WKDD returning home...kinda?

[kentuckymedia]

Looks like WKDD is moving home...kinda? While Keith is doing a great job, the Canton Ohio market just wasn't where WKDD was meant to be.

They are returning to the former WKDD 96.5 site in Cuyahoga Falls while keeping the Munroe COL. Wow, Matt Patrick was there when they launched the good ole 96.5, so it truly is full circle.

However, not to bash CC I sure do miss the old Barnstable Broadcasting days. That company actually believed in the station, the market and the people. CC doesn't give a damn about Akron or Canton, sad really!

When Barnstable was running the ship, WKDD was always HOT and MAJOR MARKET.

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

An addition to this item, which we had a while back...

Here's the Radio-Locator "for entertainment only" signal map for 98.1's current Hartville facility:

http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WKDD&service=FM&status=L&hours=U

And here's the map for 98.1 after it moves to Bellaire Road:

http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WKDD&service=FM&status=C&hours=U

Notice that the second map loses basically anything south of Canton in the strong signal area, and adds a chunk of Cuyahoga County - a signal probably similar to what 96.5 had while it was at the same site.

Don't read too much into it.

98.1 at Bellaire Road will still be what 96.5 was there, an Akron signal that can be heard in much of the Cleveland area. Note that CC moved 96.5 north to Brecksville, and did not intend on launching the "Kiss FM" format serving Cleveland from the Cuyahoga Falls-based stick...even though even the existing Bellaire Road signal for 96.5 was a marked improvement from the original 104.9/Lorain stick that Kiss launched on.

In fact, 96.5 didn't even go through what 98.1 did...mounting the new format from the old signal, and having to shell out the cash to move it closer to Akron when a lack of building penetration in Akron became evident.

In the end, the Bellaire Road-based 98.1 will still have a very strong signal in the key marketing areas for Stark County...the Belden Village/Jackson Township area where WKDD's studio is today.

 

[cgould]

Hey there, OA!!!

Good to see you're still reliably reporting the media news for Notheast Ohio!!

For a more accurate picture of the new WKDD free-space pattern, look here:

http://www.fccinfo.com/CMDProEngine.php?sCurrentService=FM&tabSearchType=Appl&sAppIDNumber=1295451

The Cleveland coverage will be extremely limited with that pattern (to protect 98.5) plus the Radio locator site doesn't seem to take in the terrain (mainly the big ridge near / through Peninsula, OH) and the Parma Ridge which both pretty much blocks all the Akron based signals from greater Cleveland except for the south eastern suburbs.

Even for entertainment purposes, the radio-locator map is waaaaay off.

Anyway...keep up the great work!!! Love reading your blog!

-Cornelius

An addition to this item, which we had a while back...

Here's the Radio-Locator "for entertainment only" signal map for 98.1's current Hartville facility:

http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WKDD&service=FM&status=L&hours=U

And here's the map for 98.1 after it moves to Bellaire Road:

http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WKDD&service=FM&status=C&hours=U

Notice that the second map loses basically anything south of Canton in the strong signal area, and adds a chunk of Cuyahoga County - a signal probably similar to what 96.5 had while it was at the same site.

Don't read too much into it.

98.1 at Bellaire Road will still be what 96.5 was there, an Akron signal that can be heard in much of the Cleveland area. Note that CC moved 96.5 north to Brecksville, and did not intend on launching the "Kiss FM" format serving Cleveland from the Cuyahoga Falls-based stick...even though even the existing Bellaire Road signal for 96.5 was a marked improvement from the original 104.9/Lorain stick that Kiss launched on.

In fact, 96.5 didn't even go through what 98.1 did...mounting the new format from the old signal, and having to shell out the cash to move it closer to Akron when a lack of building penetration in Akron became evident.

In the end, the Bellaire Road-based 98.1 will still have a very strong signal in the key marketing areas for Stark County...the Belden Village/Jackson Township area where WKDD's studio is today.

 

[Rusty Muck]

Is radio-locator appropriating the old 96.5 coverage area onto the CP map? It sure looks like it.

There's no way that there would be an lobe directed northwest from the tower towards Cleveland like that! If anything, it would have to be an engineering marvel in order to avoid the WNCX tx b/c it isn't that far away from Bellaire Road. That mushroom shaped pattern on fccinfo looks more believable for such a short-spaced signal.

 

[SonoSational18]

Looks like the directional patterns on both the Radio-locator and FCC sites for 98.1's CP is are pretty much identical. Not too bad a signal over Cleveland. Looks more like it's protecting something in Canada. It really doesn't pull in that much in the direction of 98.5. The biggest short-space issue, however is 3rd adjacent 97.5 over by the old Rolling Acres.

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

It is protecting something in Canada, a new on-channel allocation in the London, Ontario area. It's specfied in the new CP...

I'm hearing that there is apparently long-term short-space grandfathering involved with both WONE and WNCX, but I don't know the details. The move north may have been easier than I first thought.

Again, no matter what the actual maps show, 98.1's new CP is not intended to make it a Cleveland signal, and it'll probably do similarly to what the old 96.5 did at Bellaire, give or take a notch or two in the directional pattern.

-OA/OMW