its gonna be a relay of the AM, id wager. Bustos doesnt do HD in any of their markets that im aware of and they have tried getting translators for some of their AMs (one in portland, OR was denied, with the FCC favoring an LPFM)
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its gonna be a relay of the AM, id wager. Bustos doesnt do HD in any of their markets that im aware of and they have tried getting translators for some of their AMs (one in portland, OR was denied, with the FCC favoring an LPFM)
That is not exactly true:
"Democrats are the largest voting bloc in the county with 244,000 voters, Republicans are second with 177,000 and "no party" or "other" is third with 175,000."
That is hardly "almost totally" anything.
New York City and the boroughs vote over 70% Democratic, yet several conservative talk stations do quite well, despite being AM only.
C
CAVEMANager
Guest
Though someone 400 miles away wouldn't know this, 92.5 is presently off the air. Talk from the far right does okay in Tucson. KNST is number five in the Tucson Nielsen survey and tied for first place in adjacent Cochise County. They are the top rated AM station by a wide margin. KNST has Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Mark Levin. KVOI has much less famous stars from Salem. Relaying them on FM isn't going to make much difference even though KVOI's night signal leaves a lot to be desired.
Cochise County is much different demographically than is Tucson. It is filled with retirees (read 'mostly red') and other old-timers. And since the county is on the freeway for illegals entering the country this is bound to be their primary focus despite the Republicans terrible history in the areas of national health services and social security.
In the presidential contest of 2016 the votes went DEM: 224,661 vs REP: 175,740 (53.28% vs 39.71%). That is about as "totally" as modern elections go.
Noo Yawk Sity cannot be compared with Pima County (includes metro Tucson). Totally different makeup.
All radio markets can be compared as the numbers we look at are based on the local market. A 5 share in NYC or one in Tucson means you are a big station and will be a high biller. Of course, the high biller in Tucson will bill less, but will have vastly lower expenses.
Radio is not "either or". It is "and + and + and + and + and + and + and..." The top 15 to 20 stations can make money. In fact, there are 16 of them billing a million or more. Only 6 bill over $2 million. And even some of the ones outside the top 20 can make an income if run on the frugal side while delivering either a special audience or selling block time.
So a talk station that gets a 4 share and gets enough 35-54 can easily e in the top 10 in 25-54 and maybe top 5 in 12+. KNST is billing tied for 5th in the market where there are 33 stations, not including translators, LPFM or educational outlets.
No station has over a 7 share in 12+ (average) and only 4 have a 5 or over (one is KNST). So what is the "margin of error" in a political poll is a major win in Tucson radio.
Beating 27 stations in revenue and being 4th in 12+. That is a major win. This is radio, not politics.
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But this is a radio forum. The city of Tucson is not a radio market. Pima County is, even if Nielsen calls it "Tucson"... that is because it is the Tucson MSA. So we look at the entire county in radio, not towns and cities and villages.
Cochise County is not part of the Tucson MSA for Nielsen. It is just a one-county metro.
As someone who has spent the last 3 years tire kicking on a station in Tucson and being ready to pull the trigger on a home purchase (We've been there dozens of time and my car as a radio), I am very familiar with the market and the situation. I go back to the early 70's when I supervised programming and compliance for a station there... but I am ASU, not UofA.
You didn't like Press-kit but you are considering Tuk-son? Hey, Tucson is my hometown and I will always love it but it is different. You will need bars on your windows and locks on the car (especially the tires and rims) because a large part of the economy is, how you say it, barter?
My knowledge of the Tucson radio market goes back to the mid 50's through the late 70's when it turned from a one trick pony (KTKT) into a mixed AM-FM mess. My trips down there have been very infrequent lately so I won't profess to know much about the current state. Suffice to say it wasn't good enough that I actually listened to any radio preferring instead my own library on a USB stick. Unless Frank Kalil brokers out-of-area stations I don't know how he makes a living down there.
My main problem is that I am where I am because one of my ancestors was a professor at Tempe Teachers College (pre-ASU) back in the 30's but I was raised in Tucson where I root, root, rooted for UofA (and hate the designation UArizona). I have significant anguish during the annual Territorial Cup game.
Good luck to you though. If anyone can make it work it should be you. I will be watching with interest.
P.S. As you might already know, the good citizens of Tuk-son HATE that big city up north and especially their university. You will have to learn to love UofA and its basketball team because the rest of the sports lineup isn't too great.
Prescott is too small. While it is beautiful nestled in the mountains, it did not have much for us and it was not really "Hispanic friendly".
We are looking mostly in Oro Valley, like Villages of La Cañada, Stone Canyon, La Reserve, and several others.
Radio brokers are not "local". They operate from an office anywhere and sell anywhere. Most radio brokers have moved into the new media field, anyway.
I have pretty much given up on a station there. There just is not room for another Spanish language, revenue wise, even though there are big holes format wise. Lotus just owns the market.
I remember that from when Lotus owned KTKT and KRUX: even the two stations were rivals!
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C
CAVEMANager
Guest
Who lived where is immaterial. So is sports. The question is what Bustos will do with 92.5 and when will they start doing it? Will this 150 watt translator be a big money maker for Bustos? Will it get high ratings? I wouldn't think that iHeart would disclose how much revenue each station receives per year. It's really not the public's business. I'd be amazed if KNST isn't profitable especially considering that iHeart owns Rush and probably doesn't have to pay him extra for Tucson. KVOI is probably not an easy sell.
The scenery there is breathtaking. Great views of Pusch Ridge and the rest of the Catalina range.
I lived a little south and west of Oro Valley and I never got tired of the mountain views.
Kalil indeed brokers radio properties all over the country, including some near me in NC.
Interestingly, when I worked for the Journal cluster there, Kalil's office was located in the same building. We used to use their conference room for employee meetings.
So why wouldn't the "solar powered" stations add a battery to save juice during the day and run the stations after dusk? Too expensive?
In the 'early days', that station would need a bit of time after sunrise to have enough juice to fire up and run the transmitter. I'm not certain specifically how that was 'controlled'. The inverse happened on the sunset portion of the broadcast day; transmitter would run until the batteries died.
For that specific transmitter location, it's very remote. As in zero roads for a couple of miles.
To be honest, though the solar idea is a novel one, that site could have been augmented with a small wind turbine that may keep things operational a bit longer.
C
CAVEMANager
Guest
It appears that 98.5 and 103.7 are off the air permanently. They were the stations with the solar power. I'm reasonable confident that commercial power was available to that site off Highway 83 but Mr. Tucker didn't want to pay the installation fee. There are ranches in the area that have electricity. Tucker's new Vail station on 104.5 transmits from a cell tower so power is there 24/7. The station has only 300 watts and covers metro Vail well. My guess is that it will be moved to yet another frequency that will cover Tucson a lot better. Then it gets sold. That's been Tucker's game plan for years.
Meanwhile 92.5 remains silent. Should be interesting to see what Bustos eventually does with it.
Meanwhile 92.5 remains silent. Should be interesting to see what Bustos eventually does with it.
"Another one bites the dust?"
Perhaps for now - until the FCC learns they're not on the air.
Gee, didn't Desert West Air Ranchers get into a bit of trouble a few years ago over similar issues elsewhere (Colorado, I believe)
Today 92.5 was simulcasting the Groove (KTGV 106.3).
C
CAVEMANager
Guest
Correct. 92.5 is simulcasting 106.3. Both stations have similar coverage so I'm not sure what the big improvement might be unless there is some significant advantage to being on two dial positions.
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