Ticket to increase signal strength

[P1Steven]

Anyone have any details. I have read several blog entries, but not too sure what the steps in the process are. I know they have made a filing with the FCC.

 

[TXDXer]

They have had a Construction Permit to upgrade their day power to 25 kW (leaving nights at 5 kW) since Nov 16, 2009. In addition to replacing the towers toppled by a windstorm, they are adding a fourth to the array to be used during the day signal only, using three at night. Looking at the FCC website, the day pattern remains the same shape, only a bit larger.

 

[P1Steven]

sooo ummm little to no change?

 

[little1]

Depends.
They're leaving the patten the same basic shape, but boosting from 8KW to 25KW. That 'should' mean better reception on car radios (due to a stronger signal) better building penetration, better reception on smaller devices (my shower radio won't even acknowledge their existence right now) etc.

Considering the Ticket stream regularly beats the Fan's morning on-air show in Men 25-54, there's a lot of people out there who would like to listen, but are having to resort to alternatives to get a good signal.

Short of switching with 570
(Tangent post- would that switch help the Ticket at the cost of finally and completly killing the 'legendary' 570 KLIF? Discuss amongst yourselves...)
the seem to be doing what they can on a band that is, well, as numerous people keep telling me here, "AM is dead"

 

[metroneck]

The ticket makes more money than most stations...combined. and has been doing it since early 90's? All this jib jab about ticket signal problems, seems to have been overcome with revenue.

If it ain't broke...don't fix it.

 

[Bob E. Nelson]

The ticket makes more money than most stations...combined. and has been doing it since early 90's? All this jib jab about ticket signal problems, seems to have been overcome with revenue.

If it ain't broke...don't fix it.

I just have to wonder how long the great run they've enjoyed will last. They've got superb AQH numbers but the cume to undergird their strong performance has got to concern the Cumulus folks.

I'm a Ticket P1 but do pop over to KRLD-FM on occasion and KESN to a lesser extent. That being said, if the enhanced close-in signal density gets a few more thousand to add to the cume base, KTCK ought to continue to thrive for a while. I hope it lasts for many more years because it is a remarkable success story and shows that content really is king.

 

[davideduardo]

The ticket makes more money than most stations...combined. and has been doing it since early 90's?

Just to put your statement in perspective, WBAP, KPLX, KTCK, KKDA(FM) and KRLD all billed about the same amount last year. What sets KTCK apart is the higher expenses; the 20% decrease in revenues from the peak year of 2006 is obviously reducing margins.

 

[Triple Fake Jerry]

I'm spoiled. I've been listening to the Ticket on 104.1 since the first day.

 

[metroneck]

The ticket makes more money than most stations...combined. and has been doing it since early 90's?

Just to put your statement in perspective, WBAP, KPLX, KTCK, KKDA(FM) and KRLD all billed about the same amount last year. What sets KTCK apart is the higher expenses; the 20% decrease in revenues from the peak year of 2006 is obviously reducing margins.

Higher Expenses? I would think debt service/rent factor on KCTK is 25% that of KPLX, KRLD or WBAP. I'd guess annual salaries and production are

Musers: 1.500,000
norm: 300,000
bad: 500,000
hardline: 1.500,000
other: 500,000

round it up 4,500,000, then 25% of total rev for sales. You're right, those other stations don't have near that heavy of a talent expense, but I still think that small stick has to be considerably cheaper in raw value that real stations.

 

[UncleCharlie]

you really have to wonder how much better a run Dunham and Miller and Hardline could have had with access to a 100,000 FM signal. It really a shame the little Ticket didn't land in the CBS or even the CC empire where it would have been moved years ago. They are a Coca-cola product, confied to RC shelf space.

 

[Choclab]

So I'm guessing this pertains to 1310? Will their 1700 signal remain the same?

Not a P1, but I do listen sometimes. The 1700 side is usually better for me, as I'm northwest of town, but this may push 1310 ahead.

On a side note -- and this has probably been discussed somewhere but I've never seen it -- why do I so often get 1700 out of Harlingen (or close) so strongly at night? From what I've seen on the FCC site, they're on low power at night, but they sound like they're a nighttime flamethrower. Are they cheating?

 

[Triple Fake Jerry]

Regarding the Citadel-Cumulus merger rumor that seems to be picking up steam ...

FCC rules allow only 8 stations to be owned by the same company in a market, with a max of 5 stations in either the AM or FM band.

My question is, do the 1310, 1700 and 104.1 towers each count as a separate station, or would they only count as one under the Ticket umbrella?

Or is the 1310 upgrade in preparation for a merger, which would allow 1700 to be sold or go dark?

 

[oldmanradio]

So I'm guessing this pertains to 1310? Will their 1700 signal remain the same?

Not a P1, but I do listen sometimes. The 1700 side is usually better for me, as I'm northwest of town, but this may push 1310 ahead.

On a side note -- and this has probably been discussed somewhere but I've never seen it -- why do I so often get 1700 out of Harlingen (or close) so strongly at night? From what I've seen on the FCC site, they're on low power at night, but they sound like they're a nighttime flamethrower. Are they cheating?

1700 is close to the edge of the shortwave band.

Improved propagation and less interference than lower down the AM band where over decades stations have been stacked like ricks of wood.

Tony

Tony

 

[fybush]

Regarding the Citadel-Cumulus merger rumor that seems to be picking up steam ...

FCC rules allow only 8 stations to be owned by the same company in a market, with a max of 5 stations in either the AM or FM band.

My question is, do the 1310, 1700 and 104.1 towers each count as a separate station, or would they only count as one under the Ticket umbrella?

Each one is a separate license and each would count individually toward the ownership cap.

If my math is right, Cumulus now has three AMs (570, 1310, 1700) and three FMs (93.3, 99.5, 104.1) in the market, while Citadel has one AM (820) and two FMs (96.3 and 96.7). Put them together and you get four AMs and five FMs. That's one station over the limit (eight stations total, no more than five on any one band) and could be rectified by selling one AM (presumably 1700) or one FM (presumably 104.1).

 

[amisdead]

I can't remember the exact rules, but something along the lines of if there is a simulcast (say 93.3 and 104.1) and there is less than a certain percentage of overlap in the 60 dBu contours they can be counted collectively instead of individually. That might not be entirely accurate. Does anyone know the specifics?

 

[fybush]

You may be thinking of the contour-overlap rules, which apply only for determining ownership caps outside Arbitron-designated markets. All of the Citadel and Cumulus stations mentioned above are within the DFW Arbitron market, so they'd each count separately against the eight-station total.

 

[davideduardo]

Higher Expenses? I would think debt service/rent factor on KCTK is 25% that of KPLX, KRLD or WBAP. I'd guess annual salaries and production are

Musers: 1.500,000
norm: 300,000
bad: 500,000
hardline: 1.500,000
other: 500,000

round it up 4,500,000, then 25% of total rev for sales. You're right, those other stations don't have near that heavy of a talent expense, but I still think that small stick has to be considerably cheaper in raw value that real stations.

Technical expenses for 20 kw vs. 50 kw are not all that different and relatively insignificant unless you are in Traverse City, MI. And The Ticket has to maintain multiple transmitter sites, so overall the cost may be higher in that there will be property taxes on different locations, added engineering manpower to get to all of them, greater insurance costs, etc.

Talent is not the biggest operating expense for most stations... sales, which you fairly accurately pegged at around 25%, is just part of the other costs. There is a manager, pluss accounting, continuity and traffic. There are engineers (who make more than the light bill, by the way), building maintenance and janitorial, business licences, property and liability insurance, vehicles, additional payroll costs like FICA and group insurance. There is commercial production, office and technical supplies, ASCAP and BMI licences (even for talk station, although they are lower), legal costs both local and FCC related, rent or taxes on office space, phone and related (like T1s for STL) travel and entertainment, promotion and promotion department staff, home office expense allocation, program research, Arbitron and qualitative research, IT expense, license fees for marketron or similar, and so on.

 

[Sgt. Hans G. Schultz]

Higher Expenses? I would think debt service/rent factor on KCTK is 25% that of KPLX, KRLD or WBAP. I'd guess annual salaries and production are

Musers: 1.500,000
norm: 300,000
bad: 500,000
hardline: 1.500,000
other: 500,000

round it up 4,500,000, then 25% of total rev for sales. You're right, those other stations don't have near that heavy of a talent expense, but I still think that small stick has to be considerably cheaper in raw value that real stations.

Technical expenses for 20 kw vs. 50 kw are not all that different and relatively insignificant unless you are in Traverse City, MI.
And The Ticket has to maintain multiple ONE transmitter site,

http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?call=ktck&x=0&y=0&sr=Y&s=C

 

[Triple Fake Jerry]

The daytime patterns now and after the upgrade only result in maybe 20 more miles in fringe radius. I would have thought it would be more.