New Call Letters for AM 560 Are KZAC. A Question:

[TheBigA]

But why keep 1050?

We don't know that they are. If they're turning in 560, they could also do the same with 1050 if they deem it in the same category.

For one thing, 1050 is 50,000 watts, while 560 is only 5K. They're both class Bs. 1050 is associated with KNBR so it is attached to a revenue source. They use it for overflow of some games on KNBR and some national program contracts. If they're waiting for vendor contracts to run out on 560, they may be waiting for the same on 1050. Clearly they need to cut expenses in the cluster.

 

[KilowattKat]

It would explain why AM 560 has been removed from the Cumulus San Francisco page...

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[TheBigA]

It would explain why AM 560 has been removed from the Cumulus San Francisco page...

KTCT 1050 isn't there either. Usually it's combined with KNBR. Not anymore.

 

[Michael Rivers Kramer]

We don't know that they are. If they're turning in 560, they could also do the same with 1050 if they deem it in the same category.

For one thing, 1050 is 50,000 watts, while 560 is only 5K. They're both class Bs. 1050 is associated with KNBR so it is attached to a revenue source. They use it for overflow of some games on KNBR and some national program contracts. If they're waiting for vendor contracts to run out on 960, they may be waiting for the same on 1050. Clearly they need to cut expenses in the cluster.

All of this is probably moot anyway in the grand scheme of things, but 1050 is higher on the dial and it’s night pattern misses San Jose.

But you are correct that we don’t even know if they’re going to keep that on. I do know that they dropped 1050 from the logo when they started simulcasting on 104.5 nearly 5 and half years ago.

 

[Mark Roberts]

Okay, I'm just gonna go ahead and break cover.

I know a guy who knows a guy. Both are KGO alum and both tell me that Cumulus has informed program vendors of their intent to take 560 dark.

I can't confirm that independently, but apparently, there's some existing contractual thing (sports?) that requires them to keep 560 on the air a while longer.

And that, they tell me, is why they needed new calls for 560 instead of just moving the KSFO calls to 810 and turning in the license.

If taking 560 silent comes to pass, I think a prize should go to @crainbebo , who mentioned that very possibility the day the story broke, November 15:

I predict 560 will go dark and Cumulus will turn in the license. AM isn't sustainable in SF anymore, except for KCBS (which most listen to FM 106.9 anyway), and KNBR (which most listen to 104.5).

(post #21 in the "KSFO to 810" thread: https://radiodiscussions.com/threads/ksfo-to-810.774001/page-2#post-6769976)

As for sports contracts, I don't think KSFO (at 560) had any; 810 has University of California football and basketball. Football is winding down and, aside from basketball and hockey, it's kind of a slow period for sports. Warriors basketball is on 95.7 The Game; for pro hockey, the San Jose Sharks are online only. Stanford basketball appears to be only on 90.1 KZSU, Stanford's student station. (Corrections from someone actually in the market welcome.)

It all makes sense. Cumulus is very different from iHeart, where they built BIN as a way to attract new advertisers to AM stations. That's not the direction Cumulus is going. They seem to be cutting back on inventory rather than seeking to grow it. At least in terms of broadcasting. They're not building new platforms or new formats. They are instead shrinking the footprint. So turning in some AM licenses wouldn't surprise me at all. They have a bunch of dead AMs around the country, most of which came from the Citadel purchase. I think they have shut down a few already, mostly for technical reasons. In another thread, I said that some owners have held on to these AMs in the hope of getting something (anything) in exchange for the license. Maybe a tax credit from the government, for example. They may be waiting to see what the new administration might do in this area. But reading the early comments of Brendan Carr, I would say that his FCC won't be like Agit Pai's.

Interesting comparison, and one that at least feels true. Cumulus definitely isn't building platforms to the extent iHeart has been. As for tax credits or other incentives, I think those would have to get Congressional approval, and, to put it mildly, I don't think the NAB is the most effective lobbying organization there ever was.

Broadcast regulation is likely to be even more of a backwater in the FCC in the new term.

If Cumulus does pull the plug on 560, they've got a year to shop it around.

We don't know that they are. If they're turning in 560, they could also do the same with 1050 if they deem it in the same category.

For one thing, 1050 is 50,000 watts, while 560 is only 5K. They're both class Bs. 1050 is associated with KNBR so it is attached to a revenue source. They use it for overflow of some games on KNBR and some national program contracts. If they're waiting for vendor contracts to run out on 560, they may be waiting for the same on 1050. Clearly they need to cut expenses in the cluster.

1050 also has the KNBR brand and benefits from that association. But if 560 does go, it's a good bet that 1050 will be the next candidate to be the radio equivalent of one of Henry VIII's wives. Being available for overflows due to schedule conflicts isn't as valuable a thing as it once was.

If you're in radio, you have my sympathies: it's going to be a long, cold, harsh winter for you. I hope you've prepared accordingly.

 

[TheBigA]

As for sports contracts, I don't think KSFO (at 560) had any; 810 has University of California football and basketball. Football is winding down and, aside from basketball and hockey, it's kind of a slow period for sports.

That means 810 has to pre-empt shows for basketball, and therefore those shows only air on 560.

As for tax credits or other incentives, I think those would have to get Congressional approval,

Probably. I don't recall the AM translator deal needing congress.

If Cumulus does pull the plug on 560, they've got a year to shop it around.

My sense is they already have.

If you're in radio, you have my sympathies: it's going to be a long, cold, harsh winter for you. I hope you've prepared accordingly.

I've approached my entire career as though today may be my last. It's served me well.

 

[davideduardo]

We don't know that they are. If they're turning in 560, they could also do the same with 1050 if they deem it in the same category.

For one thing, 1050 is 50,000 watts, while 560 is only 5K.

But those 5kw on much lower 560 are likely better than the directional one half-way up the dial.

They're both class Bs. .

It’s the associated revenue.

 

[Mark Roberts]

That means 810 has to pre-empt shows for basketball, and therefore those shows only air on 560.

Cumulus could always try to persuade Learfield to let it move the games to 560. Maybe they already have. We'll find out tomorrow, as I mentioned earlier.

Probably. I don't recall the AM translator deal needing congress.

This is tax policy, though, which requires Congress and, often, additional interpretation by the Treasury Department.

It feels like a lot of people in the media today are looking for a sugar daddy. And how has that worked out for the Washington Post or Los Angeles Times? Same principle here.

 

[TheBigA]

It feels like a lot of people in the media today are looking for a sugar daddy. And how has that worked out for the Washington Post or Los Angeles Times? Same principle here.

Newspapers aren't licensed by the government. Radio stations are. Nobody's looking for a sugar daddy. Just a fair deal.

Radio stations are required to operate as though it's still the 20th century against unregulated media who operate in the 21st.

 

[Mark Roberts]

Newspapers aren't licensed by the government. Radio stations are. Nobody's looking for a sugar daddy. Just a fair deal.

The deal was to get a license to use a slice of a public resource, the electromagnetic spectrum, and in return provide a public service, essentially amounting to a cheap lease that allowed substantial profits to be amassed, with benefit to the public being of a nonfinancial nature. The provision of a public service became increasingly questionable as broadcasters often didn't hold up their end of the deal and the usual platitudes of the free market were invoked to prevent effective regulation of any matters that were other than routine paperwork or technical...and even that has weakened over time.

You seem to imply that regulation is mainly responsible for broadcasters' current difficulties. Newspapers aren't regulated, as you point out, and have the same problems. So it can't be regulation that's the root cause.

In the unregulated world, one can even view Mark Zuckerberg's latest suck-up move, to eliminate fact-checking teams, as cost-cutting in disguise as his platforms begin to lose relevance.

Free enterprise is great until it works, then the losers want to socialize the risks after the profits have been privatized. Failing businesses tend to be the biggest advocates of socialism, but they won't admit it or even recognize it.

 

[TheBigA]

The deal was to get a license to use a slice of a public resource, the electromagnetic spectrum, and in return provide a public service, essentially amounting to a cheap lease that allowed substantial profits to be amassed, with benefit to the public being of a nonfinancial nature.

But clearly that situation has changed during the last 20 years. Right? Profits are not what they used to be, and the value of a license is lessened when there are fewer devices that can receive that signal. The operators of the signal aren't in a position to do anything about devices.

The provision of a public service became increasingly questionable as broadcasters often didn't hold up their end of the deal and the usual platitudes of the free market were invoked to prevent effective regulation of any matters that were other than routine paperwork or technical...and even that has weakened over time.

Politicians made a decision many years ago to cut the size of government, and therefore lessen the number of its regulations. The hope was that smaller government would cost less, meaning a cut in taxes. Starting in the 1980s, the government began a campaign of deregulation, and they cut the FCC's budget. This wasn't done as a favor to broadcasters, but as an election campaign promise. And it worked. Those politicians got re-elected. The regulatory cuts continued in the 90s as part of the contract with America. Then they stopped. Right around the time new media came about. The new media operated in an unregulated environment. Just last week, a federal court ruled that ISPs are not public utilities. So they can raise prices all they want. Now we have a new government that seeks to operate more like a business.

You seem to imply that regulation is mainly responsible for broadcasters' current difficulties. Newspapers aren't regulated, as you point out, and have the same problems. So it can't be regulation that's the root cause.

No that's not what I'm saying. Regulation didn't cause the debt issues they're dealing with. But there are antiquated rules that only apply to broadcasters that don't to digital media. The playing field isn't level. That's all I'm saying.

Free enterprise is great until it works, then the losers want to socialize the risks after the profits have been privatized. Failing businesses tend to be the biggest advocates of socialism, but they won't admit it or even recognize it.

We're talking about Cumulus turning in its licenses. Explain to me how that's equal to socialism. What's happening is that a company has realized there's no value in a government-issued license, so it's voluntarily turning it in. We'll see if anyone else jumps in and applies for the license.

 

[crainbebo]

Ding ding ding! It's 2025 and AM isn't sustainable in SFO anymore. Likewise across large portions of the US.
The other option is to sell 560 to some Ethnic operation. I'm sure KVTO would love to move there and turn off 1400. That's 5x higher power and a low frequency too.

 

[davideduardo]

Ding ding ding! It's 2025 and AM isn't sustainable in SFO anymore. Likewise across large portions of the US.
The other option is to sell 560 to some Ethnic operation. I'm sure KVTO would love to move there and turn off 1400. That's 5x higher power and a low frequency too.

5 kw on 560 is about equal (assuming the same transmitter site and wave-length matching towers) to 225 kw on 1400.

 

[fybush]

We'll see if anyone else jumps in and applies for the license.

That's not a thing that can happen.

Once an AM license is surrendered, it's gone, at least until the FCC opens a filing window for auctioning new AM facilities, and that hasn't happened in a very long time.

The FCC made an exception to that policy for the four AM licenses in and around St. Louis that it deleted a few years ago over gross licensee misconduct, and there were exactly zero bids, even with a very reasonable minimum of $50,000.

 

[Michael Rivers Kramer]

560 would be a big win for Relevant Radio to replace 1260. My guess is that the land lease tied 560 may be too high of a cost to be worth the persuit.

 

[TheBigA]

Once an AM license is surrendered, it's gone, at least until the FCC opens a filing window for auctioning new AM facilities, and that hasn't happened in a very long time.

In the commission's report to congress, they noted there are now 153 fewer AM radio stations than there were in 2020. So perhaps they will have another auction soon.

560 would be a big win for Relevant Radio to replace 1260. My guess is that the land lease tied 560 may be too high of a cost to be worth the persuit.

In keeping with what they did with WFAS, they would sell the tower land before turning in the license.

 

[michael hagerty]

In keeping with what they did with WFAS, they would sell the tower land before turning in the license.

They did the same with KABC in Los Angeles---though that was prime real estate along La Cienega Boulevard:


Discover Cumulus District



The 560 tower land is a lease deal going back to the 1930s with the State Harbor Commission and the towers themselves were sold to Vertical Bridge.

 

[Weiserguy]

In keeping with what they did with WFAS, they would sell the tower land before turning in the license.

If that were the case, why wouldn't Cumulus just cut a deal to sell the station and the land together for a modest premium over the land value. (Which in this case is a lease of public land, as Mike Hagerty explained upthread in #26.) For Cumulus, anything has to be better than nothing, and nothing is what they'll get from turning in the license. But in this case, Cumulus has nothing to sell except the station, it's license, equipment and facilities. Vertical Bridge owns the towers and the lease for the land underneath it. (Which begs the question, who owns the transmitter building that the main tower is mounted atop?)

The 560 sticks sit near the end of Islais Creek, which is now a shipping channel just north of Hunter's Point... <image snipped>

There are two towers---you can see the shadow of one of them falling over Amador Street as it curves left. Next parcel to the right are protected wetlands.

The land is leased from the State Harbor Commission---in a deal dating back to 1938, when CBS owned KSFO. Here's a good backgrounder, with historical photos and an aerial from more recent times:

The Radio Historian

1050 has five towers sitting on a big parcel in Hayward (the one with the red marker)... <image snipped>

All this land appears to be part of the Hayward Regional Shoreline. It's probably another long-term lease. At the very least, it's unlikely to be a candidate for development, given that it's surrounded by the Regional Shoreline.

Cumulus does not own the towers themselves---they sold all of those a little over four years ago, so they wouldn't even get the scrap value for the metal if the towers were to be dismantled... <remainder snipped>

Thinking about how Cumulus would unravel this mess gives me a headache, even assuming anyone else wanted to take it over.

 

[Weiserguy]

The 560 tower land is a lease deal going back to the 1930s with the State Harbor Commission and the towers themselves were sold to Vertical Bridge.

So as I wrote immediately above, Vertical Bridge now owns the towers and the lease (from the State Harbor Commission) for the land underneath the transmitter site. Assumedly, Cumulus continues to own the transmitter building on which the main tower is anchored? How does that work? Or does VB also own the building, with Cumulus leasing it back for their transmitters and related equipment?

 

[JJSPC]

If there had been any chance at all of a potential buyer, Cumulus wouldn't be considering turning in the license. Doesn't matter who owns the towers or site...apparently no one wants the station.