Nine FM signal

[wlxx]

the signal at those Nine FM stations don't actually cover chicago,because 92.7 is a suburban Signal.

 

[EDwalker]

the signal at those Nine FM stations don't actually cover chicago,because 92.7 is a suburban Signal.

Everyone knows that; whats the point of your statement?

 

[markinrockford]

Since you bring it up, I remember listening to the BUS on 99.9 from Kankakee....Barely comming in on Chicago's south side. They seemed (The BUS) to have a lot of local Kankakee ads. Now, 99.9 is the best signal I can catch from a station that has their fortress-like studio in my neighborhood on Pulaski, with a lot less ads (compared to the BUS) from the Kankakee area.
I would love to know how well WBUS 99.9 billed back then......

 

[hipporadio]

Since you bring it up, I remember listening to the BUS on 99.9 from Kankakee....Barely comming in on Chicago's south side.

The BUS was highly-directional to the south to protect a co-channel station in Benton Harbor, MI. It "hit the skids" about the time you got to I-80.

They seemed (The BUS) to have a lot of local Kankakee ads... I would love to know how well WBUS 99.9 billed back then...

It was shocking to most who were familiar with radio performance in similar-sized cities. The BUS was a revenue MONSTER... Can you say "cash cow"--and they were downright "rhythmic" then considering their place on the prairie.

My first business partner went on to build the FM allocation in neighboring Bourbonnais (which he sat-fed to a local DCS from his station in Champaign). The BUS was well-beyond just formidable... They were an "automatic buy" in that city. Rumor (from media brokers) set their gross at nearly 4-MILLION/yr back in the early-mid 90s!

 

[hootmon]

I rember the Bus well. It was a pretty good station. Also, their tower could be seen for miles and miles when you were headed north on I-57. It was a marker that let you know you were getting pretty close to the Chicago area. If they were billing so much, why did they change formats? I believe it went Spanish at one point.

 

[JeremyAndrews]

I rember the Bus well. It was a pretty good station. Also, their tower could be seen for miles and miles when you were headed north on I-57. It was a marker that let you know you were getting pretty close to the Chicago area. If they were billing so much, why did they change formats? I believe it went Spanish at one point.

station sale to Entravision.

 

[hipporadio]

I rember the Bus well. It was a pretty good station... If they were billing so much, why did they change formats?

LONG AGO I heard the reason for the sale... It struck me as so benign—that now it remains “buried in a fog”. I’m sure many here know the full story. I may well be wrong, but it was something as simple as “we’re maxed out—competition’s up—economy’s flat” or “that company will pay out the wazoo to own our stick”. The sale price was impressive (on the surface)—not really so when a typical multiple of revenue was considered—but then Kankakee is not a large and well-esteemed market that would continue to satisfy the debt on an expensive local operation.

The BUS was sold to an ethnic broadcaster who envisioned a cluster of suburban stations to carry their Spanish-language format. I believe there was another in the Calumet and possibly a third. It was an early attempt at what later happened on 103.1 as “The 80s Channel” (GOD—I loved that station-Winston and all) and what you are now hearing on “NINE FM”. IIRC, most of these multi-station rim-shots usually terminate in ratings and/or revenue disaster.

How wrong am I on this? ‘Hope not too much