That kind of thing works in small towns. There are a lot of high schools in LA.
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Why Hasn't Sports Moved to FM in LA?
- Thread starter tjguitar85
- Start date
That kind of thing works in small towns. There are a lot of high schools in LA.
I'm sorry, but I think you misunderstood what I said. You're actually comparing apples to oranges (an HD signal from a poor location vis a vie just an analog signal from a better location). I was suggesting an "HD-2" signal from almost any Mt Wilson transmitter is received better in my location than the HD-2 signal from 98.7 on Briarcrest.
As we bought additional stations beyond KTNQ and KLVE, we looked at each to see what could be done in areas where Hispanic diaries were placed. That caused use to add an on-channel booster to KLVE itself and to look at shadow fill for KSCA and KRCD/KRCV. That was the reason why we moved KRCV down from the foothills right into the middle of the San Gabriel Valley, too.
So the answere is "yes" we looked at shadow and blocked areas and tried to see if there could be improvements. In two cases, there were.
Here we agree entirely. It's a cost vs. benefit analysis. But there are many areas in LA that have blockage, but most are tiny populations. For real action in this area, look at San Francisco, the booster and translator haven of the Western Hemisphere.
Again, total agreement. Program tastes among the sales demos have changed. In pop, we have moved to much more rhythmic sounds, and in general the influence of the huge Hispanic population has been felt universally.
Exactly.
The larger take-away here is that radio, period, is challenged. The window where you can fix an ailing spoken-word radio station by moving it to a full-signal FM is closing or has closed. KNX might be the last one of those we'll see in L.A.
They'd be the fourth sports station in the market on AM, and the one with the second-worst signal. How would that be the right thing?
AMP/Now was maybe one brick of that wall---the numbers were grim.
There are likely more 18-49 year old women listening to 97.1 as KNX-FM than there were listening to it as AMP or Now.
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KFNC 97.5 is definitely a Houston FM station, albeit with by far the worst signal of any of the rimshots in the market. Agree about the “joke” aspect; the station routinely draws numbers in the low zeroes, while the two local AM sportstalkers wobble around the mid ones. I don’t see how KFNC keeps going, though it appears they have enough direct local accounts combined with cheesy national spots (tax relief services, cash loan places, etc) to bring in some money.
Audacy’s SportsRadio 610 and iHeart’s SportsTalk 790 tend to swap leadership positions in Houston depending on the time of year. 610 leads during the NFL season (Texans flagship) while 790 does better during the summer (Astros flagship.)
Houston is a feeble sportstalk market compared to DFW, where the two FM sports stations combined typically triple the total share numbers of the three Houston stations.
The Los Angeles radio market more closely resembles Houston's than DFW in the general sense and I think also specifically as it relates to sports radio.
That said, there will eventually be sports on a full market FM in Los Angeles. With ownership caps staying put, it seems unlikely that station will be KLAC.
That said, there will eventually be sports on a full market FM in Los Angeles. With ownership caps staying put, it seems unlikely that station will be KLAC.
It’s better than what they’re doing now. David has said in the past KABC’s is good enough. Also, yes there are other sports stations. But, who has Jim Rome? None. Who has immediate access to clear Jim Rome on the air tomorrow? KABC. Build around their relationship with USC, who’s moving into the richest conference in college football. At least use some dayparts for sports programming. There’s an opportunity to partner with the Angels to expand their coverage further into LA County. If not outright flip to sports, KABC needs to be sports heavy. I would be bang the door down myself to beg Kabc to let me do this if I lived in LA
KABC isn't subscribing to Nielsen any more. They don't have a PD. I don't think they do much local sales. The deal with the Trojans is brokered. They're not going to spend on local programming, because there's no way to pay for it. They're basically just running syndicated talk in a low cost way. If some offered them $5 million, they'd take it.
I am a former frequent listener to Rome's show. His show has been absent from the LA radio airwaves for years, and even in the last few years it was on, it bounced around such that you had to be a loyal listener to know where it was, spending a short amount of time on an ill-fated sports station on 980 if I remember correctly. In any case, the collective disenfranchised voice demanding his return is almost non-existent. His national following is not nearly what it once was and his show is not a must carry for the large sports networks like it once was.
Without getting too far into the weeds, I think Colin Cowherd has taken a lot of Jim's audience. I have no facts to back this up, just speculation as I thought Jim's descent started right about the time Colin came on the national scene. But regardless, If there really was the strong demand for Jim's show, it would happen. There isn't, and it hasn't.
I'm a regular listener to Jim Rome. If you like his show and the schtick, and know the inside jokes and references, its hard to quit because it is so highly differentiated from the other major sports shows. A lot of other shows are talking for the sake of talking, rehashing lame topics (a la Mt. Rushmore segments) and have contrived opinions only to stir bad caller-driven discussion.
The Rome show is on the whole a lot tamer than it used to be though and there is a lot more interviews than i remember bad in the good ole days.
I'm not sure about Collin being the biggest beneficiary of Rome's audience, but I think the rest of the analysis about there not being huge demand in LA for the show is correct. It's an acquired taste.
The Rome show is on the whole a lot tamer than it used to be though and there is a lot more interviews than i remember bad in the good ole days.
I'm not sure about Collin being the biggest beneficiary of Rome's audience, but I think the rest of the analysis about there not being huge demand in LA for the show is correct. It's an acquired taste.
KABC should simulcast KLAA so those in the northern areas of the LA market can listen to the Angels and related programming on a decent signal. KLAA 830 is poor in the SFV and other nearby areas.
Again,
The Angels that were 73 and 89 last season before losing Ohtani to the Dodgers?
Art Moreno can buy KABC with his spare change. Then that would happen. Until then, Cumulus does whatever they want.
Hey...What the hey?...(why not?) Moreno's got money to burn...
If you mean this David, me, I have not said that. The KABC signal is very inadequate for full LA market coverage.
Where KABC does not reach well from about a third of the country southward. And the top third is nearly all Hispanic, Vietnamese and ethnic.
Wrong signal.
My apologies! I must’ve gotten mixed up with another topic and another signal
That would give him better LA County coverage, but still not great in parts of the San Fernando Valley and the Santa Clarita area. And no High Desert coverage. All are part of the Metro Survey Area.
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