I'm sure KDRY does not bill what they once did. Christian radio has changed dramatically. Before the non-commercial FMs became such an important part of the mix, the national ministries and local ministries purchased the time to air the programs. Then it changed. For example, Focus on the Family back in the James Dodson day, did not pay to play but rather offered stations a commission on the donations sent in from the station (usually determined by zip codes in the listening area) but would send you nothing until you reached $300 a month. For many stations that was $0 a month. That was the start. Ministries figured they had an audience that brought listeners to stations so they decided instead of buying, they'd share what came in. For example, one big national ministry sent us a share in the neighborhood of $100-$150 a month for half an hour Monday through Friday. By the rate card that would be $1,795 a month (but we were typically forced to lower that rate or give a bonus play to get that rate). The fact was, if you did a Christian format you needed Focus on the Family, so you'd run them essentially free to attract the local church that would buy. To refuse would be like an oldies station refusing to play Elvis or The Beatles or a Classic Rocker refusing to play Zeppelin or Pink Floyd.
I recall one call I got from a national ministry trying to sell us on carrying them. The guy talked about how popular and responsive their listeners were and we'd be getting a nice big check from them monthly. I countered that my measly rate for the time must certainly be a better deal and I have a few prime slots I could secure for them. I was flatly turned down. I said that didn't jive in my mind, that if they had all these responsive listeners, as they claimed, then my offer to buy the time would save them money. On the other hand, if they didn't have that responsive and loyal audience it would cost them more money. I asked if they could clarify. That's the last time they called.
Except for local ministries that pay to play, the nationals are pretty much a 'share' of donations or you get to go out and locate businesses that like the program and want to sponsor it or get a commercial in the program. Those are rare finds. As you might imagine, finding a needle in a haystack is slightly easier.
The good news for KDRY is the computer. They can cut down on payroll. At one point you needed a warm body to make the format happen.
As for listeners, it is a small audience but they are very loyal and they don't switch their dial to several different stations. They're not all old people waiting to die in a nursing home as some think but rather tied to the local church community. The death of KDRY will come when the for sale sign goes in front of an alarming number houses of worship. I say that because I worked selling at a Christian formatted station and got to learn how all that worked. Being on AM is not a factor, it is the uniqueness of the programming in the market that the small audience seeks.
In fact, it is a struggle for KDRY. The more local ministries you can get, the better. They pay and bring audience as well. On the other hand, they need the bait of national programs with known names to bring in the audience beyond the local church member from the church that has a weekly 30 minute block. In this instance, this is like choosing conservative talk for a format. You need a Rush, Sean, Mark Levin or such to bring listeners even if you want to be more local talk oriented. In this respect, that national talk show is the bait to get a listener for the other hours of the broadcast day. So, KDRY is challenged to get the right mix of paid programs and bait programs that likely cost them some money to play (as in operating costs versus income).
Contrary to popular belief (and I can name known names that make money hand over fist), the typical ministry makes it on the substantial gifts from those that left the ministry something in, perhaps, their will. When most of the national ministries paid to play, it was always a money draining proposition, so the interest from those earlier gifts made it possible to operate. It was the rare gift that was sold or invested to produce operating income from what the investment interest was earned. Certainly we have heard about those exceptions.
It might very well be that KDRY is in a position that an FM translator is not affordable or will not bolster their income if they got one. Think of it this way, if you have 5,000 or 10,000 loyal listeners on one signal what good is it to buy another signal to split the audience between the two signals. It is likely you will not grow the audience enough with a translator to pay for the cost. With metros being crowded with stations already, translators don't come cheap and frequently must be moved involving more money. Then there are leases and other monthly expenses to keep it going. In a place like San Antonio, a translator is not going to reach all the areas the AM station does but only a portion of the metro. So you must weigh the initial investment and the ongoing operational expense versus the number of people you can get to listen and monetize those listeners. For KDRY, those numbers might not make sense if for no other reason, those paying may not be able to afford the rate increase when the translator investment and operational expenses are added.
