An LDS Music station

[commanderlumpy]

Hello Folks. I know that an LDS music station has been tried in the Salt Lake Market before and failed. But do you think it would work today if it was on FM and was on a powerful station like 102.7? I know back in the 80's KUTR played LDS music and firesides un Sunday afternoons. But, that station was on AM. AM was fazing out back then. If that station were on a powerful FM station. Would it have made a difference? I have wondered if KSL switched there FM station to an LDS music format with some firesides maybe at night or on Sunday afternoons if it would work. What do you all think?

[dspete]

I know 100.3 HD2 is The Latter Day Saints Radio
Or Sunday Sounds? 24/7

[levoix]

I remember 97.5 had a LDS/Contemporary Christian format. "The Oasis"
820 AM also ran Latter-day Saint programming when it was operated by Bonneville.

[commanderlumpy]

Jan 24, 2021 6:36:01 GMT -6 dspete said:

I know 100.3 HD2 is The Latter Day Saints Radio
Or Sunday Sounds? 24/7

Yes, but how many people have an HD radio? How many people listen to HD radio stations? Also, 97.5 The Oasis wasn't on a very powerful signal. I don't think it was promoted correctly. Besides, how many LDS people listen to Christian music outside of the LDS genre?

[commanderlumpy]

When Bonneville Communications owned 820 and played LDS music. It was on AM. Back in 2006 it certainly was out of style to listen to music on AM. Although, the music they were playing was more suitable for AM. However, again, Bonneville didn't promote the station right. It was also all automated with no air talent at all. I also wonder if they played the same music over and over again.

[David]

The vast majority of AM stations with music formats are automated with no air talent because of the cost involved. There's very few markets that can support an AM station with a music format and live DJ's, and the ones that can usually have AM stations with companion FM translators. KDYL apparently did well enough to survive for several years with a music format and live DJ's, but I doubt they could do as well in 2021. KLO was finally starting to show in the ratings when Capital Broadcasting decided to sell 1430, so who knows what might have happened if they had stuck with the automated standards format and old time radio shows in the evenings. With the FCC recently authorizing all digital AM, music formats on the AM band might eventually experience a resurgence. Recently I've noticed an increase in the number of AM stations with music formats when DX'ing at night, and I suspect that's because so many AM stations now have FM translators.

The number of HD radio receivers is increasing, as most new cars have HD radio receivers built into their entertainment systems. Whether or not people are listening to HD channels is open to debate. When you have large corporate owners like iHeart messing around with the HD channel lineup before giving a station a chance to attract an audience, it hurts the chances of HD radio success IMO. ☹

[CAwasinNJ]

Something nobody mentioned yet is the politics of a publicly traded company running an LDS format. Are iHeart or Cumulus going to risk their shareholders revolting? I doubt it. Bonneville would make total sense if they get another station. The future of Broadway was up in the air last I heard so something might end up happening there.

[commanderlumpy]

I could see an independent company coming in to the Salt Lake Market and running a station with an LDS music format. I could see Capital Broadcasting with that format if they wanted to.

[David]

Something else to consider is whether or not a radio station with a full time LDS music format would be able to garner enough support from advertisers. When 1320 was KUTR, they had a contemporary LDS music format from 1989 to early 1992, and supposedly it was dropped because of insufficient advertiser support. Granted, it may have had something to do with the format being on AM in an era when music formats on AM were becoming passe, but any radio format needs advertiser support in order to survive. I have to believe that if an LDS music format had a good chance of succeeding in the Salt Lake market, some broadcaster would have already given it a shot.

[fmdj1]

Jan 25, 2021 12:05:19 GMT -6 David said:

Something else to consider is whether or not a radio station with a full time LDS music format would be able to garner enough support from advertisers. When 1320 was KUTR, they had a contemporary LDS music format from 1989 to early 1992, and supposedly it was dropped because of insufficient advertiser support. Granted, it may have had something to do with the format being on AM in an era when music formats on AM were becoming passe, but any radio format needs advertiser support in order to survive. I have to believe that if an LDS music format had a good chance of succeeding in the Salt Lake market, some broadcaster would have already given it a shot.

You hit the nail on the head. Years ago Bob Morey told me the reason he abandoned the LDS format wasn't due to lack of listeners but lack of advertisers. He said his numbers were great but business owners were afraid of being labeled as "LDS businesses" (which still kind of blows my mind considering where we live). A couple years ago I was talking to an engineer from Idaho and he told me their cluster was looking at dropping their LDS music format. Based on my conversation with Bob, I said, "Let me guess, a ton of listeners but no advertisers". His response: "Bingo". The format gets plenty of listeners, even on AM, but nobody will buy it.

That being said, the vast majority of religious stations are non-profits that work on donations. It is possible it could be done as a non-profit here, but you would have to convince church members that: 1. Their tithing doesn't pay for it, and 2. it's worth donating to keep it going. Having spent 12 years in public radio myself, it's a big hill to climb for any format, and a specialized religious one could be even tougher. But the Krishnas still have their station on, so it's certainly possible.

[David]

Thanks for your input, Frank. It's always good to hear from someone who has years of experience in the broadcasting business.

It's worth noting that even the Krishnas had to lease KHQN to a Spanish language broadcaster from 2006-2016 in order to fund the continued operation of the station and cover expenses for their organization.

[CAwasinNJ]

Jan 26, 2021 13:11:58 GMT -6 fmdj1 said:

Years ago Bob Morey told me the reason he abandoned the LDS format wasn't due to lack of listeners but lack of advertisers. He said his numbers were great but business owners were afraid of being labeled as "LDS businesses" (which still kind of blows my mind considering where we live).

And yet it doesn't seem like Bonneville has any problems selling advertising and they are part of the LDS Church. Go figure.

[drpepper]

CA since you mentioned Bonneville, I wonder about brand awareness. Do many people in salt lake etc asociate Bonneville as being owned by the LDS Church? Or do they just hear that their conference programming is being distributed by Bonneville international and leave it at that? Or do many people asociate the Arrow as being owned by the LDS church? i'm not asking that question like it should be shocking, i just wonder if many people are aware of these tie-ins anymore than they're aware that HBO and CNN are sister networks and owned by AT&T
Having thrown those questions out there, i'm curious whether or not many brands in Denver and Phoenix are aware of all the content Bonneville broadcasts in their respective markets.
Maybe they are, maybe they aren't. but KOSI, KYGO, KKFN, KMVP and KTAR FM all do farely well in the ratings, some are more successful than others, but KOSI HD2 and KTAR FM HD2 both carry LDS Talk programming, and Bonneville has broadcast rights for ASU Athletics and all 4 pro teams in the phoenix market.
Though in places where the LDS faith doesn't necessarily have as strong of a presence people in other cities maybe just don't care. after all, they aren't buying add spots on those side chanels.
i'm not sure how successful an LDS themed music station would be considering the big picture; revenue, ratings etc. but does seem like theres a bit of Irony as CA and fmdj1 have pointed out.

[CAwasinNJ]

I think the Bonneville/LDS Church connection is a very different thing from HBO/CNN/AT&T, at least in Utah. The LDS Church is deeply woven into the fabric of Utah culture and society (not to mention politics) where networks like HBO and CNN and companies like AT&T aren't, so I'd bet that a lot of Utahns know. In Denver or Phoenix or most non-Utah places the listeners probably don't know. Whether they would care or not I wouldn't even guess.

The side channels are a completely different issue. Those that don't have an analog translator are pretty much irrelevant no matter who's programming it.

[Timmy]

To add to the above, I wonder if it's more about the following... Most everyone is very aware of the LDS Church being quite prevalent in Utah. But once something is done that acknowledges it in a major way, like the 17th temple being built in Utah County, or a full-signal FM station being created, the non- and anti- folks get irritated and more vocal about it. As an active member, I honestly only listen to LDS music on Sundays. I would assume most folks in this category would likely feel the same. I would guess that there'd be not enough support for a full-time FM signal playing LDS music and content. Again, just my guesses and opinions...