There have been many applicants in prior auctions of the FM band for stations in very small towns where radio is not economically viable. One such place is Guthrie, Texas, the only town in King County. Because Guthrie is unincorporated the population is not precisely known but the latest population for King County is 270.
King County is ranching country. Guthrie is not much more than a school and county seat. Maybe half the county lives here. The primary business is a store and it's not on the highway. In other words, this commercial FM frequency is not going to make anything selling commercials locally.
KJAG was not on the air when I last drove through the town but it seems to be on the air now playing a Cowboy music mix that is somewhat heavy on classics. Tossed in might be a short Cowboy Poetry bit or a short clip, say from a John Wayne movie tossed in. Both amplify the Cowboy lifestyle. Weather is added every 30 minutes using a service. Weather is sponsored by a new car dealership that gets a name mention. The only spot breaks I have heard are for products that can be had online. This is because the station streams. Or is that the other way around. It seems American Cowboy Radio, an online station, is the audio for KJAG. The format is nicely produced and computer run.
KJAG operates at 120 watts at 69 feet HAAT. It seems to be a Class A FM but like so many of these FMs in out of the way spots, operates at minimal power levels required by the FCC. Looking at these in Texas it seems none could have much of a chance at covering operational expenses.
One might wonder if these folks are doing such stations as a labor of love or some future economic windfall from being 'in the way' of another station's move to a better location. Most are operated by ministries. Even as ministries, the population is so tiny, it is likely they'd be lucky to have one donor but I doubt it. Generally only about 1 in 2,000 give to ministries (and that's fairly old from back when I was selling national ministries). Most of these stations would be lucky to hit 2,000 people. Many of these stations, 100 watts from as little as a 30 foot tower, are Class C3 or authorized for 25,000 watts at 326 feet HAAT or any combination to provide equal coverage.
I find such stations interesting because they are so unusual.
I know there have to be many more out there.
King County is ranching country. Guthrie is not much more than a school and county seat. Maybe half the county lives here. The primary business is a store and it's not on the highway. In other words, this commercial FM frequency is not going to make anything selling commercials locally.
KJAG was not on the air when I last drove through the town but it seems to be on the air now playing a Cowboy music mix that is somewhat heavy on classics. Tossed in might be a short Cowboy Poetry bit or a short clip, say from a John Wayne movie tossed in. Both amplify the Cowboy lifestyle. Weather is added every 30 minutes using a service. Weather is sponsored by a new car dealership that gets a name mention. The only spot breaks I have heard are for products that can be had online. This is because the station streams. Or is that the other way around. It seems American Cowboy Radio, an online station, is the audio for KJAG. The format is nicely produced and computer run.
KJAG operates at 120 watts at 69 feet HAAT. It seems to be a Class A FM but like so many of these FMs in out of the way spots, operates at minimal power levels required by the FCC. Looking at these in Texas it seems none could have much of a chance at covering operational expenses.
One might wonder if these folks are doing such stations as a labor of love or some future economic windfall from being 'in the way' of another station's move to a better location. Most are operated by ministries. Even as ministries, the population is so tiny, it is likely they'd be lucky to have one donor but I doubt it. Generally only about 1 in 2,000 give to ministries (and that's fairly old from back when I was selling national ministries). Most of these stations would be lucky to hit 2,000 people. Many of these stations, 100 watts from as little as a 30 foot tower, are Class C3 or authorized for 25,000 watts at 326 feet HAAT or any combination to provide equal coverage.
I find such stations interesting because they are so unusual.
I know there have to be many more out there.
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