The intent was to clear as many Top 25 markets as possible for their national country format. So individual market ratings weren't as important as being cleared in the market. That's why the station in NY, also not a full market signal, was worth buying.
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KEXP Buys KREV
- Thread starter TheBigA
- Start date
The intent was to clear as many Top 25 markets as possible for their national country format. So individual market ratings weren't as important as being cleared in the market. That's why the station in NY, also not a full market signal, was worth buying.
If you want to do some experimenting someday, take Woodside Road past 280 into downtown Woodside, and try finding a station like 92.7 from there. Then continue west on Woodside Road into the hills, up to Skyline Road. (NOTE: Do not try this if twisty roads and mountain driving make you carsick easily!!) Maybe have lunch at Alice's Restaurant (really!). From there, try dialing around. You'll find a surprising number of Sacramento catches coming in crystal-clear. 90.9, 92.5 (maybe, if you're shadowed from 92.3/KSJO), 93.1, 102.5, 104.1, 107.9. Up there, your elevation is about 2500 ft, and you have electrical line-of-sight to Walnut Grove, where some of the Sacto signals transmit from.
In that particular spot, you are shadowed by San Bruno Mountain. So a weak signal from Sutro may not be able to make it through or around the mountain. Not to mention all those transmitters up at the top of the mountain, shooting their own RF at you from barely a few miles away. And that you're nearly walking distance from SFO, which has a few avionics transmitters of its own.
Haha, wow. Along those mountains i've gotten the KSXY from Forestville when it was an alternative station before! It was a treat and stayed in for pretty much my entire time on it. I will have to check that out!
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Most of the Sacramento FM signals originate from near Sacramento or in the foothills east of Sacramento. Only 2 FMs, KEBR and KLRS and the majority of area TV stations broadcast from the towers near Walnut Grove.
Possibly San Bruno Mountain was shadowing anything from Sutro in that vicinity.
Why do people saying KXEP in the bay going to be a hit
What works in Seattle, Might not here
What works in Seattle, Might not here
Here's what KEXP says about that:
So it will evolve into its own thing. The main thing is this is a non-commercial, music-centric station. There is an audience for that kind of presentation in a lot of places, not just these two cities. In addition to the radio station, there will be community outreach and involvement. They won't be locked up in studios. They will interact with listeners in ways you don't see with commercial radio.
One other thing to be aware of: KEXP is associated (in some way) with the Experience Music Project. ("EMP", a fun, museum-like, music-intensive facility in the heart of Seattle -- in fact, it's in Seattle Center, where the Space Needle also is. Hence the calls, KEXP.) KEXP and EMP may still be getting funding from Paul Allen's foundation.
For those unfamiliar, Paul Allen was a billionaire who co-founded Microsoft with his buddy Bill Gates, in the very early days of personal computers. He went on to acquire and build Charter Communications, the giant Cable TV corporation. And Paul was an early investor in a number of other early-stage companies that became successful. Paul was passionate about music, which is why he was the financial prime mover behind EMP. He had a battleship's worth of money to do things like that. Unfortunately, one of the few things money can't buy is health, and he died way too young.
If things haven't changed, KEXP gets some of its funding from the foundation. That does not mean they don't need to fundraise, but they may feel they are backstopped by foundation money, so they have some degree of freedom to experiment in ways that more traditional not-for-profit broadcasters don't.
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KEXP received generous support from Allen Foundation/Vulcan to build the new facilities in 2015 and when the call letters changed from KCMU in 2001. Other than that, I'm not aware of any ongoing support from the Allen estate. KEXP did get a $10mil bequest from another generous donor that was put in a special fund to facilitate moves like this acquisition of KREV. So in that sense, we have the resources to experiment. It's not coming out of operating funds, though.
BTW, EMP is no longer a thing. It has evolved into Mo'Pop (The Museum of Pop Culture), and while we are neighbors on Seattle Center campus, and we sometimes partner on exhibits, etc., we aren't affiliated with Mo'Pop. KEXP is affiliated with the University of Washington, however, where it came into being as KCMU 51 years ago. That's the only official affiliation that I'm aware of.
Here's a scoop for folks in this thread: I trust that someone will see the filing later today or tomorrow, but the sale closed today and FCC has been notified of the consummation.
BTW, EMP is no longer a thing. It has evolved into Mo'Pop (The Museum of Pop Culture), and while we are neighbors on Seattle Center campus, and we sometimes partner on exhibits, etc., we aren't affiliated with Mo'Pop. KEXP is affiliated with the University of Washington, however, where it came into being as KCMU 51 years ago. That's the only official affiliation that I'm aware of.
Here's a scoop for folks in this thread: I trust that someone will see the filing later today or tomorrow, but the sale closed today and FCC has been notified of the consummation.
Thanks, Jamie. I once lived up there in south King County and often came up to Seattle, but that's been a few decades. And 6 or 7 years since my last visit, so I was unaware that the museum had rebranded. I will add a pitch for Mo'Pop. If you're visiting Seattle, you could do worse with your time than spending an afternoon in Seattle Center, and a few hours of it at Mo'Pop. Unless you hate music and recording technology -- and if you do, why are you here? -- you'll have a great time and probably learn a few things.
I'm a bit concerned about 92.7's new Sutro Tower location. IIRC, the stick was moved there briefly years ago, but listener complaints about the poor signal caused them to go back down in elevation (at much higher power) to the hill above Candlestick. So, why are they doing it a second time?
David E. has mentioned on this board a few times one of his Class A L.A. stations also went up to a high elevation with low power, but ratings increased when the antenna was relocated to a lower site with higher ERP.
David E. has mentioned on this board a few times one of his Class A L.A. stations also went up to a high elevation with low power, but ratings increased when the antenna was relocated to a lower site with higher ERP.
Different audience? Different usage of radio in general? The dance format was heard in lots of fixed locations, besides automobiles. Today the percentage of in-home and at-work listening on streaming devices is higher. The Sutro site should offer better coverage in automobiles throughout The City and, indeed, the entire Bay Area. The antenna is also placed at a lower level on Sutro (60 meters above ground, Flying Bear had it at 116 meters). As such, they're allowed to run 790 watts. The old authorization was for 510. Not significant, but it probably makes a bit of a difference. Plus, from the little information that was gleaned here it sounds like the old Candlestick site wasn't feasible any more anyway.
Reports have been good - give them a chance. I tried to pick it up in Grass Valley and I can hear something faintly, but it's not listenable given the HD noise from KBEB.
Dave B.
The lease wasn't renewed. Jamie also mentioned modeling for a new antenna which is likely to provide a more optimal signal than what's presently obtained.
After the brief time on Sutro in 2008, the transmitter moved back to its previous Leavenworth & Green location; that lease ran out at the end of 2013, by which time Stolz owned the station. The lease wasn't renewed. (I can't imagine why.) That was the motivation for the move to the Candlestick (KSFB) site - a note of irony: expedited processing was requested for that application.
It seemed fine when I was in Emeryville last week but that's not a particularly challenging location for pickup from Sutro.
Well I can say the new signal is LEAPS and bounds better in the city all the way down to Mountain View, before eventually KTOM is flexing its strength on it. The old site was truly absolutely terrible unless you were in the east bay. The move away from a directional antenna is HUGE for the million or so people the signal now additionally serves at -60 dbu
And believe it or not, the HD will help those with it to get a better signal - turning off HD in my car reduced my signal for every station in the bay. HD has a unique advantage due to our awful terrain.
I'm going to be in Vallejo on friday for few Weeks
I be on the Amtrak so I see how far 92.7 go from Fairfield not Sacramento
I can see if I can hear 92.7 at the Sacramento Station
I be on the Amtrak so I see how far 92.7 go from Fairfield not Sacramento
I can see if I can hear 92.7 at the Sacramento Station
Notification of Consummation filed today!
Yes (Whohoo!), they had a problem with FCC LMS last week.
I would almost certainly say that is impossible, due to signal strength. Best of luck.
Not to mention HD sidebands from 92.5.
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