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Some major changes possibly coming

F

ftballfan

There might be some major changes coming to the Austin/San Antonio radio dial. EMF and Emmis have come up with a deal that will see the following:
98.3C1 KMJR (Odem, TX) will move to 103.7 at the same tower site, remaining Class C1.
103.7C1 KXAI (Refugio, TX) will stay on 103.7, but will move into San Antonio proper and downgrade all the way to Class A, with a new COL of Balcones Heights.
103.5C0 KBPA (San Marcos, TX) will stay on 103.5, but will move to a new tower northeast of downtown Austin, downgrading to Class C1 and changing its COL to Austin.

I also wonder if the CP for the KGSR major downgrade is to allow for the 93.3 in Dallas to upgrade
 
These would be some major moves, some more than 100 miles. I do not really get doing the KBPA move as Bob FM is and has been a top rated Austin station for quite a while. I'd be scared to mess with that cash cow. I'm sure the engineering staff that created the plan believes the FCC will go for it. There must be something there to make it look favorable to the FCC (such as possibly freeing up 98.3 to be auctioned). I see the upside: move 2 Corpus Christi market stations to San Antonio where they have a chance of higher billing. The cost of entry would be less than an outright buy of existing San Antonio signals. And I'd say the Odem frequency is not going to actually going to be a decent rimshot. Emmis is not known to make really dumb moves so I must be missing something. It will be interesting to see what will happen.
 
b-turner said:
These would be some major moves, some more than 100 miles. I do not really get doing the KBPA move as Bob FM is and has been a top rated Austin station for quite a while. I'd be scared to mess with that cash cow. I'm sure the engineering staff that created the plan believes the FCC will go for it. There must be something there to make it look favorable to the FCC (such as possibly freeing up 98.3 to be auctioned). I see the upside: move 2 Corpus Christi market stations to San Antonio where they have a chance of higher billing. The cost of entry would be less than an outright buy of existing San Antonio signals. And I'd say the Odem frequency is not going to actually going to be a decent rimshot. Emmis is not known to make really dumb moves so I must be missing something. It will be interesting to see what will happen.
Click to expand...

I only see one station moving to SA, which is KXAI. Which is the other station?
 
If KXAI moves out of the Corpus Christi market, I wonder if EMF would find some way to nudge rimshot KHJK 103.7 a bit closer to Houston? Yeah, KRBE is a second adjacent.

I would be stunned at a downgrade of KBPA. The 1983 upgrade and frequency change was a pretty big deal at the time, giving the station the solid signal that has lead to its success.
 
A few questions on this proposed move:

1) Can the 103.7 translator for KAHL file objections to the move?

2) What becomes of the 98.3 frequency in Odem/Corpus Christi?

It has pretty good coverage: does it get deleted or is it on the market?
 
b-turner said:
These would be some major moves, some more than 100 miles. I do not really get doing the KBPA move as Bob FM is and has been a top rated Austin station for quite a while. I'd be scared to mess with that cash cow. Emmis is not known to make really dumb moves so I must be missing something. It will be interesting to see what will happen.
Click to expand...

In terms of the current market population and revenue, this may actually be an upgrade for Bob. It won't be much of a loss. It will put a slightly better signal into the Williamson County suburbs. While a large population will lose easy access to the station, most of those people are outside of the Austin market and not necessarily easy to monetize. Plus, it will still put a 60 dBu signal over San Marcos. Currently, Williamson County is growing at a faster rate than Hays, though I've heard horror stories about recent growth in San Marcos. So, the change isn't without risk, but Smuylan is in his 70's, and the rest of his family isn't rumored to be keen on operating on a broadcasting company. So, he'll probably cash out in the next 10 years.

I'm sure the engineering staff that created the plan believes the FCC will go for it. There must be something there to make it look favorable to the FCC (such as possibly freeing up 98.3 to be auctioned). I see the upside: move 2 Corpus Christi market stations to San Antonio where they have a chance of higher billing. The cost of entry would be less than an outright buy of existing San Antonio signals. And I'd say the Odem frequency is not going to actually going to be a decent rimshot.
Click to expand...

My best guess is that it will be seen as a preferential change in allotments. Balcones Heights will gain a first local service on paper while San Marcos continues to have a station in KTSW. Refugio will have at least two licensed to it once KXAI leaves.
 
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dlf1 said:
A few questions on this proposed move:

1) Can the 103.7 translator for KAHL file objections to the move?
Click to expand...

Not sure, but translators are generally considered secondary services. In most situations like this one, the translator files a displacement and has to find another frequency. I understand the FCC has been a little less willing to displace translators, though.

2) What becomes of the 98.3 frequency in Odem/Corpus Christi?

It has pretty good coverage: does it get deleted or is it on the market?
Click to expand...

Typically, the move of KMJR 98.3 to 103.7 is a new channel at 103.7 and a deletion at 98.3. If someone wants to add a station to metro Corpus Christi at 98.3, the opportunity might still exist, and the new allotment would have to go through the exact same setup process as any other.

The FCC, by the way, isn't perfect and has, at least once, forgotten to delete the original channel after a station was upgraded and moved. Around 30 years ago, KJJY in Ankeny (Des Moines) moved from 106.3 to 92.5 and upgraded from a class A to, I believe, a class C2. The FCC forgot to delete the original allocation and someone filed for a new class A at 106.3 in Ankeny before the FCC realized its mistake and got a chance to delete the original. That someone got the station and brought back the old "K-Joy" easy listening format that KJJY dumped for country quite-a-few years earlier. KJJY later moved its COL to West Des Moines and used the allocation the FCC forgot to delete as a justification for moving 92.5 out of Ankeny!
 
b-turner said:
These would be some major moves, some more than 100 miles. I do not really get doing the KBPA move as Bob FM is and has been a top rated Austin station for quite a while.
Click to expand...

Simple reason: Hays County 199,000 and Williamson 540,000. This move is a much better signal for the full MSA, with little spillage, while the old signal barely got a 70 dbu into the southernmost tip of Williamson and wasted signal over Comal and Guadalupe counties which are not in the metro.
 
Kent said:
Not sure, but translators are generally considered secondary services. In most situations like this one, the translator files a displacement and has to find another frequency. I understand the FCC has been a little less willing to displace translators, though.
Click to expand...

KAHL has another translator's move coming in the not too distant future. Maybe, when/if they move 103.7, they can do them at the same time and start up fresh with a new music format. Just an idea but I doubt that's happening. I'd sure like to see some alternative again though.

I also am wondering what will happen to 97.7, will it stay with Air 1 or will they try to sell it? I can get 97.7 here in the north of town fine with no problems and 103.7, when on the air, will cover this area too.
 
I noticed Barger was moving 100.7 to 107.9. If I were him, I'd be picking up the phone, calling EMF, and offering to sell them the 103.7 translator. I'd be telling them they could at least double their coverage of KXAI with a bit of engineering.

My guess is that 97.7 will stay with EMF. I can’t imagine any commercial operator wanting it. Plus, there’s always been this impression that it could eventually be moved into San Antonio and become a more viable signal.
 
There Once Was A Fun Plan To Get 97.7 Into The Towers Of Americas In San Antonio In The Early 2000'S The Plan Was Move 97.3 KAJA To 96.9 Causing 96.7 KHFI Georgetown Austin To Not Only Relocate To 96.5 But Change City Of License To Lago Vista 107.3 Nolanville To 97.7?In Turn Makes 97.5 KWTX Waco Move Over To 97.3 LakeWay Thats West Of Austin When 106.5 KAJZ LLano Was On 96.3 They Were Supposed To Move 107.3 Wish This Plan Was Acted On
 
That's even more moves than 103.7's move into SA. 97.7 is listenable more on the East side of town while 103.7 will be on the Northwest side. Assuming 103.7 will broadcast Air 1, that's where 97.7 is weaker.
Or Educational Media Foundation will sell 97.7, only using 103.7 for Air 1. A 4.3 KW signal isn't a lot of power but it's a lot more than a translator is.
 
This letter to the FCC is actually an objection to the proposed station moves by San Antonio Radio Works (SAR). It contends that the moves do not serve the public interest.

It asks for dismissal of the KBPA move on the grounds that it would violate the Rural Radio statute. Also, it states that the moves would actually result in a net loss of listeners who would no longer be able to hear the existing S.A. translators.
 
Both Emmis and EMF filed a consolidated Opposition to the Informal Objection, which you can see here.

In short, the Opposition argues that the claim raised in the Informal Objection regarding Rural Radio was misstated. The pertinent part of the argument is the difference between a urbanized area and community and whether or not the move of KBPA violates Rural Radio by removing San Marcos' second service licensed to that community.
 
SARW probably is complaining just because 103.7 which is their SA translator will get displaced.
 
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