Waterloo Changes in Austin

[davideduardo]

107.7 is a bad rimshot for sure and the current format is not ideal for the Williamson County population it reaches best, but 104.3 isn't too bad.

It's roughly equivalent to La Z's 107.1. 107.1 is a little better overall, but they are both C2 eastern rimshots from outside Travis County that have some deficiencies. 104.3 has some issues in western Travis and Hays and 107.1 has some problems in Williamson.

They both are more than decent in the heavily-hispanic areas east of I-35 though. I think La Z has "won" mostly because of the superior programming and better community involvement/engagement.

A huge percentage of the Spanish language listening comes from the HDHA residents. The Univision signals did not do as well in them as the Z signal did.

And Z had a PD I trained who came out of the very successful San Diego UVN Regional Mexican station; he was also an excellent morning guy.

 

[Kent]

That was HBC, which merged with Univision. The deal was never completed, and I recall it was due to the difference in price and offer.

The DOJ asked Clear Channel and HBC to void the deals to sell KEYI in Austin and KKFR Phoenix to HBC because of Clear Channel's interest in HBC. It was somewhat of a strange edict as it didn’t prohibit HBC from expanding in those markets; it just said it couldn’t buy from Clear Channel. Clear Channel did NOT want to sell to Emmis under any circumstances and was really unhappy about the deal being voided.

Apparently, KXPK 96.5 was also supposed to go to HBC.

DOJ Nixes Hispanic Bid

DOJ Nixes Hispanic Bid

www.radioworld.com

 

[Mediafrog+]

I can't remember when the calls arrived on 98.3, but I believe they were there before I was born. Having said that, I would guess you're right because they will have been on 96.7 for 35 years in a few months, and I can't imagine they would've been on 98.3 since the 1950's. I don't think that station signed on until the mid-to-late 60's. I seem to remember someone telling me it was a classical format before it became a Top-40/CHR.

I grew up in Austin in the 1960s, so I recall quite a bit of the radio history.

The 98.3 signal signed on in 1956 with the KHFI call. It was indeed a Classical station up until the mid 1960s. In 1964 it came under common ownership with 970 AM (the original KASE, unrelated to the current FM with that call) and the Construction Permit for TV channel 42. All three adopted the KHFI call.

(BTW the old KHFI-TV/42 is now KXAN/36, having changed channels in 1973. The current KEYE/42 is unrelated.)

My father was a fan of the Classical format on 98.3, but it was flipped to a Beautiful Music format around 1965. The demise of the Classical format on 98.3 led to the launch of KMFA in 1967.

KHFI 98.3 had several formats in the 1970s before settling on CHR, which lasted through the 1980s, up to the time of the KVET LMA in 1990.

So the KHFI call was on 98.3 (and briefly 98.1) 1956-90.

 

[davideduardo]

The DOJ asked Clear Channel and HBC to void the deals to sell KEYI in Austin and KKFR Phoenix to HBC because of Clear Channel's interest in HBC. It was somewhat of a strange edict as it didn’t prohibit HBC from expanding in those markets; it just said it couldn’t buy from Clear Channel. Clear Channel did NOT want to sell to Emmis under any circumstances and was really unhappy about the deal being voided.

Apparently, KXPK 96.5 was also supposed to go to HBC.

DOJ Nixes Hispanic Bid

DOJ Nixes Hispanic Bid

www.radioworld.com

There was discussion of all of that, but the issue was the cross ownership of CC and HBC at the time. The idea was to postpone the sale until the IPO of HBC, but CC wanted to sell immediately instead of putting the stations in a trust which was expensive.

 

[stan]

I'm a bit surprised the Spanish language CHR Latino format didn't catch on when it was on KGSR. KLOL here in Houston does well in the sales demos with a similar format, and I'd think Austin has the demographics to support a station like that.

How could it? Barely made the one year anniversary on 93.3.

KLOL ain't all that, but yeah. I'd agree that Austin should be capable of supporting the format, given it was programmed by the right people, and that sure ain't the folks at Sinclair.

If Waterloo was smart they’d return AAA and the KGSR calls back to 107.1. They’re not that smart.

 

[txchipk]

If Waterloo was smart they’d return AAA and the KGSR calls back to 107.1. They’re not that smart.

107.1 is ranked #3 in the market and just had its best ratings in 6 years. It seems unlikely they will change its format.

January 2025 (1/9 – 2/5) Nielsen Audio PPM Ratings Day 4: You Give WNOR 22 Years; It Will Reach #1

The fourth and final day of Nielsen Audio's PPM releases for the month bring Austin, Raleigh/Durham, Indianapolis, Nashville, Milwaukee, Providence, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Greensboro/Winston-Salem, West Palm Beach, Memphis, and Hartford.

radioinsight.com

 

[Mediafrog+]

If Waterloo was smart they’d return AAA and the KGSR calls back to 107.1. They’re not that smart.

😖😖😖That would make no sense. KLZT is doing fine. Alternative fans have KUTX, KROX, 97.5 and some HD subchannels.

 

[Ryan Williams]

This doesn't really belong here, but doesn't need a new topic... Waterloo seems to be running KGSR Vibe 93.3 from the "main" Bertram site this week (heard it earlier in the week and was reminded about it again today). I can't remember the last time, but it's been a while. Seemed a little weaker than in years past, perhaps they are on reduced power. They have been running for several years primarily from the "aux" 2222 site.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

This doesn't really belong here, but doesn't need a new topic... Waterloo seems to be running KGSR Vibe 93.3 from the "main" Bertram site this week (heard it earlier in the week and was reminded about it again today). I can't remember the last time, but it's been a while. Seemed a little weaker than in years past, perhaps they are on reduced power. They have been running for several years primarily from the "aux" 2222 site.

Theyre supposed to file if theyre operating from somewhere other than the main site and nothings been filed for that in years... but ... we know stuff like that likely happens a;ll the time

 

[Ryan Williams]

Theyre supposed to file if theyre operating from somewhere other than the main site and nothings been filed for that in years... but ... we know stuff like that likely happens a;ll the time

In this case, Waterloo has a licensed auxiliary site for KGSR. They don't need to notify anyone to use the aux site. They had a permit to downgrade the main KGSR license to the same tower as the auxiliary license but with twice the power of the aux (50 kW instead of 25), but let the permit expire.

I'm sure they run the "main" signal from Bertram on occasion to keep the license legal and alive, but in recent years I haven't heard it in a long time before last week.

I suspect they like the aux site signal better in town (Bertram is way out there), but don't want to let go of the giant allocation they have in the table of allotments being very full-fledged Class C.

If they ever put 590 AM on 93.3, I would fully expect they would move back to the Bertram site full-time. It's way better in Williamson County and better or equivalent in the other counties of the market Bastrop, Caldwell, and Hays. It's not as good in Central Travis County, but that is not where the bulk of the KLBJ audience resides I would guess.

 

[Mediafrog+]

If they ever put 590 AM on 93.3, I would fully expect they would move back to the Bertram site full-time. It's way better in Williamson County and better or equivalent in the other counties of the market Bastrop, Caldwell, and Hays.

I would tend to agree. BTW, I still did not notice any activity at the KVET site for the construction of the KLBJ CP, which expires in six months. If that goes unbuilt, it might increase the chances of KLBJ winding up on 93.3.

 

[dlf1]

I wouldn’t rule out an ESPN 93.3 either: a mono signal from Bertram would be an assist for that format as well.

 

[lanceventa]

This doesn't really belong here, but doesn't need a new topic... Waterloo seems to be running KGSR Vibe 93.3 from the "main" Bertram site this week (heard it earlier in the week and was reminded about it again today). I can't remember the last time, but it's been a while. Seemed a little weaker than in years past, perhaps they are on reduced power. They have been running for several years primarily from the "aux" 2222 site.

Wondering if with Bob Sinclair's passing they're simply buttoning things up for the upcoming transfer of control filing... Or if running from the Aux site was a Bob edict...

 

[Ryan Williams]

Wondering if with Bob Sinclair's passing they're simply buttoning things up for the upcoming transfer of control filing... Or if running from the Aux site was a Bob edict...

I wondered about that too.

 

[Ryan Williams]

Since my message from a couple of weeks back I haven't noticed 93.3 broadcasting from the old site.

Furthermore I received a tip recently indicating that Vibe is broadcasting from their aux site.

Maybe I just heard it on some tropo days or maybe they were testing the Bertram setup temporarily, but it seems to be over now.

 

[254dan]

Since my message from a couple of weeks back I haven't noticed 93.3 broadcasting from the old site.

Furthermore I received a tip recently indicating that Vibe is broadcasting from their aux site.

Maybe I just heard it on some tropo days or maybe they were testing the Bertram setup temporarily, but it seems to be over now.

i can confirm this since i live 2 hours north, ive picked it up in waco late last year like it was from the bertram site but it faded out i always pick it up in gatesville though not clear but enough to where i can hear whats going on

 

[stan]

So what’s the status of KLBJ relocating their tower(s) for the AM?

 

[Ryan Williams]

So what’s the status of KLBJ relocating their tower(s) for the AM?

Their current construction permit to move to the KVET site north of 183 on Metric expires in November.

It certainly could be constructed with the time remaining, but it also kind of seems like if they were going to do it, they would have by now, or at least started.

I was at the Austin FC game the other day just down the road at Q2 Stadium and saw no activity at the transmitter site.