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Potential 97.5 Changes Coming

R

radioislife2020

No much movement in the Houston board in the last couple of days ..there is something interesting, we have talked about 97.5 being for sale (i was given the package of what was part of the sale) And someone else mentioned the people currently operating power 105.3 were looking into going Regional Mexican with 97.5 Well today I was told that the engineer who had been with GOW media almost since day one and who in the past has posted on this board was let go recently by GOW media because they have other plans... Lets say that the people that will soon making changes already have a engineer.

ADMIN EDIT: Changed subject line to explain subject.
 
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I’ve been wondering if Gow was going to let the football season end (Super Bowl) before pulling the plug on the SportsTalk format. They also need to get through the Texas A&M basketball contract.

There is also the stalled sale of K223CW and K223DH to Gow. The former has been held up at the FCC for 11 months, the latter 16 months. The impending change in Commission control might get things moving.

A Spanish language format would be the best use of the signal, given demographic distribution in Houston. Question is whether that market segment is becoming oversaturated. I could still see 97.5 eventually ending up with a Spanish language religious format (EMF’s Radio Nueva Vida?) after the failure of a secular music format.

The poster referred to had already admitted that changes were on the way, though that was probably six or seven months ago.
 
I listen only to the radio stations in Spanish only. So I hope that with my comment no one takes it as I dislike the idea just cause the stations are in Spanish.

We have ( not including Christian radio stations, 6 regional Mexican stations on already. La Ley, La Raza, Que buena, Sol Radio, La Grande, El Norte.

We have 4 stations that almost play variety of music. Romance 99.5, Mega, LATINOMIX, Amor.

We have a very low La Calle on 102.5
And heck even 106.1 Vision Latina plays lots of non Christian music too.

To many now, still waiting to see what kind of numbers La Ley pulls.

I would like to see Sol Radio on 97.5 and not another new station.
 
Mrtejano said:
I listen only to the radio stations in Spanish only. So I hope that with my comment no one takes it as I dislike the idea just cause the stations are in Spanish.

We have ( not including Christian radio stations, 6 regional Mexican stations on already. La Ley, La Raza, Que buena, Sol Radio, La Grande, El Norte.

We have 4 stations that almost play variety of music. Romance 99.5, Mega, LATINOMIX, Amor.

We have a very low La Calle on 102.5
And heck even 106.1 Vision Latina plays lots of non Christian music too.

To many now, still waiting to see what kind of numbers La Ley pulls.

I would like to see Sol Radio on 97.5 and not another new station.
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Have you heard SOL? They have like 3 commercials that play all day long. It says a lot about a station when it only has 3 clients and has been on the air for a few months. I think they are about to pull the plug as soon as Raul gets on the air in the next 15 days
 
radioislife2020 said:
Have you heard SOL? They have like 3 commercials that play all day long. It says a lot about a station when it only has 3 clients and has been on the air for a few months. I think they are about to pull the plug as soon as Raul gets on the air in the next 15 days
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You do remember it’s on a Translator, I wouldn’t want to pay for ads on a very low power translator that not that many people listen to. Why pay them when I can pay the same amount or maybe even less on a full FM?
 
Mrtejano said:
You do remember it’s on a Translator, I wouldn’t want to pay for ads on a very low power translator that not that many people listen to. Why pay them when I can pay the same amount or maybe even less on a full FM?
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you really have no idea on how radio works huh? A translator would never charge what a full power would charge.. SMH
 
rosecitymedia said:
I do, and the very idea of launching another Regional Mexican station, in the same exact coverage areas of the long-established 98.5 and 107.9 pair offered by Estrella, makes me chuckle just a little.
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Can’t do much worse than the current SportsTalk format on 97.5, which pulled numbers in the low zeroes for most of its existence, before dropping its subscription to the ratings.

If some of the Spanish language translator formats go belly up, then a new such format on 97.5 might have more of a chance.

But I will agree that there is a strong possibility of failure, with religious programming probably the “next, next” format for 97.5.
rosecitymedia said:
There's one born every minute, and it sounds like David Gow has found his.
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I would recommend he not look in the mirror, considering how KFNC has performed the past few years. Will he get back that $5M?
 
Mediafrog+ said:
I would recommend he not look in the mirror, considering how KFNC has performed the past few years. Will he get back that $5M?
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KTHT brought in 3.1 million when EMF bought it last year. 97.1 is a way way better signal that 97.5. Maybe that was a sweetheart deal, but if it is any barometer of market rate, I would be surprised if 97.5 went for more than 2.5 maybe 3.0 tops.
 
Mediafrog+ said:
Boost Radio (similar to NGEN) is in expansion mode.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure it is so much Boost being in expansion mode as much as EMF errr K-Love, Inc. putting a complimentary format on its surplus signals. Maybe there is money or at least costs changing hands, but wouldn't be surprised if they eventually try to bring Boost into the fold or end up replacing it with something similar they own and control. Just a guess, no inside information.
 
Mediafrog+ said:
Thus my thought about EMF and Radio Nueva Vida (which I suspect is about to be rebranded). VCY is still out there. Boost Radio (similar to NGEN) is in expansion mode. KSHJ-FM for the EWTN Spanish language feed?
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Y'know, 🐸, I wouldn't even be the least bit surprised to see the Educational Foundation of East Texas snatch up a signal near Houston.Troy has already expanded to Shreveport-Bossier City, Lufkin-Nacogdoches, and Little Rock. Is Houston-Galveston or DFW too big of an expansion for the ERFET? I used to think so, but now I'm not nearly so sure.

My redneck bucks are still riding on VCY entering Houston, and I still reckon it'll be 97.5 that they will pick up to accomplish that. David Gow may not even actually sell KFNC. Just look at 1560. He washed his hands of operating it, himself, and leased it out to the Vietnamese group. I suspect that will be how any Regional Mexican programming would end up on 97.5. Extremely doubtful it'll be an outright purchase.

BTW, don't know if you've heard or seen this, but the letters EMF can go back to being associated with the song "Unbelievable". The Educational Media Foundation has, apparently, rechristened itself as K-Love Incorporated.
 
stan said:
Pair it with 92.1. That’s as legitimate speculation as any of these so far.
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Or... speaking of 92.1, 97.5 could be used to pull a repeat of its own history and "right the wrong" done to OTA "Praise" listeners by flipping it to Gospel, in order to appease all of the displaced and disgruntled ex-KROI faithful that lost their station.

Somewhere, out there, is a GospelAid.com website just waiting to happen.

I mean, if we're going to speculate, might as well drop the hammer down all the way to the floor. 😂
 
stan said:
Pair it with 92.1. That’s as legitimate speculation as any of these so far.
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The time to pair 92.1 with a complementary signal came and went when SBS didn't pick up 97.1 from Radio One. Both of those licenses would have paired up nicely to cover most of the Houston metro area. 97.5 doesn't really add much meaningful coverage.
radioislife2020 said:
Those 5Mil are long gone.
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Gow is not getting 5 million for KFNC if he sells it today. But overall, I would say the initial investment paid off. It's not easy for an independent operation to survive a decade in today's radio market. But Gow did it and I think he should be applauded for it.

I still find it odd that he bought 97.5 instead of 103.7. He should have sprung for the 103.7 stick and moved the sports programming there. 97.5 is the worst Houston rimshot and I think that hurt their ratings.
 
I know KFNC isn’t as close to Houston as KQQK. But if KFNC gets a HD transmitter would the HD signal signal help it sound better? Just like KQQK their HD signal covers Houston a lot and it sounds great.
 


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