wlou

[dfwrunner]

And how are you ever going to make that money back on a station with high overhead? You can't. There is no way to make the math add up to make sense.

Added to the fact that WHAS has a very big stick. Even on their worse day, they cover the market better than any other signal because of the 50kW. It would be a tough row to hoe beating them. However, that's not saying it can't be done.

In Dallas/Fort Worth, its 60 miles across from the east to the west side of town. So, it isn't too uncommon for an owner to broadcast the same signal on multiple full-power stations (not really translators, they may all be 50kw (or 100kw on FM where its more common).

 

[radiorob2.0]

An AM being competitive at anything today is a stretch, but to play along with the armchair quarterbacking on a good AM signal let me nominate 680. On paper, its day and night pattern are respectable covering the population.

 

[KyDXIn]

An AM being competitive at anything today is a stretch, but to play along with the armchair quarterbacking on a good AM signal let me nominate 680. On paper, its day and night pattern are respectable covering the population.

It probably would never happen, but what about Newstalk 970/103.1 WAVG??

 

[Bengalsfan]

An AM being competitive at anything today is a stretch, but to play along with the armchair quarterbacking on a good AM signal let me nominate 680. On paper, its day and night pattern are respectable covering the population.

680 has a sweet little signal, but Disney is making too much money with it to let it go anytime soon.

 

[KyDXIn]

An AM being competitive at anything today is a stretch, but to play along with the armchair quarterbacking on a good AM signal let me nominate 680. On paper, its day and night pattern are respectable covering the population.

680 has a sweet little signal, but Disney is making too much money with it to let it go anytime soon.

Doesn't 970 have a better nighttime signal than 680?

 

[JohnQuincy]

If you're going to start up a new, competitive news/talk station, not only are you going to need LOTS of money for local staff (talk show hosts, news people and producers) but you're going to want a full-power (25,000 watts or more) FM stick with full metro coverage.

You're not going to make a dent in WHAS with another AM station on anything but another 50,000 watter.

 

[KyDXIn]

If you're going to start up a new, competitive news/talk station, not only are you going to need LOTS of money for local staff (talk show hosts, news people and producers) but you're going to want a full-power (25,000 watts or more) FM stick with full metro coverage.

You're not going to make a dent in WHAS with another AM station on anything but another 50,000 watter.

I agree with you partially. Since there's not another 50kw blowtorch in town, and we're too far from the Mexican border, I'm thinking a good AM/FM combo might do well enough to fight the cuddly giant. WHAS was not always the ratings leader and really needs some competition today.

 

[greg.hahn]

I agree with you partially. Since there's not another 50kw blowtorch in town, and we're too far from the Mexican border, I'm thinking a good AM/FM combo might do well enough to fight the cuddly giant. WHAS was not always the ratings leader and really needs some competition today.

This FM you speak of can't be owned by Clear Channel, because obviously they aren't going to put up a competitor to WHAS to take it down.

And it can't be a class A- 3000 or 6000 watts won't get it done.

So that leaves 4 possible FMs-

WDJX - Mainline
WQNU - Cox
WVEZ - Cox
WSFR - Cox

Q: Which of these stations will be more profitable as a News-Talk going after WHAS than they are with their current format and market position?

A: None of them.


Q: How many AMs do Cox and Mainline own in Louisville?

A: Zero.


This doesn't seem very likely to me.

A: Zero

 

[oxford777]

We are ALL wrong! I have it on good authoriti that it was 1985 when 620 added the night time pattern.

It was late summer or early fall of 1987. During the summer of 1987 (and perhaps long before then), they operated 2 hours post-sunset (which took them to 11:15 p.m. in June), but they went full time sometime around Labor day in 1987.

 

[greg.hahn]

We are ALL wrong! I have it on good authoriti that it was 1985 when 620 added the night time pattern.

It was late summer or early fall of 1987. During the summer of 1987 (and perhaps long before then), they operated 2 hours post-sunset (which took them to 11:15 p.m. in June), but they went full time sometime around Labor day in 1987.

That seems more believable to me than the 1985 date, simply because I feel that I can remember it happening, but I was out of the market until late 1986. If it happened in late 1987 it would make perfect sense that I would remember the two towers going up and nighttime operation being added.

 

[KyDXIn]

If you're going to start up a new, competitive news/talk station, not only are you going to need LOTS of money for local staff (talk show hosts, news people and producers) but you're going to want a full-power (25,000 watts or more) FM stick with full metro coverage.

You're not going to make a dent in WHAS with another AM station on anything but another 50,000 watter.

By the way, I checked to see where Mandy Connell comes from. In Florida she was on a combo of 3 stations-- a 1,000 watt AM in Ft. Myers (WINK), a 5,000 watt AM in Naples (WNOG), and a 25,000 watt FM in Estero (WFSX). Hmmmm. Is this possibly an example of smaller stations grouping together to take on a larger station?

 

[The King Bee]

While trying to DX a couple of nights ago, I noticed that WLOU was booming through its nulls again, operating with daytime power and pattern throughout the night. I checked the FCC database, and there's no STA or any other application that would allow testing or operation with other than authorized nighttime facilities.

These nighttime facilities involve severe nulls, particularly to the NE that renders WLOU unreceivable downtown...yet there they were, as loud as sister WLLV (which still doesn't get properly ID'd during the simulcast hours with WLOU). And Golden Door wants to keep the current WLOU/WLLV/WTUV management team-a group where most members have no clue or experience in the successful, lawful, and professional operation of a radio station...or are aware, and chooose to ignore best practices, not to mention Parts 1, 73 and 74 of FCC Rules?

 

[The King Bee]

They're at it again on WLOU...guess the FCC needs to know about these violations-I'll notify them.

 

[The King Bee]

Suddenly, there are no illegal nighttime operations by WLOU...they're running legal pattern and power at night. Hmmm? Maybe now they'll learn how to properly dual-ID their simulcast with WLLV at night, and ID WTUV because usually nothin' like an station ident runs there in English or Spanish (I speak Spanish, too).

 

[Bengalsfan]

Suddenly, there are no illegal nighttime operations by WLOU...they're running legal pattern and power at night. Hmmm?

Give it time. With no engineer they will be back to their old ways soon.

 

[radiorob2.0]

Suddenly, there are no illegal nighttime operations by WLOU...they're running legal pattern and power at night. Hmmm? Maybe now they'll learn how to properly dual-ID their simulcast with WLLV at night, and ID WTUV because usually nothin' like an station ident runs there in English or Spanish (I speak Spanish, too).

The pattern issue might have been as simple of nobody noticing. If they allowed days of dead air then "forgetting" to changed to night pattern is just as likely.

 

[The King Bee]

They're at it again... Saturday, Sunday and Monday nights (Aug. 14-16), there was NO pattern or power change to nighttime authorized levels on WLOU-AM. They boomed through their nulls with daytime facilities all night. They must have a death wish, because I'm sure the FCC is on to them! Whomever has their name on record as chief engineer and/or designated chief operator of WLLV and WLOU needs to get it off the books...FAST! On top of all this, WTUV-AM's processing sounds like mud most of the time when it's not ovely trebly. A bad situation all around.

I expect 1350, 620 and 1240 to be the next dark spots on the AM dial, given all the cuts Golden Door is employing to engineering, maintenance (both nonexistent) and personnel/operations costs (no more health insurance, no office supply accounts, etc.)

 

[KyDXIn]

I expect 1350, 620 and 1240 to be the next dark spots on the AM dial, given all the cuts Golden Door is employing to engineering, maintenance (both nonexistent) and personnel/operations costs (no more health insurance, no office supply accounts, etc.)

No office supplies?? Gee, and here I've been collecting Number 2 pencils, notebooks, erasers, for the kids going back to school. Get Sally Struthers on the phone!

 

[scanman1809]

It is a shame that we have two stations in Louisville identified as Urban Gospel while local listeners of that format are well under-served. WLLV and WLOU both experienced one of their highest ratings ever (if not their highest) when they first signed on with the Urban Gospel format in 1984 and 1996 respectively. During their beginning months as a gospel station, both stations were well-programmed music stations. Today, brokered programming has taken over a great portion of these stations' airtime and listenership is basically obsolete. With two brokered AM stations and two predominately hip hop stations on the FM band, I can not believe that the majority of black listeners only desire hip hop music and brokered talk programming. Unfortunately, it seems that the hip hop sound is seeking to enter into WMJM's playlist as well.

 

[Bengalsfan]

They're at it again... Saturday, Sunday and Monday nights (Aug. 14-16), there was NO pattern or power change to nighttime authorized levels on WLOU-AM.

I thought I heard them on the east end out near Oxmoor last night. Since there isn't an engineer taking care of it anymore, I have the number to the FCC office in Detroit if you wanna give them a call. ;D

WTUV-AM's processing sounds like mud most of the time when it's not ovely trebly. A bad situation all around.

This is what happens when you stop engineering support. The last time I heard WTUV-FM, it was dead air. With the storms we have had, wonder if 620 is changing pattern, too.