What I was referring to was not recent. At the time that WETA went from all-news to all-classical in 2007, I remember (but can't find now) hearing reports that some Congress members were angry that some markets (specifically Washington, D.C.) had two NPR news outlets. I now believe that that anger was specifically aimed at the WAMU/WETA situation in the D.C. area between 2005 and 2007. What would have happened if Congress had passed a law at that time mandating the number of NPR news outlets in a single market would have been up to the courts.
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October 2025 PPM. If you build it they will listen.
- Thread starter xmtrland
- Start date
What I was referring to was not recent. At the time that WETA went from all-news to all-classical in 2007, I remember (but can't find now) hearing reports that some Congress members were angry that some markets (specifically Washington, D.C.) had two NPR news outlets. I now believe that that anger was specifically aimed at the WAMU/WETA situation in the D.C. area between 2005 and 2007. What would have happened if Congress had passed a law at that time mandating the number of NPR news outlets in a single market would have been up to the courts.
Once again, congress has no say about this. They never have. The government doesn't get involved in radio formats. The reason WETA switched to classical is because the commercial classical station in DC, WGMS, was sold and was changing format. The new owner made a deal with WETA to give them all of the WGMS intellectual property and archive. I think some money was also involved. The former WGMS is now WTOP, an all news station. There are still two news stations in DC. None of it required any government intervention.
Classical Radio in Washington Saved as WETA (Re-)Adopts Format
Classical music lovers in the nation's capital can breathe a sigh of relief: just when it seemed Beethoven might disappear from the airwaves altogether, WETA changed back to a classical format on Monday (January 22), becoming the exclusive provider of classical music in the greater Washington...
playbill.com
It's very hard to get congress to do things. Maybe you've noticed how they can't even get the government open. The idea that they'd pass such a law is beyond laughable.
Remember, any station that depends on ratings looks at the market, not the cities (ratings don't rate "cities" individually) or even (in most cases) single counties. So the "outskirts" can be just as important as the city the market is named after.
In today's news, we may look at radio in New York City. Over half the market population lives outside of Manhattan and the Boroughs, and well over half of the non-Hispanic white audience lives there. So some stations nearly ignore "The City" and program to Jersey, Long Island and Upstate.
Not disagreeing on that point at all. I think most (if not all) of the radio stations in Seattle go to great lengths to connect with listeners in the suburbs/outskirts of the market. I find it a bit strange that KUOW has made no attempt to upgrade their signal, given that there appears to be no barrier from doing so (other than the financial cost). This has led me to believe that KUOW views the City of Seattle (and directly surrounding areas) as being their core listening audience, with listeners in places like Pierce, Snohomish and Thurston Counties mattering significantly less (honorable mention for Olympia, which has an AM translator for KUOW). The content on KUOW may also play a factor here, as most of the local news stories focus directly on Seattle. It's different from KIRO, which focuses on the entire market.
KEXP has a similar philosophy to what I described. They have a relatively small FM footprint, but seem to understand that their terrestrial listeners are in Seattle (with many other listeners online). I'm not sure if KUOW has a similar thought process, but I'm sure a lot of people prefer their podcasts and online presence.
Interesting and thorough analysis. Have you considered writing (as in "emailing") the manager of KUOW and asking why they have not upgraded via a site move, power increase or some other method? As an actual local listener, you might get an interesting and informative response.
Like "Mission Impossible", this message self destructs in 5... 4... 3...
The university owns the downtown Seattle site. Rent and over head at that site I bet is much cheaper than Cougar or WTM. Is the site hurting donations? The cost to move and changes in over head operating the transmitter site from another location, I'm sure play, into that decision to stay at the downtown site.
It is literally positioned, multiple times an hour, as "Seattle's NPR News Station." In both listeners and editorial content, KUOW seems absolutely fine wth ceding Monroe and Buckley (and even Tacoma) to KNKX. Their buidling penetration in Seattle (and downtown Bellevue) is market leading, and it's not even close. They know what they are doing.
I had a contact at KUOW, and asked them a similar question a few years ago out of curiosity. When 88.5 was sold by Pacific Lutheran University, there was a little bit of discussion about what that would mean for KUOW, and if they (KUOW) would ultimately be interested in purchasing 88.5 as some sort of upgrade.
Obviously, that conversation didn’t go anywhere. Those in charge of managing KUOW were of the consensus was that there would be no reason to make any significant changes to their current business model. The core bulk of their listeners are centrally located in the City of Seattle. As someone else mentioned, they deliver an extremely powerful signal throughout Seattle and Bellevue, which is exactly the audience they need to reach.
KUOW has really started to focus on online media production in recent years as well. While there are many other KUOW listeners around western Washington, many of these listeners are happy accessing the online content/stream as an alternative to a regular radio. This situation is somewhat similar to KEXP, which also relies on online content/streaming to drive most of their listenership and audience.
So overall, they’re well aware that they don’t reach some of the distant corners of the market effectively, but the listeners they need to reach are already serviced from their location on Capitol Hill.
I'm not sure about that. The listeners of KPLU were so concerned about the future of the station that they organized, formed a company, and outbid KUOW for ownership of the station
KPLU Supporters Get Chance To Buy Station
Public radio listeners who oppose the sale of KPLU are getting a chance to try to raise the money necessary to buy the station.
www.kuow.org
KNKX does have a translator located somewhere in W.Seattle on 92.1 also quite a few others.
Not sure of its power or effectiveness in downtown is. It does seem KNKX has conceded to KUOW for Seattle.
Thanks for answering a few confusing questions, do I understand it maybe 75% lol.
Now only if KTHP gets their act on a different track I'd be a happy radio listener
Not sure of its power or effectiveness in downtown is. It does seem KNKX has conceded to KUOW for Seattle.
Thanks for answering a few confusing questions, do I understand it maybe 75% lol.
Now only if KTHP gets their act on a different track I'd be a happy radio listener
KNKX Translators and Satellite Stations
- K265DP (100.9 FM) — Aberdeen, WA
- K204BI (88.7 FM) — Bellingham, WA
- K211AP (90.1 FM) — Centralia, WA
- K284BM (104.7 FM) — Longview, WA
- K288GG (105.5 FM) — Mount Vernon, WA
- K214FI (90.7 FM) — Raymond, WA
- K221FR (92.1 FM) — West Seattle, WA
- K244EV (96.7 FM) — Woodland, WA
- KPLI (90.1 FM) — Olympia, WA
- KVIX (89.3 FM) — Port Angeles, WA
- KPLK (88.9 FM) — Sedro-Woolley, WA
You’re absolutely correct about that. There was a lot of pushback to ensure that KPLU maintained its vision. KUOW was interested and they knew there was the potential to upgrade their footprint, but it ultimately wasn’t worth it to them. Of course, the organization behind KUOW plays a major role here too. While they have plenty of money to work with, what they ultimately spend the money on has to have a direct benefit to justify the cost.I'm not sure about that. The listeners of KPLU were so concerned about the future of the station that they organized, formed a company, and outbid KUOW for ownership of the station
KPLU Supporters Get Chance To Buy Station
Public radio listeners who oppose the sale of KPLU are getting a chance to try to raise the money necessary to buy the station.
My understanding (from both the way the sale played out and from some of the conversations) is that they saw a benefit, but ended up giving up on the idea after the cost became too high to justify, and after coming to the conclusion that their core listeners are still better served by 94.9 as it is.
It would have to be a site move. KUOW already operates with the maximum power allowed at its current site, but terrain makes it a terrible location. To be honest, I haven't driven much of KUOW's signal to know where all the dead spots are. When I lived in the market, I had several Uber drivers who listened to 94.9, but my travels mainly focused on Edmonds, Lynnwood, or Seattle itself, areas where 94.9 does just fine. I know that 94.9 is a lot worse in downtown Everett than the Cougar signals, but other than that I am not familiar with the dead spots in that signal.
That brings us back around to the original discussion point that brought us to KUOW. Their current site is amazing if you care about Seattle and Bellevue. Not so much if you need other communities to the north and south. The basic conclusion here is that they know where their core listeners are and have made the decision to stick with the status quo to serve them best.
100 percent.
This time around, KQMV-FM has higher ratings than KBKS-FM. I find it funny. I am kind of disappointed with KQMV-FM. They were adding a new song every week to their playlist. They had stopped and had basically let it ride. KJR-FM doing okay in the the Mariners season. I guess that pays for their KJR-HD2?
The only station for me right now is KHTP. That station sound processing is so horrible. I end up listening to different stations online
The only station for me right now is KHTP. That station sound processing is so horrible. I end up listening to different stations online
It wouldn't kill KQMV to drop about 50% of the ads that feature indiscernable disclaimers (especially in AM drive). can't bail out of their programming fast enough.