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WSBR (740 kHz) and WHSR (980 kHz) to cease operation
- Thread starter bigdonho
- Start date
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If it's true (and there's nothing at the FCC site currently that indicates as much) that's a lot of lost revenue for Beasley. WHSR is leased to a Haitian group and WSBR is all pay for play.
There wouldn't likely be anything on the fcc site ahead of time... you'd see an STA request to be silent or license revocation request after the fact
I guess we'll all find out at midnight.
These are likely stations that are just barely profitable. Neither format can justify turning down a profitable land sale. Both are fairly dreadful facilities, former daytimers that managed to go fulltime by sending most if their power towards the Bahamas.
The analysis has to do with the value of the land. If that capital produces more than the stations do when invested elsewhere, then Beasley will make more by closing the stations and selling the land.
For Beasley to make this decision, it is likely that the numbers did not favor keeping a couple of bad AM stations.
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Yes, if they sign off and don't operate tomorrow, we will know that the stations are definitely closed.
The stations are still on the air. Likely they notified the time brokers in advance, and gave them time to wrap up business.
In the meantime, they have no need to notify the FCC as the stations are operating.
Once they do turn them off, they have a reasonable period of time to notify the FCC that the licenses are being returned for cancellation.
Could they not just diplex from 1470s towers?
They aren't AM revitalization window translators, so they can be modified to broadcast other stations if so desired.
With 1480 kHz being the second harmonic of 740 kHz could that pose a potential interference problem were it to be diplexed to the 1470 array?
980 might not have the same issue but in the end it all comes down to cost and ROI, not to mention whether the move would result in a reduction of the original coverage area.
As of Saturday the stations are still on the air so perhaps the original poster meant Saturday midnight going into Sunday which would make Dec. 1 the cut off date if in fact any of this is happening. Stay tuned!
Triplexing is a very expensive proposition, particularly when all 3 stations are quite directional.
Building and proofing a triplex situation would take a long time. If the land is being sold to a buyer who wants it immediately, it would mean the two stations would be off the air for as much as a year while the system is designed, built and proofed.
I'm not skilled enough in directionals that I could figure out if the existing 1470 towers would even work for the protections 740 and 980 have. Were it possible, it might require additional towers to be added, which means time for zoning and permits.
I am sure that the licensee took all these possibilities into account. And it is likely that they found that the return on the additional investment did not justify the expense.
Just found this. Tomorrow, one of WHSR's brokered non-Haitian talk shows is moving to 1470.
This says that the station — likely the Haitian programming — is moving to 1580. That would be WSRF, also with a Haitian format.
On November 9, a WSBR show host said that the station is going off the air because it won't have a transmitter site because the land was sold for development.
The Broward County assessor pegs its fair market value at a hair under $2 million. It is actually unincorporated.
This says that the station — likely the Haitian programming — is moving to 1580. That would be WSRF, also with a Haitian format.
On November 9, a WSBR show host said that the station is going off the air because it won't have a transmitter site because the land was sold for development.
The Broward County assessor pegs its fair market value at a hair under $2 million. It is actually unincorporated.
That's pretty convincing. Thanks for digging into it.
With 980 off the air would WMYM 990 in Kendall be able to push more signal north and provide stronger day/night coverage into Broward and possibly Palm Beach?
Incidentally, I was making a Publix run and put on 740 and a promo ran (voiced by someone who sounds a lot like Boca Brittney formerly known as Boca Brian of Neil Rogers fame) that essentially said some of the WSBR shows would be moving over to 1470 and would also be on the FM translators currently carrying WSBR and WWNN. So it appears the WSBR translators will now carry 1470's programming.
Has this been common knowledge? I know of these stations but never had a reason to listen to them and had it not been for this board I'd have probably never heard about it until after the fact. You'd think 2 stations going dark at the same time would be a bigger deal! I'd love to say it's not a commentary on the state of AM radio but it really is.
Has this been common knowledge? I know of these stations but never had a reason to listen to them and had it not been for this board I'd have probably never heard about it until after the fact. You'd think 2 stations going dark at the same time would be a bigger deal! I'd love to say it's not a commentary on the state of AM radio but it really is.
'...Now, for the very last time: WSBR Boca Raton.' And with those words from the chief engineer 740 went dark at 12:01 AM.
And, having been a South Florida property owner at several addresses, I know that the appraised value is not equal to the market value. So the land may produce much more for Beasley.
"While tax rates vary in Florida from county to county, and from one local jurisdiction to another, realtor Rick Rapp notes on his website that there is a basic way of estimating a property's tax-assessed value vs. its market value. Usually, the former is going to be 80 percent of the latter, less any exemptions applied to the property."
Undeveloped land is sort of like stick value for a radio station. In my experience, a motivated buyer of undeveloped land, particularly one who needs a parcel for a large development, will pay much more than the assessed value.
I doubt Miami can make any increase of significance, as they also protect 990 in Orlando and, of course, at night, the entire Canadian border. They might, however, get a tiny bit more daytime coverage into southern Broward (but any gain would likely not warrant the huge cost of redesigning a directional system and doing the installation and proofing.)
As a note, I quoted the market value (assessed value was indeed at about $1.6 million).
But I'll bet they got lots more than that. I recall when a certain Miami station moved to a location along Krome Avenue, the land was valued at around $80,000. The station had to pay over $1 million for it: the power of demand and need.
In a reverse case, the WAQI site was sold for about 10 times its appraised value about two years ago.
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$7.1 million is the sale price to the city of Parkland. Interestingly the town intends to build a 36 acre park on the site. Better that than more McMansions. This has been public since at least September but unless one were a regular listener you'd have never known it was happening. Sad, really.
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