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Post by CAwasinNJ on Mar 21, 2019 6:18:10 GMT -6
This is a continuation of the discussions that were going on in the "KLO flips" thread (https://talkingutahradio.proboards.com/thread/1801/klo-flips) That thread long ago drifted off the subject of the flipping and just became about the ongoing operation of the station. Continuing discussion of KLO should go in this thread now and will hopefully get the appropriate attention it deserves.
I guess I'll start with the question I keep asking. Has anyone yet seem any advertising for the station? I haven't.
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Post by David on Mar 21, 2019 9:01:09 GMT -6
In regards to the latest ratings: KLO's new format has only been on the air for three months now. It's going to take longer than that for the station to build an audience, especially if they're not promoting it. If KLO doesn't show in the next couple of ratings books, then I'd say there's cause for concern. But after nearly 20 years with a talk format, there's bound to be a period of adjustment. As the old saying goes, Rome wasn't built in a day. I can't believe that whoever's in charge of programming at Capital Broadcasting would have 86'ed the talk format if there wasn't a pretty compelling reason to switch.
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Post by oldiesfunhouse on Mar 21, 2019 10:33:58 GMT -6
This is total speculation but, that's what we do here, right? I would imagine the music format is much "safer" than the talk format. (Please pardon my likely misspelling of names.) Barry Mannilow and Johnny Mathis are much less likely to cause controversy than Mike Gallagher and Michael Medved. And, I would imagine it's cheaper because they don't have to have someone make sure their automation properly switches from one show's feed to the next. Although they stil have to do that with Classic Radio Theater but they've gone from maybe five or six networks to two, well three including CBS News. I realize in today's environment it might not be possible but I'd sure like to hear a live and local host during morning or afternoon drive playing the music but also having a bit of local news and talk about local concerts and events going on in the area. The Gallavan Center has free concerts on, I think it's Wednesday or Thursday nights and I went to one a few weeks back and the show was amazing but not well attended. It was jazz standards and I think people that enjoy KLO's format would have enjoyed that show as well. Mark and Gayle Van Wagoner and Danny Kramer did a great job with promoting stuff like that when they were on KDYL (1280 and 1060). I wonder if Danny could be lured away from his internet station. Maybe not. He seems to be having success with that. I think that would bring people to the station too, especially if you got someone like Mark or Danny that's already established in the community. People would tune in to hear them and hopefully stay. Thoughts?
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Post by David on Mar 21, 2019 17:10:47 GMT -6
Laura Ingraham and Michael Medved have both left Salem Radio recently, and I believe they were two of the network's most popular talk show hosts. Laura moved her show to a podcast format, and Medved was fired for being too critical of President Trump. I also read an article recently at one of the radio trade sites which said Salem is planning on selling some of their stations in the near future. Whether or not these things are signs that Salem Radio is in trouble is unknown, but losing two of their most popular hosts can't be good for ratings. Maybe someone at Capital saw the writing on the wall and decided it was time to take a chance on filling an AM format hole that's existed for a long time.
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Post by CAwasinNJ on Mar 22, 2019 1:40:23 GMT -6
The conventional wisdom among radio programmers is that a music station coming on the air needs about 6 to maybe 9 months on the outside to start making progress. Forget December. We're now 1/3 of the way toward that 6 month milestone and the station is going nowhere. But there are extenuating circumstances. It's an AM music station and discovery is going to be a problem. How many normal people hit scan on AM looking for something good to listen to? Not a lot. Given how long they stuck with the talk format and how they kept trying to make it work I suspect they have more patience than a lot of market managers. Still, to have any chance of working people need to know! Something has to be done about that. As for why they did it, that answer is obvious. Stations all over the country jumped on the lite AC bandwagon at the end of 2018 after it proved surprisingly successful in a few markets. Some of those stations are already abandoning ship after it didn't work. The problem here of course is what would KLO flip TO, which brings us back to the possibility of greater patience. I think the possibility of Unforgettable working is there. It looks like Easy 99.1 got a higher rating than KLO and Easy has a tiny fraction of the coverage area that KLO does. During drive time Easy is gone once you get past the north interchange.
Here's a crazy thought. Could iHeart LMA KLO and run it in parallel with 99.1?
Looking at the "safety" of the talk format vs the music format, I would agree that there's far less controversy with the new format. On the other hand, not that many people were listening to the talk format in the first place. I never heard of anyone threatening to boycott any of their advertisers. As with everything in the radio business, follow the money. Without a threat to KLO's bottom line, I don't see it being a big deal.
As for luring a big name..... Let's assume for the moment that someone like you mentioned is willing and able to step in. That's going to cost money (there's that word again) where having Otto Mation running the satellite feed is going to be peanuts. Could taking a risk and sinking money into that project end up vaulting the station to a competitive status? Definitely possible. But given that they aren't even spending money on promotion I have a hard time seeing them committing to getting a name behind the mike. And then there would STILL be the problem of letting people know which brings us around to the beginning again. No matter how you slice it it's going to be very hard (or maybe impossible) to make this station a success without sinking money into it somewhere. Please don't misunderstand me. I'd would LOVE to see what KLO could do with this format if given a chance, especially because of how rare a format music is on AM. It's just not getting the chance.
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Post by oldiesfunhouse on Mar 22, 2019 9:02:47 GMT -6
Please forgive my ignorance but does 1430 have a wider coverage area than 570? It may just be my imagination but I think 570 has a better audio quality than 1430. Because of that, if iHeart was going to simulcast Easy, I think 570 would be the better option. But Maybe Beck, Limbaugh, et al need a presence on the AM dial which might partially explain the demise of the short-lived Freedom 570 format. (Although it was probably more likely that they felt the market couldn't support that many talk stations.) And, maybe 105.9 doesn't get out as far as 570. Based on, at least, the rare occasions I listen to KNRS I don't think they mention 570 other than at the top of the hour unlike KSL which always mentions 1160. Put Easy on 570 and KNRS on 1430?
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Post by David on Mar 22, 2019 12:38:17 GMT -6
According to Radio Locator's predicted coverage area maps for KNRS and KLO, both stations have about the same coverage area during the day. That's probably due to the fact that KLO is 25 KW days, but at night when 1430 powers down to 5 KW, KNRS' signal has a distinct advantage over KLO. The reason KNRS has wider signal coverage than KLO at night is simple: the AM frequencies at the lower end of the band have better ground wave coverage than the higher frequencies. 570 is near the top end of the long wave band, which for years was used by nautical and aeronautical beacons because of its long distance capabilities. There are still a few broadcasters in Europe and Africa that use the 149 to 284 kHz long wave broadcast band because they need to cover large land masses, but their numbers are decreasing every year.
I've also noticed that KNRS ignores its AM frequency except to mention it in their legal TOH ID. Even their FM RDS information doesn't mention the 570 frequency any longer, which is a shame considering the AM signal's vast coverage area. I always listen to the AM frequency because I live in an area that's a "black hole" for FM frequencies more than 40 miles away. I think that's the reason iHeart keeps paying the power bill for 570 instead of shutting it down: To provide coverage in areas that are on the fringes of the FM signal.
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Post by CAwasinNJ on Mar 23, 2019 4:17:23 GMT -6
It's unlikely the perceived audio quality is anything other than how the processing is set up, so that isn't an issue. It's true that 105.9 doesn't get out nearly as far as 570, but they aren't selling to those people anyway. I don't know why the simulcast is there, but obviously they feel it's important enough or they would have done something else with the AM a long time ago. I think I did even suggest 570 for an Easy simulcast a while back, but that's apparently not going to happen so maybe they'd be interested in joining forces with a station that's going down a similar path. I doubt that's going to happen either but you never know.
570 and 1430 don't have about the same coverage. KNRS is considerably better both day and night. It gets a solid 20 miles better coverage to the north and much more to the south. As far as David's problems with FM, I don't doubt that you have issues but your situation is fairly rare. I lived in Ogden for 12 years and never saw anything like what you describe. Tying up an AM station for a handful of potential listeners just doesn't make financial sense. If anyone was really concerned about FM (or TV) holes in the coverage area, they would put a booster in that area before sacrificing another whole station. That's exactly what boosters are meant to be used for.
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Post by David on Apr 9, 2019 13:30:49 GMT -6
This is a continuation of the discussions that were going on in the "KLO flips" thread (https://talkingutahradio.proboards.com/thread/1801/klo-flips) That thread long ago drifted off the subject of the flipping and just became about the ongoing operation of the station. Continuing discussion of KLO should go in this thread now and will hopefully get the appropriate attention it deserves. I guess I'll start with the question I keep asking. Has anyone yet seem any advertising for the station? I haven't. Not sure if this qualifies as advertising, but KLO is sponsoring several concerts and performing arts events in 2019: Diana Krall, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, and the local Shen Yun performances at the Browning Center. I suppose it only counts as advertising if KLO is prominently mentioned in promotions for the events.
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Post by CAwasinNJ on Apr 9, 2019 17:53:16 GMT -6
If it draws attention to the station I vote it counts. It's a step in the right direction. How much good it will do is a different matter. Krall and the 4 Seasons fit OK IMO. The propaganda machine, not so much. Are all of those events at the Browning Center? It could be tied in with KLO's sponsorship of Weber State sports.
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Post by David on Apr 9, 2019 18:45:06 GMT -6
Shen Yun is the only event at the Browning Center. Diana Krall will be performing at the Eccles Theater in September, and Frankie Valli will be performing at the Maverick Center.
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Post by David on May 5, 2019 21:29:43 GMT -6
FWIW: KLO is off the air tonight. I posted a message on the station's Facebook page, and got a response indicating they're working on getting KLO back on air. I have no idea why they're silent tonight.
BTW, 1490 KOGN is back on the air.
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Post by amanuensis on May 6, 2019 9:27:17 GMT -6
I'm hoping that their signal will sound better in West Jordan when they are back. Lately, it has been weak. Not sure if it is anything they are failing to do, or if it is just atmospherics.
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Post by David on May 6, 2019 11:55:24 GMT -6
KLO was back on the air at some hour after Midnight last night. I woke up at 3:00 AM Monday just long enough to check 1430, and the station was back on. As for your reception issue, it could be due to either atmospheric conditions or KLO's antenna patterns. I know from reading several posts in the AM radio Facebook group I belong to that AM broadcast propagation has been very flaky lately. We are presently at a low point in the current solar cycle, and usually when solar activity is low and propagation at the higher HF frequencies is poor, DX on the lower end of the radio spectrum is erratic. KLO has a four tower array on Antelope Island with varying antenna heights, so it could be that their nighttime pattern shifts the signal away from West Jordan. Then again, KLO has had problems with their nighttime signal in the past, so they may be having transmitter and/or antenna problems again.
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Terry
Silver Level Member
Posts: 488
Usual Listening Area: east Murray
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Post by Terry on May 6, 2019 12:55:09 GMT -6
While KLO was off the air last night I was listening to a Fox Sports station on 1430. I’ve been hearing this station loudly interfering at night with KLO for quite a while now, but was only able to finally identify it last night. It is KCLK in Asotin, WA (Clarkston). I’m convinced that they are operating with their daytime power at night. (I could be wrong, of course.) Radio Locator shows their nighttime signal with a definite null towards Ogden. Their daytime signal appears to be strongly directed toward northern Utah.
By the way, I think KLO’s towers are on the west side of Layton but not actually on Antelope Island.
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