This market is called Dallas-FORT WORTH, right?

[VERITAS DE VOCE]

The Ft. Worth area, after decades of languishing, seems to be enjoying a lot of new growth. As the population grows, I am sure it will receive attention proportional to its population.

Operative term there being "new". The analogy of broadcasting from the Six Flags oil derrick is genius, and is actually one of the reason I did indeed have a job in this market for a while. (Thanks for the memories, Steve).

However, what do you blow your nose with? Kleenex?
What would you like to drink? a Coke you say?
Do you need a Xerox of that document?

ANYTHING including markets can be branded. Dallas experienced growth first, status first and notoriety first. That's why. Deal with it, and that's coming from a PROUD resident of Arlington. What up? Besides, where did J.R. live again back in the 70s and 80s? Oh yeah, I get it now. ;D

 

[KERCAlum]

Well, although most folks call it the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, the station ID for KXAS/Channel 5 is still "Fort Worth-Dallas." Perhaps it's just because their studios are still on Broadcast Hill, but their transmitter is in Cedar Hill, and if I remember the FCC rules correctly, they require you to list where your transmitter is, then your city of service if it's different (like "KTYS, Flower Mound-Dallas-Fort Worth"). So you'd think KXAS would be required to switch their ID to "Dallas-Fort Worth."

I do agree with everyone who believes the Fort Worth area is getting shortchanged, but I also agree with the folks who still think Fort Worth is "Where The West Begins." We have a distinct, individual identity that should stay distinct, not assimilated Borg-like into Dallas.

So maybe they should ignore us, and maybe we should develop our own market (hey, #19 isn't that bad).

 

[TexasTom]

Well, although most folks call it the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, the station ID for KXAS/Channel 5 is still "Fort Worth-Dallas." Perhaps it's just because their studios are still on Broadcast Hill, but their transmitter is in Cedar Hill, and if I remember the FCC rules correctly, they require you to list where your transmitter is, then your city of service if it's different (like "KTYS, Flower Mound-Dallas-Fort Worth"). So you'd think KXAS would be required to switch their ID to "Dallas-Fort Worth."

City of license goes first -- KXAS is licensed to Fort Worth, which is why they say "Fort Worth-Dallas", and KTYS is licensed to Flower Mount, which is why that city is first in their ID.

There is no requirement that either the studio or transmitter site cities be included in the ID at all. If it were otherwise, every TV station and most of the FM stations in the area would have to include Cedar Hill in their IDs, and (of course) no one does because there is no requirement that they do so.

So maybe they should ignore us, and maybe we should develop our own market (hey, #19 isn't that bad).

While the TV market has been the hyphenated "Dallas-Fort Worth" pretty much since the beginning, Dallas and Fort Worth were separate radio markets until the early seventies (although some of the higher powered AM stations did serve both markets successfully). Once the markets were combined, Fort Worth ended up being submerged and marginalized by the combined market.

The same thing has happened in many other places. I grew up in Tacoma, WA, which is about the same distance from Seattle and Fort Worth is from Dallas. While the two cities shared their television stations, they were separate radio markets, albeit with the bigger Seattle stations getting a substantial audience in Tacoma. However, as FM became dominant in the Pacific Northwest, the two markets merged into a single radio market and Tacoma lost any real voice on the radio, just as has happened to Fort Worth. It just happened later in the Northwest, because it took longer for FM radio to dominate there versus here (primarily because the North Texas prairie is a friendlier environment for FM propagation than the hills and mountains of the Pacific Northwest).

Personally, I think it is a shame that it has happened -- but I also don't see any real way of reversing it, short of eliminating the Class C, C0, and C1 FM stations that can effectively cover these markets and reducing the maximum power/antenna height for FM stations in the south and west down to the 50 kw/150 meters of northeastern Class B stations. Needless to say, the chances of that happening are slightly lower than my chances of winning at Mega Millions.