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WAMB sold

J

jimntn

Guest
Radio and Records reports WAMB is being sold to Bott Radio Network, which owns religious stations in the midwest. My guess is they'll be flipping to religious talk soon. I'll miss the beautiful music in the night.
 
There goes the AM Stereo transmitter! It still works, BTW. I checked it with an old C-Quam receiver I found at Goodwill.

With all the extra processing, it sounds better than most AMs, even on a mono receiver. WSM's sound was better, too, when they still had it. The sound quality on a regular radio is far ahead of WLAC and their "HD Radio".

Their analog bandwidth is so low now, it always sounds like a distant, even on a top-quality tuner. Don't even try to tune it in on a cheap radio without digital tuning! Thankfully, they don't use HD-Radio at night, due to skip making it jam adjacents nationwide.

I'm sure it sounds great with the new radios, but I'm not going to pay $400 to hear Rush, Hannity, and Glenn Beck in digital. Oh, and don't forget 102.5 The Party!
 
> Radio and Records reports WAMB is being sold to Bott Radio
> Network, which owns religious stations in the midwest. My
> guess is they'll be flipping to religious talk soon. I'll
> miss the beautiful music in the night.

So, did the Roundtable board perhaps know this was coming?
 
> Radio and Records reports WAMB is being sold to Bott Radio
> Network, which owns religious stations in the midwest. My
> guess is they'll be flipping to religious talk soon. I'll
> miss the beautiful music in the night.
>
It's not just a report by R&R; the application to assign the WAMB license to Bott is now on file with the FCC.

To me, what makes the sale of WAMB so shocking is not so much the station's longtime status as the flagship of Bill Barry's mini-empire in Nashville-area radio as much as the fact that Barry and his family, at least for now, are keeping all of their "lesser" radio holdings. Barry, his wife, and his stepson are keeping their joint ownership of Nashville Spanish-language AM 1200 stick WKDA; Barry still holds a CP for for a new AM 1490 Lebanon station, WCKD; Barry's stepdaughter, last I checked, owns Lebanon's WCOR and WANT; and Barry is even keeping that FM 98.7 booster/translator/whatever that has for years been simulcasting WAMB at night in order to counteract Cuban jamming (even if it's merely alleged) on 1160 kHz.

Bott, meanwhile, might end up changing WAMB in more ways than one. In addition to a flip to a "Christian information" format similar to 1300 WNQM's, I expect Bott to copy its practice in other markets of adopting a set of call letters that stand for a phrase containing the words "voice" and either "Christian" or "inspirational" (Bott flagship KCCV=Kansas City's Christian Voice; KSIV=St. Louis's Inspirational Voice; the Memphis area's WCRV=Christian Radio Voice, etc.).

My last point is that, from a strategic standpoint, WAMB would be a good acquisition for Bott, and not just because of Nashville's supposed reputation as the "buckle" of the Bible Belt. WAMB (or whatever its calls may be) would have the broadest daytime coverage area of any Nashville Christian AM station (although, to be fair, WNQM and, to an even greater extent, the non-profit Bible Broadcasting Network's 980 WYFN will have superior nighttime signals). Also, a buyout of WAMB by Bott would put a solid crimp into any plans Salem might have had to get a Christian talk stick of its own in Nashville. FCC rules allow a company to own no more than five FM stations in the Nashville market, and, of course, Salem already serves Nashville with two Fish FMs and two Solid Gospel FMs. On the AM dial, meanwhile, the respective owners of WYFN and WNQM seem dedicated to keeping them for a long time and not letting even another Christian radio specialist like Bott or Salem get its hands on them.<P ID="signature">______________
This is AirwaveSurfer, reminding you that portions of this post have been prerecorded.</P>
 
> and WANT; and Barry is even keeping that FM 98.7
> booster/translator/whatever that has for years been
> simulcasting WAMB at night in order to counteract Cuban
> jamming (even if it's merely alleged) on 1160 kHz.

It is very difficult for me to believe the FCC would let the 98.7 station exist independent of the 1160 license. (i.e., either it's going to go to Bott along with 1160, or it's going to get cancelled)

As I recall, the 98.7 station is licensed under special temporary authority. (I guess if they can claim WAMB is being clobbered by Cuban stations then they can claim the 98.7 station is "temporary"<grin>!) STAs usually don't appear in the FCC Public Notices - nor in the databases - so the fact that you haven't seen a transfer application for 98.7 doesn't mean it isn't being transferred. (I note the 98.7 station isn't in the FCC Engineering Database)

I wonder what the 98.7 station's status will be vs. the recently-authorized LPFM on the same frequency at Lipscomb?
 
Barry is even keeping that FM 98.7
> booster/translator/whatever that has for years been
> simulcasting WAMB at night in order to counteract Cuban
> jamming (even if it's merely alleged) on 1160 kHz.

It's not really jamming 1160, but it's massive on 1180. A station in Jackson, MS on 1180 has done the same thing, and believe me, they need it. The last time I went through there, the AM only went out a mile at night before it got swallowed up.
 
Upon further review...

> > Barry is even keeping that FM 98.7
> > booster/translator/whatever that has for years been
> > simulcasting WAMB at night in order to counteract Cuban
> > jamming (even if it's merely alleged) on 1160 kHz.
>
> It is very difficult for me to believe the FCC would let the
> 98.7 station exist independent of the 1160 license. (i.e.,
> either it's going to go to Bott along with 1160, or it's
> going to get cancelled)
>
> As I recall, the 98.7 station is licensed under special
> temporary authority. (I guess if they can claim WAMB is
> being clobbered by Cuban stations then they can claim the
> 98.7 station is "temporary"!) STAs usually don't appear in
> the FCC Public Notices - nor in the databases - so the fact
> that you haven't seen a transfer application for 98.7
> doesn't mean it isn't being transferred. (I note the 98.7
> station isn't in the FCC Engineering Database)
>
w9wi,

I've just double-checked the WAMB asset purchase agreement PDF at the FCC CDBS site, and it turns out that you're right and I'm wrong about 98.7. Section 1.1(b) of the agreement states that Bott will indeed be earning the rights to the 98.7 authorization when and if it buys WAMB.

I did get at least one prediction right about WAMB's future under Bott, however. Section 1.2(d) of the agreement excludes the WAMB call letters from the asset sale, meaning that Bill Barry can own another WAMB radio station if he so wishes, and Bott will have no choice but to get new calls for AM 1160. Hmmm, I wonder if WNCV -- Nashville's Christian Voice -- is available, by any chance...<P ID="signature">______________
This is AirwaveSurfer, reminding you that portions of this post have been prerecorded.</P><P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by AirwaveSurfer on 08/21/05 04:14 PM.</FONT></P>
 
> There goes the AM Stereo transmitter! It still works, BTW. I
> checked it with an old C-Quam receiver I found at Goodwill.
>
>
> With all the extra processing, it sounds better than most
> AMs, even on a mono receiver. WSM's sound was better, too,
> when they still had it. The sound quality on a regular radio
> is far ahead of WLAC and their "HD Radio".
>
> Their analog bandwidth is so low now, it always sounds like
> a distant, even on a top-quality tuner. Don't even try to
> tune it in on a cheap radio without digital tuning!
> Thankfully, they don't use HD-Radio at night, due to skip
> making it jam adjacents nationwide.
>
> I'm sure it sounds great with the new radios, but I'm not
> going to pay $400 to hear Rush, Hannity, and Glenn Beck in
> digital. Oh, and don't forget 102.5 The Party!
>
Anybody know how much power they run on 98.7?
 
Re: Upon further review...

> > > Barry is even keeping that FM 98.7
> > > booster/translator/whatever that has for years been
> > > simulcasting WAMB at night in order to counteract Cuban
> > > jamming (even if it's merely alleged) on 1160 kHz.
> >
> > It is very difficult for me to believe the FCC would let
> the
> > 98.7 station exist independent of the 1160 license.
> (i.e.,
> > either it's going to go to Bott along with 1160, or it's
> > going to get cancelled)
> >
> > As I recall, the 98.7 station is licensed under special
> > temporary authority. (I guess if they can claim WAMB is
> > being clobbered by Cuban stations then they can claim the
> > 98.7 station is "temporary"!) STAs usually don't appear
> in
> > the FCC Public Notices - nor in the databases - so the
> fact
> > that you haven't seen a transfer application for 98.7
> > doesn't mean it isn't being transferred. (I note the 98.7
>
> > station isn't in the FCC Engineering Database)
> >
> w9wi,
>
> I've just double-checked the WAMB asset purchase agreement
> PDF at the FCC CDBS site, and it turns out that you're right
> and I'm wrong about 98.7. Section 1.1(b) of the agreement
> states that Bott will indeed be earning the rights to the
> 98.7 authorization when and if it buys WAMB.
>
> I did get at least one prediction right about WAMB's future
> under Bott, however. Section 1.2(d) of the agreement
> excludes the WAMB call letters from the asset sale, meaning
> that Bill Barry can own another WAMB radio station if he so
> wishes, and Bott will have no choice but to get new calls
> for AM 1160. Hmmm, I wonder if WNCV -- Nashville's
> Christian Voice -- is available, by any chance...
>
The answer is no. WNCV is a station in Niceville FL owned by Cumulus.
 
> Radio and Records reports WAMB is being sold to Bott Radio
> Network, which owns religious stations in the midwest. My
> guess is they'll be flipping to religious talk soon. I'll
> miss the beautiful music in the night.

Well, Nashville radio has officially gone deeper into the toilet.
 
> Anybody know how much power they run on 98.7?

I heard it's not more than 100 watts. I know their exciter always leaks a few watts, since I can hear it in the daytime when I drive close by.
 
Re: Upon further review...

> I've just double-checked the WAMB asset purchase agreement
> PDF at the FCC CDBS site, and it turns out that you're right
> and I'm wrong about 98.7. Section 1.1(b) of the agreement
> states that Bott will indeed be earning the rights to the
> 98.7 authorization when and if it buys WAMB.

I keep forgetting you can actually read the applications & their attachments...

> for AM 1160. Hmmm, I wonder if WNCV -- Nashville's
> Christian Voice -- is available, by any chance...

WNCV is assigned, to a Cumulus FM station in Florida. Bott could try to get Cumulus to change their station to WNCV-FM which would make it possible for them to get WNCV assigned to 1160 here.

WCVN might be easier (cheaper) to get. It too is assigned, but to Kentucky Educational Television who probably won't demand as much compensation for a call change...
 
> > Anybody know how much power they run on 98.7?
>
> I heard it's not more than 100 watts. I know their exciter
> always leaks a few watts, since I can hear it in the daytime
> when I drive close by.

I believe it's 75 watts ERP, Someone once told me the transmitter is on all the time, but a relay switches it to a dummy load during the day. I've heard it weakly in the daytime too.
 
How Much Would an AM such as WAMB sell for? anyone got an idea?
 
> > Radio and Records reports WAMB is being sold to Bott Radio
>
> > Network, which owns religious stations in the midwest. My
>
> > guess is they'll be flipping to religious talk soon. I'll
>
> > miss the beautiful music in the night.
> >
> It's not just a report by R&R; the application to assign the
> WAMB license to Bott is now on file with the FCC.
>
> To me, what makes the sale of WAMB so shocking is not so
> much the station's longtime status as the flagship of Bill
> Barry's mini-empire in Nashville-area radio as much as the
> fact that Barry and his family, at least for now, are
> keeping all of their "lesser" radio holdings. Barry, his
> wife, and his stepson are keeping their joint ownership of
> Nashville Spanish-language AM 1200 stick WKDA; Barry still
> holds a CP for for a new AM 1490 Lebanon station, WCKD;
> Barry's stepdaughter, last I checked, owns Lebanon's WCOR
> and WANT; and Barry is even keeping that FM 98.7
> booster/translator/whatever that has for years been
> simulcasting WAMB at night in order to counteract Cuban
> jamming (even if it's merely alleged) on 1160 kHz.
>
> Bott, meanwhile, might end up changing WAMB in more ways
> than one. In addition to a flip to a "Christian
> information" format similar to 1300 WNQM's, I expect Bott to
> copy its practice in other markets of adopting a set of call
> letters that stand for a phrase containing the words "voice"
> and either "Christian" or "inspirational" (Bott flagship
> KCCV=Kansas City's Christian Voice; KSIV=St. Louis's
> Inspirational Voice; the Memphis area's WCRV=Christian Radio
> Voice, etc.).
>
> My last point is that, from a strategic standpoint, WAMB
> would be a good acquisition for Bott, and not just because
> of Nashville's supposed reputation as the "buckle" of the
> Bible Belt. WAMB (or whatever its calls may be) would have
> the broadest daytime coverage area of any Nashville
> Christian AM station (although, to be fair, WNQM and, to an
> even greater extent, the non-profit Bible Broadcasting
> Network's 980 WYFN will have superior nighttime signals).
> Also, a buyout of WAMB by Bott would put a solid crimp into
> any plans Salem might have had to get a Christian talk stick
> of its own in Nashville. FCC rules allow a company to own
> no more than five FM stations in the Nashville market, and,
> of course, Salem already serves Nashville with two Fish FMs
> and two Solid Gospel FMs. On the AM dial, meanwhile, the
> respective owners of WYFN and WNQM seem dedicated to keeping
> them for a long time and not letting even another Christian
> radio specialist like Bott or Salem get its hands on them.
>

Bott's programming will probably be similar to WENO AM 760, and would be a definite improvement over WNQM in the quality of programs they have on. Although I might not agree with everyone they carry, they're a lot more selective about who they allow on, and don't allow anyone on for a buck like WNQM or WWCR do.

When they bought what was WMSO AM 640 to change it to WCRV I thought they were wrong in dropping all CCM and going to all Christian talk, but over the years I've realized that they're good at what they do for the most part.

I wonder what will happen with a lot of the programs on WENO that are normally on Bott stations in other cities. Some might choose to be on both, but others might switch to 1160 and leave holes in what seems to be mostly a good lineup on WENO. On the other hand, I figure that what few truly good programs that are on WNQM could change over to 1160, which will probably make WNQM even worse.

Something I also wonder about is if WAMB's former owners are holding on to their other stations and the WAMB call letters, could the easy listening format and call letters continue on one of their other stations?
 
> How Much Would an AM such as WAMB sell for? anyone got an
> idea?
>


5 million according to the report on R@R

Rob
 
> Barry is even keeping that FM 98.7
> > booster/translator/whatever that has for years been
> > simulcasting WAMB at night in order to counteract Cuban
> > jamming (even if it's merely alleged) on 1160 kHz.
>
> It's not really jamming 1160, but it's massive on 1180. A
> station in Jackson, MS on 1180 has done the same thing, and
> believe me, they need it. The last time I went through
> there, the AM only went out a mile at night before it got
> swallowed up.
>
your right, I'm from Jackson and some nights it barely makes it out of the city limits of Pearl where the tower is located It can barely be heard at the Wal Mart in Pearl which is right up the road. But for some reason it is crystal clear before sunrise. I assume the conditions are different or maybe the cubans are off the air. The FM station is only on at night and runs 500 watts at 103.3.
 
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