Broadway Media Shuffle

[oldiesfunhouse]

There are two other threads where some of what I'll discuss here is covered but, I fugured we could use this thread as a place to specifically speculate as to what the changes at Broadway Media are leading up to. KOOL FM is now exclusively online and on HD radio. Bob FM has taken over KOOL's former frequency of 105.5 which is now a simulcast of 100.7. Can someone who knows these things tell me if 105.5 covers areas that 100.7, with its boosters, doesn't, and vice versa? Another thing I found out this morning is that the Eagle is now also on 92.5 HD3. U92 is still being heard on 105.5 HD 3. This means the only Broadway Media station that is not available with an over the air digital signal is KALL ESPN 700. We've been speculating about the possible demise of 1015 the Eagle and possibly U92. It seems like it would make more sense to get rid of the Eagle than U92 since I think the U is the only fully hip hop station we have in the Salt Lake market, where the Eagle is competing with two other country stations that I think we could call 800 pound gorillas in KSOP and KUBL, at least compared to the Eagle. But, is there any significance to the fact that the Eagle is now on KUUU HD3? I don't know how long that's been the case. I'd be interested in people's thoughts on that. Is it fair to say that X96 is Broadway's crown jewel? I never hear any discussion of any change happening there, which is great. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Another question. Did Broadway have to do something with the FCC to be able to use 105.5 as a simulcast of KYMV? I thought 105.5 was set upp as a translator of KUDD and so had to air one of its channels which is why KOOL has always been heard on 105.1 HD2 so that it could legally be carried on 105.5? Did 105.5 get changed to be a translator of KUUU since Bob is on its HD2 channel? Maybe that's why the switch took place at midnight because that's when the translator change went into effect. I don't know how any of that works so, if someone could educate me on that, I'd appreciate it.

[David]

What I don't understand is why Broadway thinks Bob FM needs to be on an HD2 channel, a full power FM, and an FM translator. That seems like overkill to me, especially since KYMV placed just barely above KOOL 105.5 in the latest ratings. Something else that's odd is that a member of the Utah Radio Chat group reports seeing several billboards for both KEGA and U92 recently. Why would Broadway Media be spending $$$ on billboards for two of their lowest rated stations if they were planning a format flip for one or both stations? The "Broadway Shuffle" poses more questions than it answers! 🤔

[Timmy]

I think b'way owns several billboards in the area, so maybe they're not spending lotsa $$ to promote stations. But otherwise, I'm with you.

[CAwasinNJ]

105.5 covers the Tooele Valley where none of the Humpy rimshots (100.7, 101.5, etc) do.

I can't think of any particular significance to Eagle being on KUUU HD3 other than making it available. For the Salt Lake Valley it might be a cleaner signal than the boosters for the 101.5 signal. 101.5 doesn't get into Tooele so the HD signal would be their only choice.

As far as what primary station a translator can rebroadcast, there are legal requirements that have to be met in some cases (which is outside the scope of what we're talking about here), but other than that as far as I know the owner just needs to notify the FCC when the primary station is changed. It's a fine if they don't, like what happened to a translator in Chicago recently.

David, those three sources for Bob have three different aims. As I said before, the power that the Humpy rimshot mains have is completely 100% irrelevant to anyone along the Wasatch Front. The only things that anyone in that area can hear are the boosters, which are a tiny fraction of the power of the main. Less than 3% to be more specific. The digital signal can only be picked up by at best about one third of radios, and is necessary to be the primary for the translator anyway. The translator and the Salt Lake & Bountiful boosters are going to give roughly the same listenability on the eastern side of the Oquirrhs, but as I mentioned above the Tooele Valley can't get any of the rimshots.

Spending money on promotion (or not earning money renting a billboard you own to someone else) would be evidence that those station aren't going anywhere in the near term. I don't think anyone was saying a flip at 92.5 or 101.5 was going to happen. I know I wasn't. It's just speculation on something that *could* happen.

[David]

While I now understand the technical reasons for having Bob FM on three different frequencies, I still don't understand why KOOL 105.5 has been relegated to a single HD2 channel and online streaming as the only means of delivery. If the ultimate goal is to move the KOOL FM format to a frequency with better geographical coverage, wouldn't it have made more sense to wait until another frequency had been secured before moving Bob FM to 105.5? IMO, it seems like "radio suicide" for Broadway to make such a drastic change right when KOOL 105.5 is trending up in the ratings. Someone else (Timmy?) suggested that Broadway may be trying to kill off KOOL FM, and I'm beginning to think he's right.

[levoix]

Any chance they're preparing to downsize and consolidate?

Even KXRK isn't as strong ratings-wise as it once was, so I can't see ad revenue keeping that big building with all the new studios, equipment and employees afloat for much longer, especially if DLH isn't as involved. Maybe they'll sell a couple frequencies to generate some cash.

[oldiesfunhouse]

I sure wish they would simulcast KALL on either 96.3 HD3 or one of their other HD channels. Analog AM in our car sounds terrible, almost as if it coming through over a phone line. I think that's the fault of the radio itself, not the way the signal is being sent because every AM station sounds like that. But, that being the case, KALL is their only station that's not available in HD. I wonder if they deliberately make the AM sound that bad so that when there are AM stations that broadcast in HD, KSL being the only one I'm aware of in this market, you can notice the dramatic increase in sound quality when it picks up the HD signal.

[David]

oldiesfunhouse, you can blame the FCC and the electronics industry for the crappy sound of today's AM radios. Decades ago, the FCC capped the "top end" of AM signals at 5 kHz, and that standard remains in place today. During the golden age of radio and even into the mid to late 1960's, many AM stations broadcast with a full 10 kHz wide signal, and AM sounded much better than it does in the 21st century. In fact, in the 1930's the FCC authorized three experimental 20 kHz wide frequencies for high fidelity AM, but that's a story for another time. Google "Apex AM band" if you want to know more about the high fidelity AM experiments of the 1930's.

The other reason AM sounds so lousy now is because most electronics manufacturers add the AM portion of AM/FM receivers as an afterthought. They assume that most people aren't going to listen to AM anyway, so they try to save a few cents by using cheaper components and emphasizing maximum performance of the FM section of their receivers. The only newer car I ever owned with an AM/FM radio that had above average fidelity and sensitivity on the AM band was the stock radio in my 2012 Toyota Corolla. In most cases, if you want a good sounding AM receiver for a vehicle these days, your best bet is to buy an aftermarket stereo system and ditch the stock radio.

[oldiesfunhouse]

One of the best sounding analog AMs in a car was in a Ford. I think it was a Ford Focus that was new in the 90s if I'm not mistaken. It still had a digital tuner but its AM was awesome. I had, I believe it was, an Aiwa Walkman type radio that only worked with headphones. It had a digital tuner and it sounded really good on AM too.

Before KSL had HD on 1160 they had great sound too. I imagine the best station to test for AM sound quality if you're trying to get a good radio for that now would be 1370. And I'm not just saying that because the gentleman from KSOP is in this group.

[CAwasinNJ]

David's second paragraph is correct, the first one is wrong. The current FCC limit in frequency response on AM is 10kHz, not 5. That limit was adopted back decades ago. There IS a 5kHz cutoff, but that applies to stations that are broadcasting IBOC/HD and is why oldiesfunhouse heard that change in KSL.

Radio-Locator thinks that KSOP(AM) is digital, but I can't find any notification for digital filed with the FCC. If they are, they wouldn't be a good test.

[kenglish]

KSOP-AM is broadcast as a digital subchannel on KSOP-FM/HD. That's likely where the confusion comes from.

[christopherjohn]

Yeah, just our FM is hybrid analog/digital. AM would not be feasible to go HD. We do carry the AM on our HD2. I do run our AM at a full 10k on bandwidth. Newer transmitter and audio processing.

May 10, 2022 18:27:06 GMT -6 CAwasinNJ said:

David's second paragraph is correct, the first one is wrong. The current FCC limit in frequency response on AM is 10kHz, not 5. That limit was adopted back decades ago. There IS a 5kHz cutoff, but that applies to stations that are broadcasting IBOC/HD and is why oldiesfunhouse heard that change in KSL.

Radio-Locator thinks that KSOP(AM) is digital, but I can't find any notification for digital filed with the FCC. If they are, they wouldn't be a good test.