What would you do with....97.5 The KSL Sports Zone

[CAwasinNJ]

Imagine you're given ownership and complete control of 97.5. You have the resources (money, personnel, etc.) to do whatever you want with the signal without having to worry about higher ups on the corporate ladder, what clustermate stations are doing, etc. You can leave it as is, completely change it, or anything in between, but the ideas should be at least plausible/possible. What do you do?


There are two issues here that I think are interrelated. First, the schedules on 97.5 and 1280 have always confused me. Admittedly I've never really studied and mapped out their schedules to try to make sense of it, but that shouldn't be necessary. If a listener has to expend a lot of effort to try to figure out your station you're doing something really wrong. The addition of 102.7 and 1160 has just made things even worse. Hopefully some of you out there have a good sense of what the schedule is and can help me here. The sense I'm getting is that the live sports are not always on the same signals. If that's the case, that would be the first thing I would fix. RSL would always be on <x>; the Bees are always on <y>; the Jazz are always on <z>, etc. I would simulcast if there wasn't any other team playing on a particular station, but I wouldn't have a hierarchy. For example, I wouldn't have RSL on 97.5 and the Bees on 1280, unless the Jazz are playing in which case the Jazz would go on 97.5, RSL moves to 1280 and the Bees get bumped. I realize this is not a perfect solution and is likely to annoy some listeners (and feel free to vent at me about it), but IMHO the consistency outweighs the downside.

The second issue is whether having Zone on an FM station at all is worth it. I've never been a big fan of talk formats on FM. The fidelity is better, but with the frequency range of human speech it really doesn't matter all that much. It's also true that there isn't as much interference. On the other hand, the additional opportunity for ratings for a music format on FM is very tempting. The all-day ratings for KZNS AM and FM are pretty close, but even added together are still terrible. The other English language music stations on rimshots are doing about as well or even better than the combined ratings of 97.5 and 1280. What I'd like to see would be to add another AM (or two) to the Zone roster and then flip 97.5 to a music format. 1640 seems ripe for picking. iHeart doesn't seem to care much about 570. 1550 might be in play to save the license. Who knows what the future for 1600 might be if it ever gets rebuilt. It might work.

[oldiesfunhouse]

I must very respectfully disagree with you, CA, regarding talk formats on FM. We have an HD radio in our car and a non)HD AM station sounds terrible on it. I could be wrong, but it feels like they almost designed it that way so people would think HD would sound better than it does. The AM almost sounds like I'm listening to it over a phone line. And that's even on the stations that put effort into good AM audio like 1370 KSOP. I feel like AM is an afterthought in most car radios today. Back in the 90s in a Ford car I used to ride in, its AM sounded great, but the AM in most cars I ride in now is awful. If there is an FM simulcast of something, I NEVER listen to it on AM. My most sincere apologies to the purists out there that love AM. I understand that feeling but I don't know what car radios are doing to make AM not sound good anymore. I've got a little portable radio (currently misplaced, LOL) that has really good AM sounding audio. But I think new car radio manufacturers are, whether deliberately or not, trying to speed up the death of AM radio by making it sound so bad. My understanding is the Jazz ALWAYS get first priority on 97.5. Every one of their games are heard there. I think the Utah State Aggies are always on 1280. I think if the Aggies and the Bees both had a game at the same time, the Bees would be on 97.5 and the Aggies would be on 1280. I'm not sure what would happen if the Jazz had a game too. Would it be plausible to make 97.5 a full market station? That's the first thing I'd do, if so. I constantly hear complaints about 97.5S signal. And it is bad in Sandy and places like that. I would keep the FM signal. It's hard to pick up AM in the arena, and if you're a blind guy going to the game, FM does better. Ever since they moved the Zone to KSL Broadcast House, it seems like its audio is bad. I would have whoever is in charge of KSL FM's audio bring 97.5's audio up to that standard. I listen to Jazz games on the Jazz app on my phone now. KZNS'S internet stream has the same audio issues as the FM signal. They haven't taken listener calls on the Jazz post game show for years. Several other team's post game shows do in other markets. I would add that to the Jazz post game show.

[CAwasinNJ]

You're right that AM sounds much worse today than it did years ago, and not just in cars. There are a combination of factors. The FCC did place a lower limit on the frequency response that AM stations can transmit. From a technical perspective, AM is capable of the same frequency response that FM is. That hasn't been legally possible for a long time now. There's also the factor of radio manufacturers putting cheap components in to save a few cents on each unit. They can get away with it and it increases their profits. Now of course there's the the intention of car manufacturers to eliminate AM from their radios entirely, but that's another discussion.

If by "full market" you mean 97.5 transmitting from Farnsworth then the answer is no. It's already as close to Salt Lake as the FCC regulations allow. I'm sure that's why Humpy Peak was selected.

[tardiscaptain]

1- I'd drop the Unrivaled broadcast team and replace them with anybody else. They really should be titled "Un-listenable"
2- Probably look at splitting the AM and FM broadcasts or get an HD sub-channel. On one I'd have all college sports talk and another would be all non-college sports talk.

I'd have to think about this one a little bit more.

[kenglish]

I would create a universal program guide for all the Bonneville owned or programmed stations, so a listener could see a graphical display of what channels will be carrying what, at whatever time.
It should be displayed on all of their affiliated web sites.

It's getting confusing with all those simulcasts and cut-aways. And, it might be nice to program a receiver in advance, to hear what you want.

[CAwasinNJ]

What about the Unrivaled team don't you like, Doctor?

I don't think splitting the stations along a college vs non-college line is practical. Sports talk ratings are low enough as it is and cutting the pie into even smaller pieces while having to add a new production team doesn't seem like it's good for business. That does give me an idea though. What about splitting the existing shows into sub-shows at specific times? 1-2PM could be for college sports and 2-3 could be non-college? The specific ratio would probably have to be adjusted at different times of the year, but that might work. Are there enough listeners that are only interested in one or the other that might dip in to see whether the station is talking about the one they follow and leave for the day if it isn't the "right" one?

I think Ken has a good idea, assuming the status quo. Still, the harder somebody has to work for something the more likely it is they won't do it.

[David]

What would I do with The Zone? I'd bring back Gordon Monson and Austin Horton for starters. I listened to "Utah Car Cents" with Austin and Jeff Miller almost every Saturday, and I really miss that show. It was the last automotive discussion show on Salt Lake City radio, and a refreshing alternative to the usual sports yak on The Zone. At one time both KALL and KSL had similar shows on the weekends, but they disappeared years ago. Is there really no demand for an automotive discussion radio program anymore? No wonder talk radio ratings are on the decline. For the most part, it's the same subjects being discussed over and over, especially politics. Boring!!

[amanuensis]

I listened to NPR's Click and Clack show occasionally. But as cars became more complex, it seemed that the answer that Tom and Ray Magliozzi gave to their callers was "take it to a qualified mechanic". I think the era has come and gone in which a person could by a Chilton Guide and fix most car problems at home. They have become too complex, with too many computer chips. So I suggest that that is why car talk shows are less common -- there is less actionable stuff to talk about.

I guess you could expand sports talk to include all hobbies and forms of recreation, not just sports. I guess if I was programming 97.5, I might try adding some diversity on weekday mid-days (when ratings are presumably lower than lower anyway) by including discussions of coin and stamp collecting, gardening, and genealogy. For genealogy, programming Scott Fisher's Extreme Genes show would be very obvious since he is a local talent (unless he has a non-compete clause).

Well, nevermind: www.extremegenes.com/find-us It turns out that KNRS already has the local broadcast rights to Fisher's genealogy show. But someone else could obviously start doing one.

[tardiscaptain]

Apr 20, 2023 15:10:36 GMT -6 CAwasinNJ said:

What about the Unrivaled team don't you like, Doctor?

I've given them multiple chances to be entertaining. When they have a guest, the guest is entertaining, but the two guys just bore me to tears. Their insight is not very insightful and they don't inspire me to stay with the station. The previous team, I could listen to all the time. The afternoon team, while not as good as the previous evening team, is more informative than the "unrivaled" team. I've avoided the "unrivaled" show when it comes on.

Of course that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

[henry]

Apr 17, 2023 23:33:09 GMT -6 CAwasinNJ said:

I've never been a big fan of talk formats on FM.

AM is DEAD.

The only way I'm listening to talk radio is either as a podcast, the iHeartRadio app live, or if it's on FM. As an example, KNX AM sounds like crap in downtown LA! Sitting stuck on the 110 next to the financial district and all the signal is 30% power lines and static. Older listeners who grew up with AM in the 1960s may have tolerated that, but I sure don't. And being the "young guy" on the board, remember I'm nearly 40. Half the audience is younger than me!

KSL needs to push the apps hard. That way they aren't beholden to the whims of a sketchy FM rimshot signal.

Content > Carrier

[CAwasinNJ]

May 2, 2023 19:16:34 GMT -6 henry said:

AM is DEAD.

That is your opinion and you're entitled to it. Some in the industry agree with you. Others do not. The firestorm that's erupted over the removal of AM from cars proves that rather conclusively. I assume you've been following those arguments in the trades and they make the arguments better than I can.

But putting that aside, what about usage in the real world? I can't speak to LA since I've never been there. I can speak to New York which should be roughly equivalent for this conversation. They have two all news stations there, WCBS(AM) and WINS. WCBS(AM) is only available on AM and WINS was only on AM until late last year. Both have been consistently in the middle of the ratings for years now. But what about the numbers that really matter, the revenue? The most recent revenue data is for 2021 and two of the top 10 stations in the country are...WINS and WCBS(AM). www.allaccess.com/assets/img/editorial/inline/25265/BIAtop10stations2021.png

Does AM have its problems? Certainly. Is it in need of an overhaul and real revitalization? Definitely. Is it dead? Doesn't look like it to me.

[oldiesfunhouse]

I don't know if it's relevant but when I was in New York a few years ago, WCBS AM was being simulcast on one of the HD subchannels of WCBS FM 101.1. I don't know if it still is. I suppose AM is still much more viable than HD radio, which is a shame because HD radio sure sounds better than today's AM. Am I safe to say that what's keeping HD radio from being dead is the fact that small town markets are using it as a way to put different formats on their translator stations? Is it fair to say that if AM's not dead, it's on life support? Casualties, 630, 910, 1600 ... How many FM stations have gone dark? HD radio is definitely in the running for being dead, though. iHeart turned off all their Salt Lake subchannels except one, and that's because it's feeding a translator. Cumulus runs HD but has never had subchannels on any of its stations to my knowledge, which I've never quite understood. HD sounds a little better than analog but, to my ears, not enough to justify the cost. But, apparently it does because I believe at least 98.7 and 101.1 still run in HD with no subchannels, as do all the iHeart stations.

[dspete]

www.techradar.com/news/if-atsc-30-broadcasts-pack-50-radio-stations-in-one-tv-channel-im-all-ears

I'd like to see where this goes? KSL could use this and do away with AM I also believe AM radio at least in Utah is dead unless I speak spanish or want religion?
as for music there is nothing!!

[kenglish]

May 2, 2023 19:16:34 GMT -6 henry said:

Apr 17, 2023 23:33:09 GMT -6 cawasinnj said:

I've never been a big fan of talk formats on FM.

AM is DEAD.
As an example, KNX AM sounds like crap in downtown LA! Sitting stuck on the 110 next to the financial district and all the signal is 30% power lines and static. Older listeners who grew up with AM in the 1960s may have tolerated that, but I sure don't. And being the "young guy" on the board, remember I'm nearly 40. Half the audience is younger than me!


Content > Carrier

What kind of car, and what sort of antenna, do you drive?
I'm curious where the antenna is located, and if it's a "proper" antenna (in engineering terms), is it a (directional) "in glass" antenna, or even those "shark fin" antennas.

[kenglish]

BTW....I grew up in the 60's, and I don't remember there being big noise problems on the AM band.
I remember listening to distant stations on a radio, with built-in antenna, on the kitchen table, or in the basement. My grandfather's tube radio in his backyard barn had no issues, except when he ran a table saw.
Down south, power lines were always fairly new, due to tornadoes, so the hardware was not a problem.
The problem nowadays is just a lack of maintenance, and people not reporting problems as they occur.