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Star-Crossed

S

SirRoxalot

I originally posted this in the radio forum because it directly affects one of the biggest FMs in Buffalo, but the Moderator saw fit to move it to the Buffalo TV forum. I'm reposting it here because it IS a radio topic, and unlikely to be seen by WNY radio people on the other forum.

According to results released from the FCC reverse auction for TV signals, it looks like WIVB is giving up their OTA signal. They appear to be moving the WIVB signal to their WNLO frequency as a sub-channel (or, main channel for that matter), but that moves it to Grand Island. They'll no longer need the Colden transmitter site.

That leaves Star 102.5 as the either the only occupant of that site, or facing a move. They could relocate to the WKSE tower on Grand Island, but that would blow out any coverage in the Southern Tier. If the WBUF move of a few years ago is any indicator, it will also mean a drop in power from the current 110,000 watts. There are first-adjacents in Ontario on 102.3 and 102.7 (Scarborough - directly across Lake Ontario).

This could get interesting.
 
SirRoxalot said:
I originally posted this in the radio forum because it directly affects one of the biggest FMs in Buffalo, but the Moderator saw fit to move it to the Buffalo TV forum. I'm reposting it here because it IS a radio topic, and unlikely to be seen by WNY radio people on the other forum.

According to results released from the FCC reverse auction for TV signals, it looks like WIVB is giving up their OTA signal. They appear to be moving the WIVB signal to their WNLO frequency as a sub-channel (or, main channel for that matter), but that moves it to Grand Island. They'll no longer need the Colden transmitter site.

That leaves Star 102.5 as the either the only occupant of that site, or facing a move. They could relocate to the WKSE tower on Grand Island, but that would blow out any coverage in the Southern Tier. If the WBUF move of a few years ago is any indicator, it will also mean a drop in power from the current 110,000 watts. There are first-adjacents in Ontario on 102.3 and 102.7 (Scarborough - directly across Lake Ontario).

This could get interesting.
Click to expand...

My rabbit ears aren't going to like this.
 
SirRoxalot said:
I originally posted this in the radio forum because it directly affects one of the biggest FMs in Buffalo, but the Moderator saw fit to move it to the Buffalo TV forum. I'm reposting it here because it IS a radio topic, and unlikely to be seen by WNY radio people on the other forum.

According to results released from the FCC reverse auction for TV signals, it looks like WIVB is giving up their OTA signal. They appear to be moving the WIVB signal to their WNLO frequency as a sub-channel (or, main channel for that matter), but that moves it to Grand Island. They'll no longer need the Colden transmitter site.

That leaves Star 102.5 as the either the only occupant of that site, or facing a move. They could relocate to the WKSE tower on Grand Island, but that would blow out any coverage in the Southern Tier. If the WBUF move of a few years ago is any indicator, it will also mean a drop in power from the current 110,000 watts. There are first-adjacents in Ontario on 102.3 and 102.7 (Scarborough - directly across Lake Ontario).

This could get interesting.
Click to expand...

Is there any indication that, if they become a conforming facility on a different tower, there would be any loss in revenue? The only other market, besides the Buffalo MSA, where they have any significant ratings is Olean. In Rochester, they average well below a 1 share, and they stopped showing in Elmira-Corning a number of years ago. Likely, for revenue, they depend only on the Buffalo market coverage.

Perhaps Buddy Shula can share with us his experience as to any "advantage" the added grandfathered coverage gave the station in sales.

Many FMs, nationally, have their own tower, quite a few in the 1000' range too. It's very possible that the station would keep the existing tower and site if the maintenance costs are not significant. The tower is likely a revenue producer for its owner. Which raises the point of whether they actually own the tower or lease it (many station owners have sold their towers with guaranteed lease-backs). If it is owned by a tower operator, then likely they will maintain the stick and will want the lease revenue from them and other vertical real estate tenants.
 
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Media General were the ones who put the frequency into the reverse auction. They were hoping for a lot more than the $46-million coming to Nexstar. It will still be a nice chunk of change in their pockets, but the move to Grand Island will mean an end to OTA service to Olean. It's probably not much of a dent to the bottom line, but it is a big dent in coverage for the people who live in Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, and Allegany Counties. Cable and satellite operators down there will now have a bit more leverage in their carriage negotiations, which have been contentious in the past.

Perhaps the stick could be revenue-neutral if they didn't have to pay the cost of maintaining their own transmitter facilities at the site, but it's otherwise not in an area with enough population to generate interest as a direct provider of service. The sight-lines could make it of interest for wireless back-haul for cell providers, but there's so much fiber in the area that it seems like a better option for service delivery to most areas.

As I said, maybe Entercom will be interested in buying it, maybe they'll be willing to pay enough for Nexstar to keep it up, or maybe they'll sell it to one of the tower companies. If they sell it, Entercom will be on its own for lease negotiations, with little leverage to work with. They could follow WIBV to a tall tower on Grand Island where WKSE is located, but that would mean a significant change in coverage outside the metro, and a likely reduction in power. Once again, the effect on the bottom line would likely be minimal, but a lot of people in a big chunk of WNY would lose service.
 
There are two towers at the Colden site. Star 102.5 WTSS is on the shorter tower. https://www.google.com/maps/@42.6591914,-78.6253955,704m/data=!3m1!1e3

Not sure if that's WIVB's old "chopped" tower. One of the engineers who posts here may be familiar with the lease terms and technical arrangements. Word is Entercom leased space from WIVB owners and there's plenty of years remaining. That sure is an amazing site for coverage and penetration in the Buffalo-Niagara Falls market. There are other options for WTSS in the Boston Hills, WDCX and WNED-FM are withing buckshot range (slight exaggeration) and may provide an alternative to moving to the city or Grand Island. More than one engineer speculates the Kiss tower on Grand Island is close to maximum loading capacity. According to Radio-Locator, there's a CP to move the Kiss antenna from the Staley Road, Grand Island site (where Earl C. Hull established WHLD AM & FM Niagara Falls established the stations), to the WBEN Grand Island tower site on South Parkway http://radio-locator.com/info/WKSE-FM Purely speculative: Could Star take Kiss' place on the Staley Road tower? Seems that would be a major downgrade.
 
If Kiss moves from its present site to the WBEN tower site on Grand Island, wouldn't this open the present Kiss site for Star? All this moving might disprove the contention that Entercom has a long term lease at the WIVB-TV site in Colden.
 
Element9 said:
There are two towers at the Colden site. Star 102.5 WTSS is on the shorter tower. https://www.google.com/maps/@42.6591914,-78.6253955,704m/data=!3m1!1e3

Not sure if that's WIVB's old "chopped" tower. One of the engineers who posts here may be familiar with the lease terms and technical arrangements. Word is Entercom leased space from WIVB owners and there's plenty of years remaining. That sure is an amazing site for coverage and penetration in the Buffalo-Niagara Falls market. There are other options for WTSS in the Boston Hills, WDCX and WNED-FM are withing buckshot range (slight exaggeration) and may provide an alternative to moving to the city or Grand Island. More than one engineer speculates the Kiss tower on Grand Island is close to maximum loading capacity. According to Radio-Locator, there's a CP to move the Kiss antenna from the Staley Road, Grand Island site (where Earl C. Hull established WHLD AM & FM Niagara Falls established the stations), to the WBEN Grand Island tower site on South Parkway http://radio-locator.com/info/WKSE-FM Purely speculative: Could Star take Kiss' place on the Staley Road tower? Seems that would be a major downgrade.
Click to expand...

WTSS's 8 bays are on the taller tower, just below WIVB's at the very top. There's not an option for them to move to Staley Road and the Kiss site, the tower is structurally unsound with the building in poor shape, it's why Entercom is moving 98.5 to the WBEN site on Bush Road.
 
Penrod Rightout said:
WTSS's 8 bays are on the taller tower, just below WIVB's at the very top. There's not an option for them to move to Staley Road and the Kiss site, the tower is structurally unsound with the building in poor shape, it's why Entercom is moving 98.5 to the WBEN site on Bush Road.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the correction, PR, and the insight to the Grand Island situation. It appears the Staley Road site's days are numbered. From pictures that were published years ago, it appears to have been a grand site back in the day.
 
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