The amount of money LOST trying to shut a station down to improve another on AM would be ranked right up there with political suicide. The FCC allowing 1150 to just disappear is one issue that could be a long battle. That's if they didn't take the license back and auction it off for a profit. AM stations are nowhere near as profitable as they once were and the two stations are very unbalanced value wise so just trading 1360 for 1150 is like taking a Cadillac to a bodyshop and bringing home a Calavier. The loss of value or for population served alone in that trade would be bad on the books. Even is the FCC allowed 1160 to shut down 1150 and improve their daytime signal how would that benefit them? They need more night signal that is limited by skywave not 1150. Would 1160 be able to spend hundreds of thousands rebuilding or possibly changing tower locations? Then there is the added electric costs to run the station. How would 1160 ever make that money back? I wouldn't bet on see it happen in our lifetime once you think about the costs involved.
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WGBN 1150
- Thread starter PHIL Z
- Start date
The FCC has been perfectly willing in recent years to allow one AM station to buy another AM station
and shut it down for purposes of signal improvement. Sometimes, a station goes dark even without
a buyer (e.g. WZUM).
That said, I agree with your reasons why it's unlikely to happen here.
C.
and shut it down for purposes of signal improvement. Sometimes, a station goes dark even without
a buyer (e.g. WZUM).
That said, I agree with your reasons why it's unlikely to happen here.
C.
F
FreddyE1977
Guest
cingram said:
Two cases out in Michigan that I am familiar with:
WOOD-AM 1300 in Grand Rapids was allowed to buy WHGR 1290, Houghton Lake and shut it down in order
to increase power.
WFDF-AM 910 in Flint flipping to Radio Disney and moving to Downriver Detroit as a 50kW directional. The owners
were allowed to buy WFRO-AM 900 in Fremont, OH and shut it down to make it possible.
FreddyE1977 said:
Farmington Hills isn't really "Downriver Detroit"...just sayin'!
Don't forget 900 in Gaylord. They had to go away too.
cingram said:
WBZY moving to 1200 (before the KST swap) was the best thing that could have happened to 1160. If that didn't happen, they'd still be running at 1520 daytime-only...if they'd even be able to survive there, that is. It's amazing that BZY was able to compete with KST despite being a daytimer for so long and being a johnny-come-lately.
PHIL Z said:
If nothing's been posted on the FCC's website by now, chances are they gave up on it. Even if they did the application on paper, that would still be on the site. But nothing as of late.
They might have taken a harder look at the church's books and decided it wasn't worth it.
cingram said:
WCUE...that was actually Joe Fenn's claim to fame before he came here. When Salem bought 1150 and 104.7, 1150 was still highly upgradeable. There's enough real estate on Murray Hill Road in East Deer Township to put a third tower. It would be a tight fit, but the room is there. With the third tower, it could have been 2500 watts day, 500 watts night, changing patterns.
Loran Mann was reminded of this when he bought 1150. I don't think he was interested because the land did not come with the sale, and I too might be a bit reluctant to invest that kind of scratch in a piece of property that I didn't own.
If I were Reverend (now Bishop) Mann, I'd change COL, and move the towers as close to the City of
Pittsburgh as possible. 1160 would not be a problem, but you'd have to check the spacing to WCUE
and WWVA. New Kensington has another aural service licensed to it (100.7), so in theory at least it
should be possible.
C.
Pittsburgh as possible. 1160 would not be a problem, but you'd have to check the spacing to WCUE
and WWVA. New Kensington has another aural service licensed to it (100.7), so in theory at least it
should be possible.
C.
Parttimer said:
Here's the history:
Salem (who now owns WORD and WPIT) purchased 104.7 and 1150 when they first came to town in the mid-80s. Then Gateway tried to back out of the deal, and it got tied up in litigation for the next two and a half years. Salem wanted 104.7 but not 1150. Finally, Nelson Goldberg said he'd stop trying to fight the sale if Salem took the AM off his hands as well. Salem wanted it to be over, so they did.
When Salem "donated" 1150 to Pentecostal Temple Development Corporation, they did not receive any real estate with it. Salem leased the tower site to PTDC and the studio building was rented from a local attorney. The real estate was valuable, and Salem had no intention of letting it go, though the taxes were a nightmare.
104.7 moved off the 1150 tower array and to 750 Ivory Avenue, the home of - all together now - Fox 53, where 100.7 also located the year before, so they could get coverage in the South Hills, which neither of them had up until then.
Thus, Clear Channel never had anything to do with the 1150 site.
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