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Silence of 93.7 translator in Abq

U

uncle don

An estate attorney has apparently filed a license renewal for K229CL, 93.7 on 7/02/21. The owner is deceased, and the translator has been silent following the termination of the agreement to rebroadcast KIVA 1600. An agreement to rebroadcast a new parent station remains in question. The loss of the translator is unfortunate for KIVA as the nighttime low power renders a garbled signal to the NW from interference which is basically unlistenable.
 
If the owner is deceased then it is likely that the translator will be put up for sale. So who could buy it? Cumulus paid quite a bit for 94.5 so maybe they could make a similar offer for 93.7 to air KNML and drop the lease on 95.9. iHeart might want to add it to air another HD subchannel but right now every format they've done on 100.9 does worse than it's predecessor. Maybe they should fix what they already have but they may still be looking for more signals after having to give up 104.7. AGM would not have a source station to feed it unless they purchase another AM or convert an FM to an HD broadcast. I've speculated that the new AM in Peralta might be built to feed this translator. Now they might have to fork over more cash to buy it as well as the co-owned 95.9 in Santa Fe that is used to air KDLW/KSFE. However the FCC has still yet to approve the CP modification filed last November. Of course if Vanguard is able to buy 93.7 they could also use KSFE as a source if KDLW has been established on 95.9 in SF or maybe use it to feed both translators. I suppose Entravision could buy it for KRZY AM 1450. It's probably unlikely that KUNM or KANW could raise the funds to buy it for an HD2/3 broadcast though it would be great.

The silent authorization expires on September 7 but they could probably extend it. I don't know if a lease deal with an estate would be good for long. It may remain silent until it's sold.
 
Can Vanguard move 93.7 up to Santa Fe and resume the KOAZ simulcast again via K279BP? New Mexico lifted COVID restrictions and I'm sure concerts are coming, so whatever niche revenue might start coming in again. Unless the CP went through on 97.7 K249FB (repeating ESPN 1400) moving to 93.7.
 
I'm not sure if a translator can serve as a program source for another translator. However the CP for K249FB to move to 93.7 as K229DU was approved on June 8. Of course moving K229CL out of Albuquerque would likely decrease its value quite a bit so I doubt anyone will do that. I have no idea why Vanguard pulled The Oasis out of Santa Fe unless maybe local businesses were not supporting it. Santa Fe gets just about everything out of Albuquerque as well as the Hutton stations, KYBR/KDCE and KSWV, so quite a lot of options for a population of about 150,000. I did find the renewal application for K240EC and it mentions that an "involuntary transfer" will be filed soon to assign the license to the personal representative of the owner's estate (often a family member), so that person will determine the future of these signals.
 
Pandemic-related, I am guessing. They had been utilizing that translator since late 2013, I think, and they had support and advertising up that way. Of course, they could use KOAZ-AM as the program source and just simulcast ads for both locales. We just have to see how the economic recovery is going to look through the second half of 2021. Having to cancel all those concerts and preview parties probably hurt them greatly.
Unfortunately, another local translator blocks 103.7 ABQ up there.
 
AbqAnonymous said:
I'm not sure if a translator can serve as a program source for another translator.
Click to expand...

It can so long as it conforms to existing translator rules. When KOAZ had a translator in Santa Fe, it actually was relaying 103.7 off-air, at least at first. It couldn’t legally relay KOAZ 1510.
 
Then how were those local-to-Santa-Fe ads inserted into the broadcast? I listened to their old stream several times and noted commercials for Santa Fe carpet stores, car dealers and event promos that were not heard on 103.7 - similar to when a TV semi-satellite inserts local advertising for a particular side of the market (do KOB-TV and KRQE still do that for KOBR and KBIM?)
 
crainbebo said:
Then how were those local-to-Santa-Fe ads inserted into the broadcast? I listened to their old stream several times and noted commercials for Santa Fe carpet stores, car dealers and event promos that were not heard on 103.7 - similar to when a TV semi-satellite inserts local advertising for a particular side of the market (do KOB-TV and KRQE still do that for KOBR and KBIM?)
Click to expand...

I've never worked there. So, I can't tell you. I can, however, offer a few theories:

If you heard it online, you might have heard specific online ads. As you probably already know, commercials you hear online are rarely a reflection of what goes out over the air.

Also possible is, at some point, the translator could've started relaying KSFE 96.7 out of Grants rather than 103.7, which it originally stated it was using. KSFE aired the Oasis format at one point, too. FCC requirements for translators to notify it of a change in originating stations are notoriously lax. If you check current FCC records, 95.9 relays KSFE. We won't be able to ascertain exactly when that started happening. The FCC database mentions 95.9 relaying 96.7 in mid-2013. It could've started doing so long before that and remained totally legal. Vanguard might have tried selling specific ads for Santa Fe and needed a different full-power originating station to accomplish that. 96.7 would've been the perfect source as nothing in Grants does much revenue. A translator in Santa Fe should easily outbill a full-power Grants station. (See 95.3 in Grants for more information on that.)

As non-fill-in translators can't accept payment for relaying other stations, I believe they can still air a handful of ads they sell themselves. I was thinking it was 30 seconds an hour, but I'm not 100% certain what those requirements are. So, you might have heard an ad or two like that. Fortunately, I've never owned or worked for a translator. So, I don't know much about the ins and outs of that part of the business.
 
Whenever I heard 96.7 in Grants when it was smooth jazz it always branded as "95.9 The Oasis". So yes it was being used to provide a feed to K240EC and run it as a Santa Fe area station. Before that 96.7 was airing a country format but I'm not entirely sure when it switched to smooth jazz . Of course having two different stations on the same frequencies in ABQ and Santa Fe may create a bit of an awkward situation. Just mentioning 95.9 or 103.7 in the other city could be unintentionally promoting KNML in Albuquerque or KTRC in Santa Fe. But right now La Zeta is advertised on-air as 106.3 y 95.9 so maybe they're OK mentioning it in a different language since talk in English about American sports leagues is likely not of much interest to Regional Mexican listeners and there is no 106.3 signal in Santa Fe. I don't know if 101.5 The Cat could've been a factor or not, it's more of a Miles Davis type jazz format but still a niche competing for local ads.
 
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