Salem sells KLTY, six other CCM stations to EMF

[Delete My Account]

I always found it interesting that the only Christian music formats that seem to have survived long-term are Gospel (Southern and Urban) and AC. And now, Air 1 as praise & worship.

Very few "CHR" interpretations of the format ever seemed to last, or rock. The Boost Radio rhythmic project is getting some traction recently. It just seemed to me that the AC versions would always promote being "safe for the family" but odds were that much of the family wouldn't actually listen to that style of music. If you compare the taste of the average youth group attendee to what K-Love plays, one wonders where the next generation of donors will come from. I get why more conservative older Christians didn't support CCM, but stylistically, why is the bulk of the format AC still?

The genre seems to exist in an odd state of being "mainstream" now yet not splintering like other formats. If you take your median K-Love listener and look at what styles a CHR would have been playing in their formative musical years, it's sonically worlds apart. I've known a not insignificant amount of evangelicals and most of them don't listen to Christian radio. It seems to me CCM never figured out how to appeal significantly to males or young people, and is pretty solidly in the "mom" demographic.

(Not bashing - I thought stations like 91FM in OKC, Way-FM in its CHR/Hot AC days, and Boost sounded excellent.)

 

[Holstead]

I had a quick search online about the deal and the one thing that strikes me now, is the lack of "local" press about this deal. Yes, it's been all over the trade/business media, but I have seen very little mention of it on a local media level, in any media in any market affected.

It will make news-when they actually flip.

 

[RadioRonnie285]

The station that proved to me that the music format can work on a station in a big market like where I live in the early 90s will soon be gone including its sister station here in ATL. EMF research that Modern worship was more popular among younger people then the Hot AC Air 1 was airing so thats why they flipped to modern worship. Boost and LF radio are my favorites now and im 52.

 

[RadioRonnie285]

since emf paid for kluv calls and after its original deal to make trades to get a dfw signal failed and the fact they are stuck on a mini huron sd signal still means they must be coming back to dfw but id hope since its klty they buying that they would keep 94.9 klty . i meam the first to letters could stand for k love

 

[Mediafrog+]

I do hope EMF brings Gateway Creative’s Boost Radio to an HD subchannel.

The Boost Radio rhythmic project is getting some traction recently.

Boost Radio sounds a lot like NGEN Radio, which is owned by Hope Media Group, which also operates WAY-FM and heritage CCM KSBJ in Houston. NGEN originally aired OTA in Houston and southeast Texas, but was moved online only in 2021 while the radio outlets were flipped to Vida Unida. HPM’s reasoning was that the NGEN target audience was more likely to listen to streaming audio rather than FM radio.

Seems Boost Radio is in expansion mode. Been reported they will be launching on a translator in Austin in the near future. Wouldn’t surprise me if Boost pops up in Houston as well, though Radio Nueva Vida might be a higher priority for EMF in that market.

 

[charles1234]

What kind of Christian format will EMF put on KLTY? I think they ought to put K-LOVE classics on here because nobody plays the old stuff anymore.

 

[txchipk]

What kind of Christian format will EMF put on KLTY? I think they ought to put K-LOVE classics on here because nobody plays the old stuff anymore.

They bought it for the express purpose of clearing the main K-Love feed on 94.9. The classic 90s and 2000s formats are HD subchannel and streaming fodder.

 

[xmusicmatt]

Does anyone know the origin of the hosts on WSCF Christian FM in Vero Beach, FL? I have heard some of the same hosts on Sirius XM's The Message and am wondering if this sale to EMF will affect the station's; programming. In the past I do believe I have also heard some of these personalities on TCM.

Short answer, WSCF "Christian FM" (which also runs a syndicated format similar to Salem Music Network's "Today's Christian Music" utilizes Voice Tracked talent - TCM was to my knowledge 100% "voice tracked" meaning no actual "live" on air shifts because the local 95.9 The Fish (in Columbus, OH the one they have not sold yet which airs TCM 24/7 every few hours runs "this program is recorded" liners at the TOH)

But back to Christian FM which runs similar - they utilize voice track talented and looking at the roster of Christian FM many of the folks are also on multiple other Christian CCM stations in America (not affiliated with either WSCF or TCM) and some have even done shifts on Salem's "TCM" format.

Given the "wages" in Radio unless your someone like Ryan Seacrest - a lot of talent who are not tied to one specific station "record shifts" for multiple stations to try and make a decent wage.

 

[TheBigA]

I think they ought to put K-LOVE classics on here because nobody plays the old stuff anymore.

KLove Classics was discontinued:

EMF Shuts Down K-Love Classics

Educational Media Foundation has shut down its "K-Love Classics" brand. Launched in 2018 focusing on Christian hits of the 1980s

radioinsight.com

 

[mnradiofan]

The station that proved to me that the music format can work on a station in a big market like where I live in the early 90s will soon be gone including its sister station here in ATL. EMF research that Modern worship was more popular among younger people then the Hot AC Air 1 was airing so thats why they flipped to modern worship. Boost and LF radio are my favorites now and im 52.

It wasn't so much that it was more popular as it was that the Air1 audience, as CCM/Hot AC wasn't donating enough to keep the format alive. EMF may not need ratings to keep their stations alive, but they do need donations. The audience for Worship music and Christian AC will donate.

That's not throwing shade at EMF. They have a mission, and that mission costs money to fulfill. Perhaps there are markets where non-com CCM can get enough donations to keep it alive (or even be run as a commercial station). But as Air 1 started to grow, it just could not be sustainable to them on a national stage, much like Christian Rock is relegated to an online-only station (Way Loud).

 

[Jay S]

Very few "CHR" interpretations of the format ever seemed to last, or rock. The Boost Radio rhythmic project is getting some traction recently. It just seemed to me that the AC versions would always promote being "safe for the family" but odds were that much of the family wouldn't actually listen to that style of music. If you compare the taste of the average youth group attendee to what K-Love plays, one wonders where the next generation of donors will come from. I get why more conservative older Christians didn't support CCM, but stylistically, why is the bulk of the format AC still?

I wish there was more variety on the dial as well.

I suspect the AC’s are able to get a lot more businesses, churches, or organizations to sponsor them. It might be that they get more income from them than regular listener donations. Way FM has quite a few “business partners.”

The only regular “business partner” I heard on the old Power FM was Logos Bookstore. We may have a situation similar to how secular active rock stations vs AC where sponsors are less willing to support an active rock station. It may also be that the listeners to Christian AC also donate more.

But as Air 1 started to grow, it just could not be sustainable to them on a national stage, much like Christian Rock is relegated to an online-only station (Way Loud).

I was hoping that Hope Media would put Way Loud back on an HD subchannel of 89.7. They had it on a subchannel of the Portland, OR affiliate for a while.

 

[txchipk]

KLove Classics was discontinued:

EMF Shuts Down K-Love Classics

Educational Media Foundation has shut down its "K-Love Classics" brand. Launched in 2018 focusing on Christian hits of the 1980s

radioinsight.com

They now have a bunch of streaming channels by decade...there is a K-Love 1990s, K-Love 2000s, etc. Aside from the stream, the 2000 one is also on KYDA 101.7HD3.

 

[b-turner]

K-Love and Air1 do not run Underwriting. They rely on listener donations. Way FM does run Underwriting and local inserts.

 

[neosolbrudda]

Boost Radio sounds a lot like NGEN Radio, which is owned by Hope Media Group, which also operates WAY-FM and heritage CCM KSBJ in Houston. NGEN originally aired OTA in Houston and southeast Texas, but was moved online only in 2021 while the radio outlets were flipped to Vida Unida. HPM’s reasoning was that the NGEN target audience was more likely to listen to streaming audio rather than FM radio.

Seems Boost Radio is in expansion mode. Been reported they will be launching on a translator in Austin in the near future. Wouldn’t surprise me if Boost pops up in Houston as well, though Radio Nueva Vida might be a higher priority for EMF in that market.

I wouldn't be surprised if Boost Radio shows up on 101.7 HD2 if EMF moves KLOVE to 94.9.

 

[JeremyAndrews]

It wasn't so much that it was more popular as it was that the Air1 audience, as CCM/Hot AC wasn't donating enough to keep the format alive. EMF may not need ratings to keep their stations alive, but they do need donations. The audience for Worship music and Christian AC will donate.

That's not throwing shade at EMF. They have a mission, and that mission costs money to fulfill. Perhaps there are markets where non-com CCM can get enough donations to keep it alive (or even be run as a commercial station). But as Air 1 started to grow, it just could not be sustainable to them on a national stage, much like Christian Rock is relegated to an online-only station (Way Loud).

I know 101.7 is near the top of the 18-34 these days. The genre really became popular in the last decade. It's probably more about the taste in music among that particular group. They usually didn't have problems reaching their pledge drive goals otherwise over the years. Even in 2018 they were reaching 100%. I think they just adjusted the format according to what the target audience wanted to hear.

 

[b-turner]

I contend the popularity of Contemporary Christian (including Worship) is the fact it is family friendly for young families. The 'radio' friendly' CHR and even AC is broaching adult subjects or has too many 'bleeps'. All the while, morning shows continue to push the envelope. Air1 or K-Love or Way FM or any other such station likely gets listeners by default, forgetting the fact you sang the song they played 15 minutes ago at church Sunday. They know there are no commercials and are ready to step up and pay for it. And for those wondering, a good number of listeners do not attend church but just like the positivity.

 

[Delete My Account]

I get the content part, but I don't get the stylistic part. Why do stations that musically sound more similar to CHR not thrive in the Christian radio world?

 

[davideduardo]

I get the content part, but I don't get the stylistic part. Why do stations that musically sound more similar to CHR not thrive in the Christian radio world?

Those stations may get audience, but the ones that are listener supported do not get sufficient donations to sustain the operation. In this case, it is about funding and not listening.

 

[JeremyAndrews]

I get the content part, but I don't get the stylistic part. Why do stations that musically sound more similar to CHR not thrive in the Christian radio world?

The labels don't push as much of that kind of music anymore. It's either Hip-Hop or AC. Very little in between. What's in between is not on the major Christian labels. They have to be as mass appeal as possible to keep people listening. Nowdays it's more of a problem with how people consume music. They stream it. They don't buy it anymore. There used to be compilation CDs, WOW (for Christian) that ended in 2018, just before Air1 flipped to Contemporary Worship. Disc 2 on those compilations usually had CHR for the most part while Disc 1 had AC. It was similar to Now That's What I Call Music which ended last year.

 

[Steve Green NEPA]

Just a kid from PA here who saw something on another forum about
KLTY being 'beloved' in Dallas.
And one who checked in with the Nielsen site to see how much beloved.
(And lol -- one who saw that the raw September numbers showed exactly one station breaking a 5.0 share -- and that was with just by a 5.0 itself. I remember only seeing one case -- Los Angeles, some 15 years ago, where no station got a 5.0).

The current Dallas numbers I see also showed a huge list of healthy, competitive signals. That's a real level playing field.
There are also four 'Christian CHR' outlets listed, run last month by four different owners, three of the stations looking quite solid and consistent in their own right over the four latest books. And the fourth station is, well, consistent at the least. This genre, if you will, is remarkably solid there, a notch or two short of the pop audiences of adult-hits-classic rock-classic hits nostalgia yet very successful in their own realm.

My questions are, again, those from far away from it all as well as no big fan of CCM or any of its distinguishing nomenclature. Just an idle guy who sees four respectably popular stations with the same Nielsen pigeonhole assigned to it. Based just on that, which of the other three stations is apt to pick up KLTY's audience the most? The Dallas area seems in real support of the format, much the way NYC once had room for Top 40ers WMCA, WABC, WMGM and WINS. KLTY's shunned will find their spot. Will any such reinforced station get to crack a 5.0? Will it make the TOP 5? Will the other three stations just all rise at the same rate?