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WKDN Changing From Non-Comm Back to Commercial?

Irishfl said:
Well a few weeks ago I threw out the suggestion that CBS might trade 1060 over 610, because 610 still served the purpose of overflow, while 1060 would outside promoting the move to FM for a week or 2 nolonger be any use to CBS. So my position has always been 610 would be kept.
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Keep 1060 for overflow sports. KYW stays on 1060 in addition to FM. WIP would go FM only before WIP would. Too much to lose moving KYW to FM only. Could however bump KYW all news to FM only once in awhile for sports programming.
Or maybe FCC would grant a waver? I'm glad they were required to sell WMMR years ago. If CBS still owned WMMR, I would not be listening to Pierre Robert, or any rock on 93.3 right now.
 
Not necessarily true. Killing off WYSP was pretty much a mercy killing, and better for the bottom line. If they owned WMMR, and for the sake of argument the station was performing as well as it currently is, killing it off becomes a far more complex issue for the bottom line.
 
ixnay said:
Mr. Tillery (or anyone in the know), how long have LMAs been law (or part of FCC regs)?

ixnay
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Local Marketing /Management Agreement authorizations isn't a law, per se, but rather an FCC rule and has been in existence for years although they have only become popular within the past 20 + years.

Keep in mind an LMA is nothing more than an agreement between one entity and a licensee which states one entity will provide programming and marketing services for a station on behalf of a licensee. The licensee remains in full control over and is responsible for the license during an LMA period. Also, keep in mind in order for an LMA to meet FCC requirements, a licensee is required to maintain at least one person who is designated as the full-time "manager" over the license while in most cases the entity LMAing the license provides all other services.

The most common reason for this type of arrangement is to allow a buyer to begin operating a station between the time an application for Voluntary Transfer of Control is filed with the FCC and the time the FCC approves the license transfer. Once the license transfer is approved, the station sale closes meaning the license is transfered to the LMAing entity (buyer) and the LMA ceases to exist with the LMAing entity becoming the new licensee.
 
Indeed, something essentially identical to a LMA has existed since the 1920s.

It seemed to be most common among stations owned by educational institutions; they would lease their facilities to a commercial operator. WWL New Orleans is a good example, owned by Loyola University for much of its life but operated commercially. A few other examples would include WGST (Atlanta/Ga. State University), WSOE Milwaukee (Milw. School of Engineering, now WISN); and WEW. (St. Louis University) Most of them ended up being bought outright by their LMA partners.
 
Only In Radio Geek Fantasies Does Ignoring A Stick Problem Not Prove Foolhardy

For the benefit of those reading who are not physically located in the market, I'll come back to this thread every few weeks and remind the world about 106.9:

Signal sucks. Not ready for prime-time. Can barely be heard on a clock radio in the heart of the Philadelphia metro. Has a heck of a hard time penetrating buildings even nearby in Center City. Gets blown out by an adjacent-channel station in Hershey in one of the Philly market's most affluent counties. Gets dumped on by a lower-powered class "A" signal across the river from the Lehigh Valley (about one-and-a-half to two hours worth of driving from here).

Please keep all of this in mind while reading others' continuing posts fantasizing about a "KYW-FM" on this frequency. Especially if it's to only be on this frequency.

For a Merlin Media-type organization desperate to get *something* on FM in this town, I suppose it'll have to do. Though I trust Randy Michaels' organization is smart enough to do its due-diligence-- and familiar enough with this major market-- to know this already. It's not like they're that Children's Broadcasting outfit back in the '90s that was duped into paying seven figures for the Chester station under the guise of it being a "Philadelphia signal."

As much as I've long advocated a complete retirement of the AM band-- and the migration of popular AM stations to the superior FM-- this 106.9 (in its current state) is in no way a viable substitute for 1060.

I'll be back around Thanksgiving.
 
Everything you say is true, George...as far as it applies to the current technical setup over in Camden.

But most of the problems you describe are attributable to a physical plant that largely dates to the 1960s and 1970s. I've heard horror stories from those who've done the due diligence on the place. It's not producing anything close to the signal it's licensed to deliver...and it doesn't matter, because:

Any company with the resources to acquire the 106.9 license also has the resources to construct what would amount to a brand-new transmitter plant. The combination of a modern transmitter, modern audio processing and a current, functioning antenna at the Camden site would alleviate many of the problems you correctly identify. Relocation to a new site would fix even more of them...and it's quite possible, albeit not all the way out to Roxborough.
 
PSFS is no longer an ideal place for an FM signal, what with the taller buildings that have gone up around it. I'd have to run a more detailed study to be certain, but I'm pretty sure 106.9 could at least come across the river into Center City. One Liberty would be a better site than PSFS, but if 106.9 needs a directional antenna to move there, there might not be the physical space for another antenna there. The Comcast building would be ideal, if only they'd allow broadcast antennas there...
 
Scott Fybush said:
PSFS is no longer an ideal place for an FM signal, what with the taller buildings that have gone up around it. I'd have to run a more detailed study to be certain, but I'm pretty sure 106.9 could at least come across the river into Center City. One Liberty would be a better site than PSFS, but if 106.9 needs a directional antenna to move there, there might not be the physical space for another antenna there. The Comcast building would be ideal, if only they'd allow broadcast antennas there...
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I just took a quick look at WKDN's spacing situation in Camden.

The present site is short-spaced to the following:

WMHX 106.7 Hershey, PA
WLTW 106.7 New York
WWEG 106.9 Myersville (Hagerstown), MD
WEZX 106.9 Scranton, PA
WWZY 107.1 Long Branch, NJ
WFNE 106.7 North Cape MAy, NJ
WYPO 106.9 Ocean City, MD
WBYN-FM 107.5 Boyertown, PA

WKDN's present margin of clearance from WWYY 107.1 in Belvidere, NJ is only 2.5 kilometer (about 1.6 miles), so a move north to Market St would make this station short-spaced, then 73.215 contour protection would come into play.

Of the short-spaced stations, WBYN-FM wouldn't pose a problem since it is pre-1964 grandfathered on a third adjacent channel. However, if WKDN were to move to Center City, existing interference overlap to and from WMHX (major problem) and WWEG would need to be maintained, requiring an ERP reduction towards the west. Interference with WLTW and WWZY would probably shift a bit, but shouldn't change dramatically.

It looks like WKDN could move to Roxborough without violating 73.215 minimums, but the pattern would need to be tightened even more to satisfy protection towards the north and west.
 
Which station does CBS jettison off in order to complete the purchase? My guess would be 610 WIP, especially with the sports format now on 94.1...

Either KYW-FM or WPHT-FM could work... the latter could be all local news/talk while the AM is syndicated except mornings simulcast with the FM :) (got the idea from KIRO in Seattle, which moved from AM to FM)

However, CBS already has FM News in San Francisco and Chicago... so KYW-FM is probably more likely
 
Would it have been better to put WIP on 106.9 and KYW on 94.1 in addition to 1060? Or as previously posted, a new transmitter and tower work for 106.9 in Camden and the signal gets better? I personally have no problem getting 106.9 in Paoli. I do listen to KYW at home on 94.1 HD-2. I'm looking forward to KYW 106.9/1060. Lots of problems with static under powerlines whem I'm trying to listen to traffic on the 2s. I usually have to wait to traffic on the 4s on my Sirius-XM radio.

If 106.9 becomes KYW HD-2, CBS should put traffic and weather on the HD-2 and update it every 10 minutes with the last update on the 2s.
 
If CBS has to dump a station, they should get rid of WPHT. The signal is the worst of the 3 AM's, and they could put the syndicated talk on either "Talkradio 610" or "Talkradio 1060."
 
Turnpike Tuner said:
If CBS has to dump a station, they should get rid of WPHT. The signal is the worst of the 3 AM's, and they could put the syndicated talk on either "Talkradio 610" or "Talkradio 1060."
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1210 is a clear channel station. It is great at my parents' house in Cherry Hill. They live close to the transmitter in Moorestown. 610 is by 295 in Bellmawr. 1060 is out in Whitemarsh Township in MontCo. All 3 have issues depending where you are in the Delaware Valley. I would say get rid of 610.
 
It's simple. They unload 1210 to Clear Channel to create their own Rush Radio station there. Meanwhile, Clear Channel ditches WUBA to Greater Media as the dumping ground for the overflow from the Fanatic. 950 gets picked up by a group of investors who alternate blocks of classic country, standards, dance and hair metal--plus all polka weekends--thus satisfying the fringe elements who swear their pet format would light the world on fire (so just imagine what they cal do all on one frequency).
 
Bill_W said:
1210 is a clear channel station. It is great at my parents' house in Cherry Hill. They live close to the transmitter in Moorestown. 610 is by 295 in Bellmawr. 1060 is out in Whitemarsh Township in MontCo. All 3 have issues depending where you are in the Delaware Valley. I would say get rid of 610.
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"Clear Channel" doesn't mean squat in the day and age sadly - skywave doesn't help with ad sales. 1210's antenna is in a sand pit....not too good ground conductivity wise.

Yes, its the only non d AM CBS has...but it seems to have the worst overall signal and is the highest on the dial.
 
Why was 1210's transmitter moved out of Newtown Square to Moorestown in the 1st place? Why doesn't it have the power and clarity? All of South Jersey is sand due to the fact it was under the Atlantic Ocean at one point. I can get it here clearly in Chester County but when I am home, I do listen to it on WOGL HD-3.
 
imhomerjay said:
It's simple. They unload 1210 to Clear Channel to create their own Rush Radio station there. Meanwhile, Clear Channel ditches WUBA to Greater Media as the dumping ground for the overflow from the Fanatic. 950 gets picked up by a group of investors who alternate blocks of classic country, standards, dance and hair metal--plus all polka weekends--thus satisfying the fringe elements who swear their pet format would light the world on fire (so just imagine what they cal do all on one frequency).
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LOL!

ixnay
 
Ironically, when on a recent trip to Cleveland, then southern Illinois near St. Louis, MO., I instinctively clicked 1210 to check the Phillies score in my car. The Cherry Hill car dealer spot was blanketing Midwest America as clearly as nearby WHK or KMOX. BUT, getting 1210 here near Atlantic City some 35-40 miles away in daylight is noisy and grainy...at nighttime, forget it. 1230 @ 1kw on a graveyard frequency is better from 30 miles away.
 
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