I may be wrong and correct me if someone disagrees with me but I think you are beginning to see many translator radio stations due to the non success of HD radio. Automobile radios typically don't have HD radios and it has become increasingly hard to change out automobile radios for aftermarket stereos that have HD radio. This leads to people not listening to HD radio and therefore now they are being re-transmitted to these translators.
Then again, I may be on left field with this.