Tucson FM for sale/ KEVT off again

[SomeRadioGuy]

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.

Come on Paul, youre smart.. you really think they paid $400,000 just to simulcast an fm with overlap? Theyre oging to do something else with it.

I worked for a full power AM, FM and a translator... the translator was eventually going to simulcast the AM.. but for several months, the translator simulcast the FM.. and they were both on the same tower while we waited for some legal and technical things to be finished

 

[CAVEMANager]

Yet another possibility is that Bustos could rent the side channel of another FM that uses HD. The previous owner of the 92.5 translator was using it to relay a side channel of 96.1. Not sure who paid whom. Lotus might have paid the owner of the translator.

 

[Sammi Brie]

Thanks for the info on 92.5. Someone tell El Heraldo de México that Larsa has left town.

 

[CAVEMANager]

92.5 is now relaying HD2 of KZLZ-105.3. More Mexican music. Are the owners of KZLZ paying Bustos or is Bustos paying KZLZ? How many Mexican music stations does Tucson need?

 

[davideduardo]

92.5 is now relaying HD2 of KZLZ-105.3. More Mexican music. Are the owners of KZLZ paying Bustos or is Bustos paying KZLZ? How many Mexican music stations does Tucson need?

There are as many possible formats (actually more) in the Spanish language as there are in English. Specifically addressing first and second generation Mexican and Mexican-American listeners in Tucson, there are four or five different formats that are quite viable... comparable in English to CHR, adult hits (like "Jack"), at least two blends of Regional Mexican and AC. There has always been a small niche in Tucson for Tejano as well, and the Univision all-sports format might be viable for an AM.

When you ask the "how many Mexican music stations?" questions you might consider the answer to "how many American music stations are viable in Tucson?" After all, the market (MSA) is now 40% Hispanic.

 

[Groove1670]

You're smarter than that (I think).

Given how full the FM dial is these days, the opportunities for full-power stations to upgrade in most places are extremely limited. I just ran a project for a client looking at one of the frequencies that's up for auction next week. That poor facility was basically locked into an area less than a mile square - you either get it built there as a class A, or it doesn't get built out at all. And there's no upgrading it. (And this was in a part of the country much less densely built out than Tucson.)

Sure, translators are nominally secondary services. But it's easy enough to figure out whether or not there's any room for the full-power stations surrounding any given translator to pose an upgrade threat. 99% of the time, verging on 100% of the time, those full-power stations are already hemmed in where they are and can't make any further moves. I always run those studies for my clients; I'd be irresponsible as a broker or a consultant if I didn't.

Beyond that, the valuation depends on population covered and of course on the laws of supply and demand. If you want to be on FM in the part of Tucson where that signal reaches, and this is the only signal for sale right now that covers it, you wouldn't be "nuts" at all to pay a few hundred thousand dollars if it reaches a few hundred thousand people.

Unless it is a niche format or you really want a signal in the market. It would be a hard sell to advertisers in the market. With that said, stranger things have happened.

 

[CAVEMANager]

A trip up both dials reveals these stations in Spanish: 92.1, 92.5, 94.3, 94.9 HD3, 95.7, 96.1 HD3, 105.3, 105.3 HD2, 107.9, 580, 990, 1600. Some are translators. There are also some that I haven't listed because they cover a small part of the Tucson metro area. Nearly all of their audiences are the food stamp crowd who buy the essentials to stay alive. KCMT and KTKT are the only ones that have decent ratings. I'd hate to have to sell advertising for the others.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

The new format is bilingual span sh rythmic, fed by KZLZ 105.3 HD2

Bilingual Rhythmic "92.5 Urbana" Debuts In Tucson - RadioInsight

radioinsight.com

 

[davideduardo]

A trip up both dials reveals these stations in Spanish: 92.1, 92.5, 94.3, 94.9 HD3, 95.7, 96.1 HD3, 105.3, 105.3 HD2, 107.9, 580, 990, 1600. Some are translators. There are also some that I haven't listed because they cover a small part of the Tucson metro area. Nearly all of their audiences are the food stamp crowd who buy the essentials to stay alive. KCMT and KTKT are the only ones that have decent ratings. I'd hate to have to sell advertising for the others.

This is about the most racist comment I have seen here in ages.

Most members of the Hispanic community in Arizona are blue collar workers (but that is changing rapidly). They work for a living and provide incomes for their families.

Hispanics nationally have a higher percentage of small businesses per thousand people than non-Hispanic whites do. Their incomes are rapidly increasing and so is the educational level.... just like with the Germans in the 1870's and 1880's and the Italians in the next four decades.

Tucson will be 50% Hispanic by 2025. They are not all poor and on food stamps. Many are business owners, politicians, lawyers, accountants and professionals.

When you think of Hispanics, think of Linda Ronstadt, not welfare recipients.

KZLZ bills as much at KTKT, and KXEW with its rather unique Tejano-away-from-Texas format is next. Even KEVT bills a nice $50 k a month, so it is likely profitable if kept to a limited budget. Add in religious 580, and those are the only non-HD channel Spanish language stations that are home to the market.

The new Bustos station, doing CHR, will serve the 18-34 group and should hurt KRQQ severely.

 

[davideduardo]

The new format is bilingual span sh rythmic, fed by KZLZ 105.3 HD2

Bilingual Rhythmic "92.5 Urbana" Debuts In Tucson - RadioInsight

radioinsight.com

It's more "Spanglish" than "bilingual". And the music is pretty much reggaetón, similar to the two LA stations in the format.

This is the first Spanish format since the 60's to 80's pop AC era that can work anywhere from Chile to New York City with almost all the same artists and music. Interestingly, about 75% of the artists are Puerto Rican, with almost all the others coming from Colombia.

I absolutely hate the "Urbana" name. It is rather meaningless, has no street positives and sounds terrible when pronounced... almost like an insult.

 

[kwthom]

Tucson will be 50% Hispanic by 2025. They are not all poor and on food stamps. Many are business owners, politicians, lawyers, accountants and professionals.

When you think of Hispanics, think of Linda Ronstadt, not welfare recipients.

Hispanics and Latinos in Arizona - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Arizona was projected to become a minority-majority state by the year 2015 if population growth trends continued. In 2003, for the first time, there were slightly more births to Hispanics in the state than births to non-Hispanic whites. Since then, the gap has widened. In 2007, Hispanics accounted for 45% of all newborns whereas non- Hispanic whites accounted for 41% of all births. However by 2011 those trends reversed. By 2011, non-Hispanic whites accounted for 45.6% of all births while Hispanics births fell to 38.9%. As of 2010, 20.80% (1,202,638) of Arizona residents age 5 and older spoke Spanish at home as a primary language.

Thus, a significant percentage of Spanish-speaking radio continues in Southern Arizona. It's been mentioned here (and other locations on this forum...) need to go where the money is. Good for them; hope it works out.

When I chat with my family from outside the state about the amount of Spanish-speaking that happens locally, I simply point out that bit of history class that many didn't pay attention to...

South of the Gila River, 167 years ago, this was ¡México! 🇲🇽

 

[davideduardo]

South of the Gila River, 167 years ago, this was ¡México! 🇲🇽

I had a friend from New Mexico many years ago whose last name was Olguín, which is an older spelling of today's "Holguín". I asked about the history of her name and she said that an ancestor was given a land grant by the King the the 1600's that would be about the size of three counties there today. Her ancestor had come directly from Spain and set up ranching, and the family kept the old spelling of the name. When I asked about speaking Spanish, she said that she was told the last Spanish speaker died before 1900.

 

[CAVEMANager]

"Even KEVT bills a nice $50K per month"? Tell that to Armando and get a good laugh. KEVT's been off the air for the better part of a year. In fact, I've been told that it may be off the air permanently. I doubt that iHeart is losing any sleep over a 150 watt translator. Hispanics who prefer Spanish very likely have much lower incomes than those who prefer English. The younger English speakers probably like 98.3, 93.7 or maybe 97.5. The Spanish speakers are likely immigrants with low income. That audience is split many ways.

 

[davideduardo]

"Even KEVT bills a nice $50K per month"? Tell that to Armando and get a good laugh. KEVT's been off the air for the better part of a year. In fact, I've been told that it may be off the air permanently. I doubt that iHeart is losing any sleep over a 150 watt translator. Hispanics who prefer Spanish very likely have much lower incomes than those who prefer English. The younger English speakers probably like 98.3, 93.7 or maybe 97.5. The Spanish speakers are likely immigrants with low income. That audience is split many ways.

When I was with KLVE in LA, we had a client that was a Lexus dealer. He said that over half of his clients were Hispanic, and most preferred to do business in Spanish. Many of the station's advertisers were higher end businesses... and they got good results and renewed over and over.

While an immigrant may learn good English, the music that a person liked in their early teens sets the boundaries for the rest of their lives. For example, I acquired a taste for country while managing a country station, but most of my personal music collection is cumbias and salsa and vallenato that I liked as a teen.

And most of my friends who are first generation still prefer the music that they listened to as a kid... of course, American music is very popular in Latin America, so many liked the same stuff the US Top 40 stations played.

But music tastes are cultural, not economic.

You will see how the new Spanish CHR takes lots of audience from KRQQ because the music is better and it fits Hispanic youth's cultural identity.

Oh, those figures were, of course, last year's. And obviously, this year will be both different and atypical. My point is that there is revenue for several top tier stations in Spanish, and also for some secondary ones. Spanish language music is not "one size fits all" as there are really more possible Spanish language formats than there are in English.