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KOMO-FM 97.7 Voluntary Assignment of License

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DMK

I saw over on NWBroadcasters that "The FCC has granted Voluntary Assignment of License from South Sound Broadcasting, LLC to Cheapeake Television Licensee, LLC for KOMO-FM 97.7 Oakville along with booster station KOMO-FM1 97.7 Tukwila and translator K249DX 97.7 Redmond."

To a casual observer of the local radio industry, is this significant or just something routine that happens from time to time?
 
It means the FCC has granted approval for Sinclair (via their Chesapeake Television Licensee subsidiary) to buy KOMO-FM. It probably won't change much, as Fischer/Sinclair had been leasing KOMO-FM for many years.
 
Sinclair had a first right of refusal to purchase KOMO-FM at the end of the lease term. They're just exercising that option.
 
My question about this is why did it take so long? I remember a discussion on this board 3-5 years ago about Synclaire exercising its option to purchase 97.7 back then. Why did it take 3-5 years for the FCC to approve this? Seems to me like this should have been a routine approval.
 
bobdavcav said:
My question about this is why did it take so long?
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Sinclair had several pending TV-related applications in the hopper. They're all processed one at a time. That, and this Covid thing has slowed down processing of applications to a crawl.

bobdavcav said:
Seems to me like this should have been a routine approval.
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There is no such a thing. All applications for transfer have to go through the process. Also, one must account for delays caused by things like missing paperwork, or where members of the general public that submit objections to any business Sinclair is trying to do.
 
I wonder if the day will come where KOMO eventually needs to get a hold of a full market FM signal, or put their programming on 101.5. It seems like they are satisfied enough with 97.7 for now, but as we know, that signal isn't great.
 
Kelly A said:
Since 101.5 is more profitable than 1000 AM/ 97.7FM, why would they do that?
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I should have specified - I meant adding KOMO programming as a HD channel on 101.5 (if they ever add HD in the first place). It's not the ideal solution, but it makes some sense for in-vehicle listening.
 
I do wonder how much that will help though, if 97.7 is still on. In cars, the 97.7 signal isn't all that bad across much of the metro. I could only see the benefits of adding KOMO to 101.5 HD2 for those that live say north of Everett who like to listen to the fm in their cars. Here in Edmonds though, unless you have a radio like the one n my bedroom that's not very selective, 97.7 comes in pretty well.
 
bobdavcav said:
I do wonder how much that will help though, if 97.7 is still on. In cars, the 97.7 signal isn't all that bad across much of the metro. I could only see the benefits of adding KOMO to 101.5 HD2 for those that live say north of Everett who like to listen to the fm in their cars. Here in Edmonds though, unless you have a radio like the one n my bedroom that's not very selective, 97.7 comes in pretty well.
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The main issue with 97.7, as with all South Mountain signals, is that the signal completely drops off once you enter the Kent Valley. The Eastside also poses some challenges for that frequency as well. HD wouldn't be a complete solution, but it seems like it would make some sense.
 
fordranger797 said:
The main issue with 97.7, as with all South Mountain signals, is that the signal completely drops off once you enter the Kent Valley. The Eastside also poses some challenges for that frequency as well. HD wouldn't be a complete solution, but it seems like it would make some sense.
Click to expand...

An HD channel, best case, gets you a .1 share. With a vehicle, unless you scan and find the HD-2, -3, whatever-channel, your average listener will never know it exists. One could also argue the point, that 97.7 probably has a more reliable signal into more of the market than relying on an HD-2.
 
Kelly A said:
An HD channel, best case, gets you a .1 share. With a vehicle, unless you scan and find the HD-2, -3, whatever-channel, your average listener will never know it exists. One could also argue the point, that 97.7 probably has a more reliable signal into more of the market than relying on an HD-2.
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It can be advantageous to have programming on an HD channel if one also has an FM translator to go with it.
 
bossbill said:
It can be advantageous to have programming on an HD channel if one also has an FM translator to go with it.
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Isn't that the whole reason that KGY still exists in South Sound? AM gone and without the HD subchannel on the country signal there would be no translator to carry the oldies station.
 
fordranger797 said:
The main issue with 97.7, as with all South Mountain signals, is that the signal completely drops off once you enter the Kent Valley. The Eastside also poses some challenges for that frequency as well. HD wouldn't be a complete solution, but it seems like it would make some sense.
Click to expand...

Does KOMO-FM have a booster and a translator (102.1FM) in Tukwila and Auburn Wa to improve the reception in the Kent Valley area?
 
101.5, Sinclair's only FM station does not have and HD signal so the whole point of putting KOMO on and HD subchannel is moot.
 
A little background on why KPLZ never implemented HD: I was the VP of Engineering for Fisher when the roll-out of IBOC was given approval. Being members of the "HD-Alliance" the (at the time) Clear Channel and Entercom stations were going full speed ahead on constructing their FM HD facilities. We had several internal discussions on the pros and cons of building out HD on Fisher stations. My take was that if any of our stations should try HD, it should be KVI.

I felt that any listener-interest in FM-HD content would be years down the road, and the quarter of a million dollars it would take to implement HD on KPLZ would be better spent on initiatives that would provide a better opportunity to bolster ratings or revenue. I felt that being an early adopter of HD at the time, just didn't present an ROI. Come to find out, I was right.

Then came the Recession in 2008.
 
Kelly A said:
A little background on why KPLZ never implemented HD: I was the VP of Engineering for Fisher when the roll-out of IBOC was given approval. Being members of the "HD-Alliance" the (at the time) Clear Channel and Entercom stations were going full speed ahead on constructing their FM HD facilities. We had several internal discussions on the pros and cons of building out HD on Fisher stations. My take was that if any of our stations should try HD, it should be KVI.

I felt that any listener-interest in FM-HD content would be years down the road, and the quarter of a million dollars it would take to implement HD on KPLZ would be better spent on initiatives that would provide a better opportunity to bolster ratings or revenue. I felt that being an early adopter of HD at the time, just didn't present an ROI. Come to find out, I was right.

Then came the Recession in 2008.
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You were smarter than 99% of us.

On top of that, the first generation gear is obsolete, and the only advantage of an HD channel is either renting to an ethnic or religious group or using to get a translator for a limited service area FM. While it adds a few visual supplements to an analog FM, the money spent could be better spent towards new media products.
 
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