Merging SA and Austin into one media market?

[saradio1]

The quote below is from San Antonio Business Journal regarding the move of KROX.

Emmis' plan is timely. There have been conversations about merging San Antonio and Austin into a single, significantly larger, regional media market. San Antonio Chamber of Commerce Chairman Henry Cisneros has said such a move would create a population center of more than 4.1 million people, giving the region more political clout.

Entire article below-
http://m.bizjournals.com/sanantonio...WEp/O6KYSAsehEiQoAqtKfBLR&t=1421281645&r=full

Thoughts?

 

[ContinuousWave]

Emmis already has Bob FM (licensed to San Marcos) halfway between the two metro areas but down in San Antonio inside Loop410, forget it!! KROX is already licensed to BUDA (where Bob's transmitter is)..Bob is a 100kw C0.....101X will be a 86kw C1 on the tower and lower..so less range than 103.5.....

Aint.gonna.make.difference....except lost listeners to the north maybe..

San Antonio and Austin are too far apart.....DFW was a natural..with Cedar Hill...but SA and Austin would be like BPT and Houston....nope nope nope

 

[Unknowable]

Wow! That's just retarded.
From my location in NW San Antonio I can hardly get any Austin stations save for a couple weak signals. Bob FM doesn't make it over here, at all...

 

[kc4rae]

On my way back from San Antonio, I was in my mom's Nissan van and I couldn't get KONO-FM past Buda...at all. It had already started to break up pretty badly by the time I got to San Marcos. Granted, KONO-FM isn't centered over the corridor better and at 96 kW signal at 302 m over flat land, it should have done better. Radios are not treated the same, however.

There's not much room (or none at all) to upgrade signals that could come close to covering a part of both metros and I doubt a good full class C would cover a decent portion of both cities with a listenable signal, especially inside buildings...not mentioning metros.

Though, I would like to hear about how it will affect advertising, if it does at all assuming that both markets would be combined to one.

 

[davideduardo]

Though, I would like to hear about how it will affect advertising, if it does at all assuming that both markets would be combined to one.

They won't be combined as a single radio market for two reasons.

First, Nielsen requires certain levels of listening to stations across a metro to consolidate them.

Second, all subscribers in each of the two markets would have to vote and approve the consolidation.

Dallas and Ft Worth are totally contiguous and share major AM and most FM signals, and the stations voted in favor. Miami and Ft Lauderdale are contiguous population corridors, and a fews AMs and all FMs voted to consolidate. Los Angles and Riverside San Bernardino don't share signals as much, and consolidation was voted down.

 

[flyingdj]

Using a common mileage calculator to give an estimated distance between two cities:

Rand McNally
Mileage Calculator

Dallas To Fort Worth
Mileage: 32.2 miles

Austin To San Antonio
Mileage: 79.2 miles

Radio might have a different definition in a few years with advances in communication. Until then, using radio waves at these frequencies and power ratings, I doubt Austin and San Antonio would be combined under the current conditions because of the distance between the two cities. I don't know what the greatest distance is between two cities that are in the same market but I doubt there are any at 80 miles. I think the measurement is usually the center of the business district in one city to the center of the business district in the other city.

 

[willdav713]

Why can't Emmis just purchase a San Antonio radio station and flip that to Alternative? Assuming they could find someone to sell them a station 2 FM's or 1 FM and 1 AM.

If this deal where to happen, I don't think people could pick it up on the south side.

Distance between Houston and Freeport 61.5 miles (KJOJ 103.3 is in Freeport)
Distance between Houston and Port Arthur 89.5 miles (KTJM 98.5 is in Port Arthur)
Distance between Houston and Galveston 50.8 miles (KMJQ 102.1 serves Houston and Galveston)
Distance between San Antonio and Fredericksburg 69.8 miles (KONO 101.1 before they moved to Helotes)

So it is possible but I am only referring to 101X
KONO-FM could move back to Fredericksburg and possibly service the Austin market, but I wouldn't expect a station like KTFM 94.1 in Floresville to cover the Austin market.

 

[kc4rae]

They won't be combined as a single radio market for two reasons.

First, Nielsen requires certain levels of listening to stations across a metro to consolidate them.

Second, all subscribers in each of the two markets would have to vote and approve the consolidation.

Dallas and Ft Worth are totally contiguous and share major AM and most FM signals, and the stations voted in favor. Miami and Ft Lauderdale are contiguous population corridors, and a fews AMs and all FMs voted to consolidate. Los Angles and Riverside San Bernardino don't share signals as much, and consolidation was voted down.

Yeah, I didn't think it could happen. Just on the technical aspects alone with distance between the two cities, there's no way.
---
I wonder if this was just some piece to create conversation among the general public. Those in radio and TV certainly know it can't work. About the only way I can get stations in San Antonio is via tropo, which during certain parts of the year, happens nightly for about 12 hours. I don't know anyone trying to sell tropo. (laughs)

I could get a couple of San Antonio AMs, but only during the day at their licensed daytime power. That is of no significance to most people.

 

[willdav713]

Yeah, I didn't think it could happen. Just on the technical aspects alone with distance between the two cities, there's no way.
---
I wonder if this was just some piece to create conversation among the general public. Those in radio and TV certainly know it can't work. About the only way I can get stations in San Antonio is via tropo, which during certain parts of the year, happens nightly for about 12 hours. I don't know anyone trying to sell tropo. (laughs)

Remember KCWX-TV 2 Fredericksburg/Austin/San Antonio? It has happened before, along with the station which COL is in Port Arthur over 80 miles away from Downtown Houston that I just mentioned.

But if it is approved, I doubt they will advertise in the San Antonio market although KBPA Bob-FM advertises Chuck Nash out in San Marcos just like I wouldn't expect KTJM to advertise Port Arthur businesses since there market is mainly geared for the Houston metro although it can't be heard all over Houston.

 

[davideduardo]

Remember KCWX-TV 2 Fredericksburg/Austin/San Antonio? It has happened before, along with the station which COL is in Port Arthur over 80 miles away from Downtown Houston that I just mentioned.

But if it is approved, I doubt they will advertise in the San Antonio market although KBPA Bob-FM advertises Chuck Nash out in San Marcos just like I wouldn't expect KTJM to advertise Port Arthur businesses since there market is mainly geared for the Houston metro although it can't be heard all over Houston.

The OP is not talking about a rimshot station trying to serve a nearby larger market. We are talking about two separate metro areas being combined by Nielsen and measured as one.

 

[Kent]

Why can't Emmis just purchase a San Antonio radio station and flip that to Alternative? Assuming they could find someone to sell them a station 2 FM's or 1 FM and 1 AM.

You just answered your own question. It may be a good idea in theory, but, in practice, Emmis's best chance to buy into San Antonio passed when L&L/Alpha bought the Border Media stations.

I also have to agree that you're unlikely to see the two radio markets consolidated. I suppose it might be theoretically possible to put a tower in southern Hays or northern Comal counties that could hit the population centers of both San Antonio and Austin, but it's not practical. Stations are wedged so closely together that they'd have a tough time clearing separation requirements. You couldn't, for example, have KROX-FM on the same tower as KONO-FM and KQXT. That's not even considering spacing with other markets. Which stations would downgrade their signals and who would decide?

 

[daypart]

Remember KCWX-TV 2 Fredericksburg/Austin/San Antonio? It has happened before, along with the station which COL is in Port Arthur over 80 miles away from Downtown Houston that I just mentioned.

I live on the north side of San Antonio and I've never been able to pick up KCWX with an antenna. That station doesn't support the case for consolidation very well at all.