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KBRO For Sale - No Surprise.
- Thread starter RF101
- Start date
How many "classic hits" stations can be sustained? Seems to be what 90 percent of these AM/translator combos do. Are people listening to the most familiar 300 songs of the 70s and 80s somehow less vulnerable to a streaming playlist than others?
I get it's safe and tested but at a certain point, the demand for it is over-served. Are we out of ideas? (Hypothetically. I'm not.) And I know at this point, the usuals will say "there's no money for niches" - well, fair. You don't gamble big signals on untested ideas. But these AM/translator combos have such low overhead in general, if there was ever a place to try something unique... Saga understood how to use "metro stations" to do some interesting things. Also there's a difference between unique and obscure. I digress.
As to the current KBRO format, is it simply "freeing up resources" or are there no listeners? These types of stations rarely show in ratings, so I have no idea if Spanish speaking Christians in that area use the station or don't. I do think religious radio at least in English is well served in the market, and 93.7 does Spanish religious programming as well, with a healthy signal. There's been a lot of potentially viable commercial outlets that went that way over the years. 93.7, 98.5, 104.5. Is the asking price even realistic?
I get it's safe and tested but at a certain point, the demand for it is over-served. Are we out of ideas? (Hypothetically. I'm not.) And I know at this point, the usuals will say "there's no money for niches" - well, fair. You don't gamble big signals on untested ideas. But these AM/translator combos have such low overhead in general, if there was ever a place to try something unique... Saga understood how to use "metro stations" to do some interesting things. Also there's a difference between unique and obscure. I digress.
As to the current KBRO format, is it simply "freeing up resources" or are there no listeners? These types of stations rarely show in ratings, so I have no idea if Spanish speaking Christians in that area use the station or don't. I do think religious radio at least in English is well served in the market, and 93.7 does Spanish religious programming as well, with a healthy signal. There's been a lot of potentially viable commercial outlets that went that way over the years. 93.7, 98.5, 104.5. Is the asking price even realistic?
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The other idea is a non-commercial buys it out and, ala KVSH-LP, gives Kitsap a non-commercial volunteer-run FM translator and AM parent. But that could also be a saturated and money-bleeding idea too.
The worst-case scenario is "hissssss" on 1480/1490 as KBRO is taken silent and then deleted. Kitsap gets to enjoy weak signals from KBLE's translator and CKKQ instead on 100.3...
The worst-case scenario is "hissssss" on 1480/1490 as KBRO is taken silent and then deleted. Kitsap gets to enjoy weak signals from KBLE's translator and CKKQ instead on 100.3...
I think it may be time to pull the plug on that one. I advocate for keeping AM alive 99% of the time, but this is not one of those scenarios.
Andy Travis - In m experience most Spanish language Christian stations are run by a Church who leases the station and could care less about ratings, only caring about the donations to pay the bills. So, they must have substantive listening to pay the expenses. This may not be the case for KBRO but vry likely is the case.
That $500,000 price tag has about as much of a chance as me winning the lottery yesterday given he AM sales prices I've seen lately.
That $500,000 price tag has about as much of a chance as me winning the lottery yesterday given he AM sales prices I've seen lately.
For $500k, I’d wonder if there’s real estate included. That’s a crazy asking price otherwise.
For 500k, you could potentially explore FM options in smaller markets. Obviously, there's quite a bit of variance depending on the market location, size, economy, etc.. 500k for KBRO makes almost no sense. If there's no land/property transfer or equipment involved with the sale, it's hard for me to see them getting even 25% of the asking price.
Considering you could own a 5 station cluster, station building, and 2 towers/land not even 90 minutes away in a market not much smaller than Kitsap County for about 1.5x this amount…it better include prime property or there better be some sort of engineering study done to move the station(s) closer to Seattle proper.
I’m sure they’re thinking of the (potential) coverage of Seattle as being one of the key selling points. But even then, we’re looking at what amounts to a daytime only AM on a relatively undesirable frequency. This would be the equivalent of a realtor trying to sell you on a home that has a view of the puget sound IF you stand on the roof and squint really hard.
The translator is also nothing special. It is a selling point, but not a very good one.
I don't see anyone paying their asking price and then "moving" an AM facility any closer to Seattle metro than it already is. For it to be viable, it stays where it is and the owners get realistic about what they'll sell for. Which is way less than the ask.
Had to come back to this thread for another quick comment. I regularly check the radio and tv brokerage websites to see what’s on the market. I saw a listing for an 87kw FM somewhere in Washington with multiple boosters. They never say what station it is, but they do give you a price. That price is $395,000.
It could be anywhere (potentially in an undesirable part of the state), but I’d rather put my money on 87kw on the FM dial any day of the week.
I think this juxtaposition shows just how crazy the asking price for KBRO is.
It could be anywhere (potentially in an undesirable part of the state), but I’d rather put my money on 87kw on the FM dial any day of the week.
I think this juxtaposition shows just how crazy the asking price for KBRO is.
K20NF-D has never been on the air. I was unable to scan it in when I worked at KCPQ from our Westlake Avenue studios (I was concerned about the effect it might have on our wireless microphone equipment), and I never saw a hint of it on our spectrum analyzer on RF 20. All the other Queen Anne stations were present and an engineer from KING-5 told me that they were not authorized by KING to broadcast from their tower (the location when they filed their license to cover). They have since filed to be on what appears to be the American Tower owned "KSTW" tower but I have not received a hint of a signal on RF 20 from that tower either. K20NF-D is a march in from near Ellensburg and I'm guessing that few if any of those were built out either.
And let's not forget the KEJI-FM Darrington debacle. Years of operation from an unauthorized location overlapping with years of broadcasting silence, both with and without a license IIRC.
Anybody who pays $500,000 or even $500 for KBRO and gets in bed with Iglesia Pentecostal Visperia Del Fin even if only to buy this station is crazy.
Val
Surprise!!!! KBRO is now active on 1480 AM ( 5 kw D, 12 watts N). Nothing has been filed L2C-wise for the power/frequency shift, nor has the KNTB license officially been cancelled - a requirement. Furthermore, no documents have been posted regarding KNTB's 92.1 K221FJ Tacoma translator (150 watts - Vertical Only). The translator is outside the 25-mile radius / 2 mVm limit for crossband coverage. If I recall correctly, I heard just a dead carrier on that channel a few days ago.
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KZGD is on the air but KCKX never returned.
Looks like the L2C is in "pending" state as of 2/27 for KBRO.