairbanks supports.
 
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Mark Roberts said:
Listening to the Point Reyes (CA) SDR this morning, KMON (not KPQ!) was coming in, slowly fading until it became totally unlistenable shortly after 9 am Pacific time...not that it was very listenable at any time, but I could at least make out the call letters. I mention this because it's possible there will be some surprises on the channel, assuming KZAC vacates it altogether.


Considering the $375,000 sale price for a C2 and an A, there may not be all that much to clean up with.

According to Wikipedia (yes, I know), Latinos comprised more than 60% of the population of Yuma counted in the 2020 Census. Also:

"The Yuma Metropolitan Statistical Area has the highest unemployment rate in the United States as of 2018 at 20.9%. A large percentage of the work force is employed seasonally in agriculture, contributing to apparent unemployment."

I can't readily find stats on language usage. It wouldn't surprise me if the majority of the population of Yuma was bilingual and possibly Spanish-dominant. There is a certain seasonal market of Midwesterners who spend the winters there (I'm personally acquainted with one such individual) but that's not a year-round audience.

Looking just at the US side of the border may provide an incomplete picture of the market. In addition to stations in Yuma and nearby, fccdata.org lists four FM stations plus a fifth, vacant, allocation across the border in San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora, population more than 176,000 (nearly double that of Yuma). IFT data shows an additional FM station, plus four AM stations - two fulltime, two daytimers. The border splits San Luis Río Colorado from San Luis, Arizona, which is just southwest of Yuma.
Click to expand...
My feeling is that the problem lies with the soon to be previous ownership by El Dorado Broadcasters. KTTI (21.5) and KQSR (15.0) combined had a 36.5 share in the last Eastlan ratings. Granted, it only comes out once a year in September. But if it's due to financial reasons for the selling of their radio properties, I find it remarkable they couldn't make a go of it with that big of an audience. They also never offered streaming on the websites. Something is wrong here.

Yuma, also has a very transient population with most employed in Agriculture, the Military (MCAS), and some manufacturing. Yuma, to put it nicely, is the Bakersfield of Arizona, and the butt of many jokes..

Non commercial radio is really what's left (just fine, for me personally) with NPR and Classical KAWC, and an interesting College eclectic KOFA.

Here are those ratings I mentioned.

radioinsight.com

Yuma AZ

12+ Mon-Sun, 6a-12mid Pop: 182,900
radioinsight.com radioinsight.com
 
KilowattKat said:
My feeling is that the problem lies with the soon to be previous ownership by El Dorado Broadcasters. KTTI (21.5) and KQSR (15.0) combined had a 36.5 share in the last Eastlan ratings. Granted, it only comes out once a year in September. But if it's due to financial reasons for the selling of their radio properties, I find it remarkable they couldn't make a go of it with that big of an audience. They also never offered streaming on the websites. Something is wrong here.
Click to expand...

The Yuma economy?
KilowattKat said:
Yuma, also has a very transient population with most employed in Agriculture, the Military (MCAS), and some manufacturing. Yuma, to put it nicely, is the Bakersfield of Arizona, and the butt of many jokes..
Click to expand...
The borderlands generally are difficult places. San Diego may be the rare exception.
 
Gregg. said:
<...> I assume there are 96,000 English-dominant employed Yuma residents.
Click to expand...
In Yuma County, 52.3% speak a language other than English. (data from 10 years ago, but seriously doubt things have changed in a decade)


Mark Roberts said:
There is a certain seasonal market of Midwesterners who spend the winters there (I'm personally acquainted with one such individual) but that's not a year-round audience.
Click to expand...

Prior to this season, there were also a pretty significant influx of foreign "snowbirds" from many regions of Canada. Reasons why are well-known by anyone who pays attention to what happens in DC.
 


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