WFLA #15? WHFS-FM #21?

[jmtillery]

Thank you Mr. Tillery for the well written lesson! Good to know!

You are very welcome. I'm happy I was able to help!

 

[jmtillery]

...Regarding WHPT, although it has signal issues toward North Tampa Bay, it still has a far more superior signal coverage of the Bay area than WHFS' C2 coverage has, and, in fact, has city grade coverage over most of Southeast Tampa proper...

WHPT's signal is so superior, it reaches Fort Myers.

While WHPT's signal does, in fact, reach further South than any of the other Tampa area FM signals, the main "Point" (pun intended if you will) is 102.5's full "C" signal is superior in comparison to WHFS' 98.7 C2 signal. That is not to be confused with 102.5 as having the best Tampa Bay signal overall because it clearly does not have; however, it is adequate for what it is and its intended purpose.

 

[badjef]

...Regarding WHPT, although it has signal issues toward North Tampa Bay, it still has a far more superior signal coverage of the Bay area than WHFS' C2 coverage has, and, in fact, has city grade coverage over most of Southeast Tampa proper...

WHPT's signal is so superior, it reaches Fort Myers.

While WHPT's signal does, in fact, reach further South than any of the other Tampa area FM signals, the main "Point" (pun intended if you will) is 102.5's full "C" signal is superior in comparison to WHFS' 98.7 C2 signal. That is not to be confused with 102.5 as having the best Tampa Bay signal overall because it clearly does not have; however, it is adequate for what it is and its intended purpose.

What IS the Best of the Bay signal, then. I used to think it was 93.3, now, I'm not so sure.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

 

[jefflaurence]

Mr. Tillery is spot on with the facts as usual, but there is a forth facet to what he outlined, and that is this...

The hardest part of that equation to change is the signal. Far easier to adjust or change formats, far easier to make changes in sales..but the logistics, expense, and paperwork behind a facility change can be the deal breaker. It is also true that listeners will go to great lengths to hear programming that suits them, however these days the usual fall back will be to listen to an Internet stream.

I find it numerous that CC and the I Heart Radio people have so enthusiastically embraced the Internet. The terrestrial stations have become "barker channels" for their respective websites.

 

[jmtillery]

Generally speaking in many cases a signal improvement or power upgrade is fairly straightforward although almost always time consuming. It only becomes complicated when a power upgrade, tower move or both requires playing “music chairs” with other stations. I’ve been directly involved with both types of upgrades, involving both planned and implemented upgrades while others were simply theoretical in order to determine the cost vs ROI. Sometimes such a move is cost prohibitive while others actually increase the value of the station significantly, with the new fair market value greatly outweighing the cost, even when “musical chairs” frequency and/or tower moves among one or more other stations is required to make the upgrade possible. I didn’t bring any of this into the equation in my earlier post because I felt it wasn’t necessary.

I agree some, but not all, listeners will go to great lengths to hear programming that “suits” them, although said programming will have to be compelling to gain and retain the listener’s attention. Listener demands today are different than they were 30-years ago when we had far fewer choices.

 

[jmtillery]

...Regarding WHPT, although it has signal issues toward North Tampa Bay, it still has a far more superior signal coverage of the Bay area than WHFS' C2 coverage has, and, in fact, has city grade coverage over most of Southeast Tampa proper...

WHPT's signal is so superior, it reaches Fort Myers.

While WHPT's signal does, in fact, reach further South than any of the other Tampa area FM signals, the main "Point" (pun intended if you will) is 102.5's full "C" signal is superior in comparison to WHFS' 98.7 C2 signal. That is not to be confused with 102.5 as having the best Tampa Bay signal overall because it clearly does not have; however, it is adequate for what it is and its intended purpose.

What IS the Best of the Bay signal, then. I used to think it was 93.3, now, I'm not so sure.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

Essentially all of the class "C" and "C0" stations broadcasting from the Riverview / Brandon tower have the best FM signals and each are comparable to one another with no significant or noticeable difference in coverage over core Tampa Bay while the other area stations, including AM, have their own unique advantages.

 

[rfrus]

93.3, 94.9, 100.7 & 101.5 all operate with 100kw from the same antenna in Riverview. Not just the same tower, but they are combined into the same antenna, so they should have the best signal in the market. 88.5 and 103.5 also use the same antenna, but with less power.

 

[badjef]

93.3, 94.9, 100.7 & 101.5 all operate with 100kw from the same antenna in Riverview. Not just the same tower, but they are combined into the same antenna, so they should have the best signal in the market. 88.5 and 103.5 also use the same antenna, but with less power.

Just because they radiate from the same antenna, power aside, cochannel and adjacents come into play as well. So my question, although answered on a technical level, doesn't address which is the most desirable signal. Maybe I should have worded in that way. Throw translators and LPFMs and negative effects from HD and 600khz spacing into the mix and the answer gets more complicated.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

 

[jmtillery]

As stated above, I'll restate my previous quote again herein:

"Essentially all of the class "C" and "C0" stations broadcasting from the Riverview / Brandon tower have the best FM signals and each are comparable to one another with no significant or noticeable difference in coverage over core Tampa Bay while the other area stations, including AM, have their own unique advantages."

In reference to the Riverview FM signals, even with co-channel, first, second and third adjacent interference problems from translators, LPFM, distance FM signals, or any other form of interference, the class "C" and "CO" signals broadcasting from Riverview have the best signals over Tampa Bay proper with no significant or noticeable difference in coverage or reception. That is not to be confused with perfect signals. The question was which signals have the best signals out of what is currently available. The above synopsis best describes and answers that question since it is nearly impossible to determine to what extent any negative affect the above referenced co, first, second and third adjacent channels or any other potential interference problems may have on the signals in question since there are other factors to be considered such as terrain, building penetration, distance, and FM receiver quality to name a few.

 

[Tampa Sports Fan]

The biggest problem with WHFS is its signal. It does not have full market coverage; hence, although not impossible, it will be difficult to attract any meaningful numbers with any format on 98.7 FM. In contrast, WHPT is a full market class C FM with 100kw at 1,700 + feet, and talk programming on FM in Tampa Bay was long overdue. Conclusion: Full market FM coverage + filling a market void = success! Good format + inferior signal = major challenges.

So the signal is a bigger problem than the awful programming?

 

[jmtillery]

The biggest problem with WHFS is its signal. It does not have full market coverage; hence, although not impossible, it will be difficult to attract any meaningful numbers with any format on 98.7 FM. In contrast, WHPT is a full market class C FM with 100kw at 1,700 + feet, and talk programming on FM in Tampa Bay was long overdue. Conclusion: Full market FM coverage + filling a market void = success! Good format + inferior signal = major challenges.

So the signal is a bigger problem than the awful programming?

Apparently you missed the part where I stated that even with the best signal the signal means very little if the signal is delivering an inferior product (programming), although with excellent programming, it means very little without a means to deliver it to the target demo which is why signal is important. The two work in harmony; however, the signal is first on the priority list followed in order by programming followed by collectively sales, promotion and marketing.

I haven’t listened to WHFS so I’m not in a position to give an opinion of its programming quality or lack thereof. I will say sports programming stands a very good chance of succeeding on a class “C2” FM serving and catering to Tampa sports fans although I stand by my original statement that its biggest problem is signal limitations. Since the station is new, one can always expect there to be metaphoric bugs to work out regarding its programming and a little tweaking along the way till they “fine-tune” it to where it should be.