Willcox FM a few years ago

[bturner]

Around 5 years ago I was crusing the nation visiting radio stations and was on the freeway heading for New Mexico looking for something that wasn't nationally syndicated or satellite delivered. I found an FM playing wall to wall gold based Adult Contemporary. I waited for an ID or liner. After some 20 minutes I learned the station was an FM in Willcox.

The station would play 30 minutes of non-stop music, running a liner at 30 past and legal ID on the hour. There were no commercials, no promos or other liners. I settled in a motel room for the night after listening about 80 minutes that evening. The next morning I resumed listening in the 9 o'clock hour, catching a good hour before the station faded out. The format was identical (all music with a liner at :30 and legal ID at :60).

I figured the station was about to be moved and upgraded or perhaps a new owner had just taken over. I figured Willcox big enough to support the station (I figured a few commercials especially in the 9 to 10 am hour on a weekday).

Can anyone give me a bit of info on the station: the history to the present? I don't recall the call letters or dial position but it was the ONLY FM in Willcox around the summer of 2005, possibly 2004.

Thanks

 

[caveman-97]

The only commercial FM station ever licensed to Willcox has been KWCX.

For many years KWCX was on 98.3 but they moved about fifteen years ago after experiencing much interference from the station in Marana on 98.3. KWCX got permission to move to 104.5 where they have been ever since. Several years ago the station was bought by Lakeshore Media, a Chicago company the specializes in moving rural stations into the big city. Lakeshore filed an application to move KWCX to suburban Tucson but the proposal got a lot of resistance from Journal which has a translator on 104.5 in Tucson. The FCC turned the move down and Lakeshore sold the station.

Most recently, the FCC has done a complete about-face and given the present owners of KWCX permission to move to suburban Tucson. I have no idea why the new proposal was accepted while the earlier proposal was turned down. Both are very similar.

Very likely after KWCX does move to Tucson, a long vacant allocation for Willcox on 92.5 will go on the air. I can only wonder why the FCC accepted the newer move while turning down the earlier one.

Be that as it may, KWCX is likely the station that you heard.

 

[bturner]

Thank you for the reply to my 'vague' question. I have a recording somewhere but didn't want to try to locate it before posting.

I suspected the station was on air to save the license for a pending move but I also thought the station might have come back from being dark under new ownership and was in its first days under new ownership.

I was really sort of shocked not to hear any commercials or local content on the station. I might expect wall to wall music after normal business hours on a small market station, but I really expected to hear local voices on Friday morning when I listened.

Such small towns need a local voice (radio) and I hate to see so many small market stations run for the larger markets. I worked plenty of small market stations before reaching a major market. It's not easy anywhere but I personally think it is easier to get the billing to cover the bills in a small market versus being in the lower end of the heap in a major market. Anyway, with computers and voicetracking it is less costly to run a radio station now than ever before (although I'm a fan of live and local).

 

[Outlaw]

The station in Willcox was 104.9. I think they ran a classic country format but may have done A/C at one point. I think it was Lakeshore that placed 2 backfill allocations on 92.5 and 104.5. The 104.5 was since moved to 96.9 because 104.5 KZXQ Reserve, NM was upgrading. Not sure why they needed backfills when Willcox has a station already (KHIL 1250 AM).

I believe Lakeshore was denied because moving the station created a small white area in the middle of nowhere to the East. The new owners were able to get this fixed by an app to move a Lordsburg, NM station closer that eliminated the white area.

 

[caveman-97]

My mistake. 104.9 is correct. KHIL-1250 used to be classic country but they are now current country, off the satellite of course.

Right now KHIL is running a strange promotion and I'm curious as to whether it is being used anywhere else. They put local business owners on for about five seconds, always with the same script: "Hi, this is Pam Moore, owner of Benson Flowers and KHIL is heard here". Plug in different names. There are dozens of them on all day long. Could the station actually charge money for that or is it free?

For what it's worth, in the latest Cochise County ARB, KHIL ranks number 22nd overall and KWCX comes in at number 21.
Number 1 is a station with similar call letters, KWCD.

 

[bturner]

caveman-97, those are freebies more than likely. It is a great idea to rally local businesses behind their local radio station. It is much tougher to say no when the salesman shows up. The liners do so much more. These are people and names that are known to most listeners, so these liners create a bond between listeners and the station. They demonstrate the power of radio because friends say they heard the person on the air. This creates 'results' for radio. Most businesses haven't a clue if radio advertising pays for itself. This way the can actually know it does. These liners, aside from taing a little time to record, are free and beat paying someone for liners. The end result is the business community sees the station as a viable advertising venue and the community identifies the station as their local station. In short, it's a great idea.