-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
KERA to air AAA on 91.7
- Thread starter jeffdfw
- Start date
scrtr84 said:
If you re-read the context of the post: Since the previous poster said Salem would be glad KVTT is gone, I was asking the question about Salem's involvement with KVTT to begin with given they were behind the proposal to move WRR to 91.7 back in 2006 when the city was taking offers for WRR (it was one of several as Univision had one; Cumulus and Service had one involving a 3 way swap of 93.3, 101.1, and 105.7; KERA had one to LMA it; etc.). Nowhere in there was a discussion about if there were plans today for the city to move WRR...
I see doom and gloom in this deal.
I'm sure the North Texas Public Radio folks had a business plan or else they wouldn't have gotten the loan from Public Radio Capital.
However, it doesn't make sense to me.
Public Radio is funded with underwriting (ads) and individual member donations.
Underwriting is suffering just as bad in public radio as it is in commerical radio - down 15% to 40% depending on the market.
Nationwide memberships are up. More people are pledging but these are small amounts $50 - $100 per listening household. But membership is the biggest source of income for a public radio station.
The question is - has KERA already tapped that DFW keg dry? If they are already giving to KERA its not likely they'll pledge twice to the AAA.
That's the problem you have with dual licensees - PBS and NPR operations under one roof - people tend to give to once to an organization and that's it, even if they enjoy both the radio and TV services. Add a new radio station to the mix, now KERA is asking people to give 3 times a year to their non-profit.
Can the new AAA station generate enough new listeners to the FM party in this ipod era who are not already pledging to KERA?
I suspect they won't get enough to pay off the debt service and station operating costs.
This is not going to be a robo-radio station.
There will some syndicated shows (and that cost money too.)
But mainly the new station is going to have live DJ's who obey their muse when they play records - it's a big part of the appeal of public radio AAA - like KUT.
I forecast that this is not going to end well. North Texas Public Radio will be forced to make further cuts at the TV station and KERA radio - that mean chopping news. They already recently had a round of lay-offs.
This will anger the paying members who don't care about AAA music - they give to KERA for the news and these listeners didn't ask for this risky purchase. That could trigger a backlash and reduction in support over all.
So here's my prediction - this is going to go down as just one more of the many costly management mistakes at KERA.
But this one won't be solved with just a Stalinist purge of layoffs.
And we won't have to wait very long to see if I'm right. I hope I'm wrong.
I'm sure the North Texas Public Radio folks had a business plan or else they wouldn't have gotten the loan from Public Radio Capital.
However, it doesn't make sense to me.
Public Radio is funded with underwriting (ads) and individual member donations.
Underwriting is suffering just as bad in public radio as it is in commerical radio - down 15% to 40% depending on the market.
Nationwide memberships are up. More people are pledging but these are small amounts $50 - $100 per listening household. But membership is the biggest source of income for a public radio station.
The question is - has KERA already tapped that DFW keg dry? If they are already giving to KERA its not likely they'll pledge twice to the AAA.
That's the problem you have with dual licensees - PBS and NPR operations under one roof - people tend to give to once to an organization and that's it, even if they enjoy both the radio and TV services. Add a new radio station to the mix, now KERA is asking people to give 3 times a year to their non-profit.
Can the new AAA station generate enough new listeners to the FM party in this ipod era who are not already pledging to KERA?
I suspect they won't get enough to pay off the debt service and station operating costs.
This is not going to be a robo-radio station.
There will some syndicated shows (and that cost money too.)
But mainly the new station is going to have live DJ's who obey their muse when they play records - it's a big part of the appeal of public radio AAA - like KUT.
I forecast that this is not going to end well. North Texas Public Radio will be forced to make further cuts at the TV station and KERA radio - that mean chopping news. They already recently had a round of lay-offs.
This will anger the paying members who don't care about AAA music - they give to KERA for the news and these listeners didn't ask for this risky purchase. That could trigger a backlash and reduction in support over all.
So here's my prediction - this is going to go down as just one more of the many costly management mistakes at KERA.
But this one won't be solved with just a Stalinist purge of layoffs.
And we won't have to wait very long to see if I'm right. I hope I'm wrong.
The folowing was pulled off of www.hisair.net which states:
BITS: Trustees of Criswell College (owners of KCBI/Dallas) have decided to pursue separation from First Baptist Church of Dallas.
This is really ineteresting in light of the KVTT sale. It IS possible that after they (KCBI) moves away from FBC of Dallas that they might sell as well. I DO know KVTT had been trying to get it's hands on KCBI for many years. They may take the cash from the KVTT sale and go after KCBI. Does anybody know which signal is better KCBI or KVTT?
BITS: Trustees of Criswell College (owners of KCBI/Dallas) have decided to pursue separation from First Baptist Church of Dallas.
This is really ineteresting in light of the KVTT sale. It IS possible that after they (KCBI) moves away from FBC of Dallas that they might sell as well. I DO know KVTT had been trying to get it's hands on KCBI for many years. They may take the cash from the KVTT sale and go after KCBI. Does anybody know which signal is better KCBI or KVTT?
J
JimSOX
Guest
WOW! AAA returning to KERA!!! Could this possibly mean the return of Abby Goldstein and Lone Star Saturday Night?!?!
Will they move to Harry hines with the studios of radio and tv or broadcast from the KVTT studios? (Doesnt seem to mention anything about it in the press release)
txchipk said:
The only reason Dallas solicited offers for WRR, was to find out how much it is worth. It has been suggested many times around here, that Dallas should sell WRR, or move it to the non-comm band. It makes no difference whether you were trying to start such a discussion or not.
C
charles123
Guest
JimSOX said:
Maybe
scrtr84 said:
Would someone please explain to me why WRR and KERA-FM have not put up any HD sub-channels yet?
I'd like WRR to concentrate on Musicals and Soundtrack music on an HD-2 station.
Maybe that way I can get to hear something besides Star Wars and Indiana Jones.
How about some Bernard Herrmann....
Anyways... WHY hasn't WRR come up with some original programming for their HD sub channels ?
Is there some reason they haven't ?
Is there a considerable cost increase for WRR ?
M
mediawonk
Guest
With the still-very-low penetration of HD radio, my guess is that KERA/WRR are using their resources elsewhere in ways that will reach a wider audience. KERA's purchase of 91.7 is a good example - it will be heard by many, many more people than a secondary HD channel ever would. Plus, it seems like every time a station in this market has gone HD, it has degraded their analog signal both in terms of distance and audio quality.
mediawonk said:
I guess WGBH in Boston, hasn't gotten the word yet . . . .
I'll guess that WCRB would prefer for them to...
http://www.ibiquity.com/hd_radio/hd...&thisBeColorOut=11839d&theCity=11#stationlist
Not only is there an additional cost to run HD-2 or HD-3 channels, but you do it at the expense of fidelity on the primary HD channel. You have a total 96 KBS to play with. Add a secondary channel, and you use some of that bandwidth to support that channel. If the secondary is 32 kbs (fairly low quality) then you only have 64 kbs left for your primary channel. Add a third channel, and you get three 32 kbs channels. If you are running classical music, a low bit rate audio stream may not be acceptable to your audience. They can be a very picky group of listeners.
One of the original ideas of HD was to make things sound better, not worse. It is debatable if it actually meets that goal, but that is a conversation for a different forum.
One of the original ideas of HD was to make things sound better, not worse. It is debatable if it actually meets that goal, but that is a conversation for a different forum.
Hey Chuck...you just brought to my mind a question I've never seen asked nor answered: Are you guys in the LPFM world running HD? If so, what does it do to you main channel power density-wise? And, say you are a 100 watt LPFM, how much power are you allowed for the HD?
Hope you and Diane are doing well...
Hope you and Diane are doing well...
FlyOnWall said:
Were doing great, thanks.
I only have heard of one LPFM that is running HD. It is in Ohio, I think. LPFM's like anyone else are allowed 1% of your analog power for HD. For a 100-watt station, that is one watt. For KZQX-LP, that would be 0.74 watts. I have serious reservations that it would work more than a few thousand feet. Maybe the cows would like it.
Perhaps 10% HD would be workable. 10 watts of digital might cover 3-5 miles. That still isn't really enough to justify the $25,000 licensing cost, plus equipment.
I actually tried running FMeXtra. It was easy to set up and worked quite well. It also passed through translators with no problem. Originally, it was about $5000, at which point, I might be interested. Suddenly it is $15,000, which certainly dampens my enthusiasm. Besides, there are no (or very few) receivers.
For now at least, I think low power broadcasters and that includes most Class A full powers, HD will be a bad investment.
LibertyNT said:
As compared to what ..... $18 Million Dollars ? ? ? ?
I don't get it. If KERA wanted to offer music programming, then a second HD channel would be much more cost effective than an $18 MILLION dollar expense, would it not ? ? ?
I cynically believe the underlying and main reason to pick of KVTT is to have yet anothe platfrom to raise pledge money, in other owrds, the MAIN purpose of the station is to bring in money "for the sake of bringing in money".... and not for the sake of offering music programming to the area.
As I stated before, other Public Radio Stations have gone HD. I GUES THEY WERE COMPLETELY WRONG FOR DONG THAT, EH ? ?
If a station encodes Hybrid Digital and no one listens to it, is it really broadcasting in HD at all?
btw- KERA posted job openings for the new station, with the positions described as Board Operators.
btw- KERA posted job openings for the new station, with the positions described as Board Operators.
M
mediawonk
Guest
>I don't get it. If KERA wanted to offer music programming, then a second HD channel would be much more cost effective than an $18 MILLION dollar expense, would it not ? ? ?
HD penetration is still low and looks to remain that way for a while, and thus hard to build audience/brand/revenue for a unique HD-only product.
As for your "cynical" fundraising claim, why on earth would a station spend money/resources/time/etc. if they didn't care about the product?
KERA no doubt has good people working hard on this. Give it a chance once it makes its debut.
HD penetration is still low and looks to remain that way for a while, and thus hard to build audience/brand/revenue for a unique HD-only product.
As for your "cynical" fundraising claim, why on earth would a station spend money/resources/time/etc. if they didn't care about the product?
KERA no doubt has good people working hard on this. Give it a chance once it makes its debut.
mediawonk said:
Oh, believe me, I plan on listening, and giving my input and suggestions.
I want to perhaps be able to hear on the radio film music suites by the Masters, like Herrmann, Morricone, and others....
If all I wanted to hear was Star Wars, E.T., and Radiers of the Lost Ark music, I already know whcic local station caters to that lowest common denomiator on a very regular and predictable basis.
- Status