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translators - broadcast type

O

oldtimeradio

I have a question about FM translators. I have no idea if those are profitable for people that apply for and build them.

I see FM translators for sale, but I have no idea how they make money, and if they make money, or if it's just an expensive hobby. :)

I have no desire to buy one, or to be in competition with anyone in Arizona. I'd just like to know if somebody (one or more) can fill me in on this topic. (Please.)

Thank you very much.
 
There are some folks on this board who either operate translators now or have done so in the past.

There are easier ways of making money than owning and operating a translator, but for some it is a labor of love.
 
Through a corporation I headed, I got to do 8 of them in Flagstaff, Verde Valley and Prescott. I sold the last one in 1999. I got out of it partly because the tax status seemed unclear. The FCC substantially re-regulated the service in the late 80's, preventing direct payment from the Primary stations in most cases. A lot of their policy statements related to that docket, if not the actual rules they adopted, indicate that they don't consider them strictly 'profitable'. Which may put them in more of a hobby category. Confusing!

Northern Arizona had little FM and no rock on the air (except for a Prescott KDKB translator) as late as 1980. That's when I started a network of 3 translators (KDKB until early 90's, KSLX briefly and then KZON*). These were supported by hourly, 30 second local commercials, run by a nifty automation system I built which was located at the primary station (*waves* at John, who did some very helpful interfacing with KZON's iMediaTouch system.)

KDKB sometimes beat the local stations in Coconino County, and that caused a ::) freakout. In the 1980's re-regulation comments at the FCC, the Flagstaff translator was accused of destroying the radio market and causing a local heritage station...KCLS...to go dark. That's probably not the reason KCLS went off the air, however, and there simply wasn't enough translator spot inventory to damage much of anything.

Other translators were done in partnership with area stations (KSMK/KZGL, KAFF); to serve select listeners without a profit motive, (KONC, KNAU); because Harold Camping sent money (KPHF), and because I dug the format (KSTM, Z-ROCK.)

These days, there are excellent broadcasters in the market who have most of the formats covered. So the best use for a translator is to extend FM coverage and to put AM stations on FM, where they'll have a fighting chance.
 
I really liked KCLS 600. The drive-ability was terrific. I often wonder if 1440 here in Scottsdale pays for itself.
 
If memory serves, what ultimately did KCLS in was the value of the transmitter site exceeding the value of the station as Flagstaff grew.

With only 30 seconds of inventory allowed by law, one spot for Granny's Closet an hour had better not have outbilled the rest of the market. :)
 
johndavis said:
If memory serves, what ultimately did KCLS in was the value of the transmitter site exceeding the value of the station as Flagstaff grew.

With only 30 seconds of inventory allowed by law, one spot for Granny's Closet an hour had better not have outbilled the rest of the market. :)
Click to expand...
I can only describe the situation in Flagstaff at that time as a real hornet's nest. The translator was stolen from a secure building on Mt. Elden. Would-be sponsors, turned away because of inventory sellout, threatened lawsuits. I received anonymous threats. A NAB splinter group called 'CACTUS' (Cancel All Commercial Translator Use Now) floated some whoppers at the FCC.

KCLS was bought by a real estate developer, who shut it down and turned it into vacant lots. Meanwhile, mindful of the various controversies locally and at the FCC, I priced the translator spots lower than most other stations in the market.
 
I think the original intent of translators was much like what you were doing in Northern Arizona: bringing radio service into rural areas where there was none.

Over time, it's been nudged into fill-in service and essentially creating low power FM stations via HD sidechannels. But the rules haven't completely changed from their origins, and I suspect that even the FCC isn't clear on what the rules should be.

But they are cracking down on commercial band translators being fed via anything that isn't off-air as of late, so the commission seems to be paying more attention to them now than they used to.
 
Thanks for the insights on translators.

For laughs, I look at Stations for Sale and I see probably forty or fifty translators for sale, some in use and others silent. I couldn't find anything online to enlighten me on the subject so I asked the question here. Thanks very much for the information.
 
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