|
Post by radiorelic on Feb 27, 2017 13:58:49 GMT -6
Just got word from inside the building that Cumulus is giving the KFNZ license back to the FCC.. they have a serious offer on the ant site land.. and they only did 16K of sales last month.. I did hear someone a few weeks ago on The Zone talking about somebody on one of the other sports talkers potentially coming over to the zone.. but haven't heard anything since... The Fan going dark this afternoon at 3pm (I think they said 3pm)
|
|
|
Post by seattlefollower on Feb 27, 2017 15:46:23 GMT -6
Since Wikipedia is out of date, the Utah Grizzlies are now over at ESPN 700 (or sometimes KSOP AM), which was probably a final nail in the coffin. As someone working in another market, these negotiated time share agreements with certain sports teams in town do seem to bring in a large chunk of some sports stations revenue, just like weekend programs on news talkers.
|
|
|
Post by radiorelic on Feb 27, 2017 16:07:36 GMT -6
And now, it's gone.. no fanfare.. so goodbye.. no "tune to so and so for SLC sports coverage".. just gone...
|
|
|
Post by David on Feb 27, 2017 19:13:41 GMT -6
Just got word from inside the building that Cumulus is giving the KFNZ license back to the FCC.. they have a serious offer on the ant site land.. and they only did 16K of sales last month.. I did hear someone a few weeks ago on The Zone talking about somebody on one of the other sports talkers potentially coming over to the zone.. but haven't heard anything since... The Fan going dark this afternoon at 3pm (I think they said 3pm) Sounds like Cumulus is getting out of the AM station business big time, at least in Salt Lake City. They must have had a really good offer on the transmitter site land to surrender the license to the FCC in light of the fact that they recently sold a 1 KW graveyard license for $55 K. The FCC database hasn't been updated yet, but clicking on the link for 1320 KFNZ takes you to the Cumulus Media corporate site. And another one bites the dust!
|
|
|
Post by CAwasinNJ on Feb 28, 2017 7:37:03 GMT -6
I'm with David. This doesn't add up. They went through all those gyrations with a graveyarder on 1230 and now they just turn in the license for a station with 5x the power?
One possibility is that turning in the license would actually allow a power or pattern increase for another station in another market. That's the only thing I can come up with that makes any sense.
|
|
|
Post by friendlee on Feb 28, 2017 8:15:29 GMT -6
Sad.....very sad.
|
|
|
Post by radiorelic on Feb 28, 2017 9:48:19 GMT -6
I heard two figures on the xmttr site.. 6.5 and 26 million... 6.5 sounds more likely.. that's enough to walk away...
|
|
|
Post by David on Feb 28, 2017 14:33:39 GMT -6
I heard two figures on the xmttr site.. 6.5 and 26 million... 6.5 sounds more likely.. that's enough to walk away... But is Cumulus required to surrender the license for KFNZ just because they're selling the transmitter site land? iHeart lost the tower site for KWDZ to developers but has thus far kept the station's license. If Cumulus can sell the license for a 1 KW graveyard frequency for $55 K, then a license for a 5 KW station must be worth at least that much. Given Cumulus' financial difficulties, I'd think they'd want to get every dollar they can out of the deal. I'm not surprised to see a sports station go dark, however. I've always thought that four sports format stations plus the BYU games on KSL was overkill for the Salt Lake market. I still don't know how all five (six if you count the pending application for KRRF on 1230) Spanish language stations on AM manage to keep paying the power bill for a relatively small number of listeners. It is indeed sad to keep losing "heritage" AM stations like KFNZ (a/k/a KDYL and KCPX) to real estate developers, but given Utah's ever-increasing population I'm sure build quality land commands a hefty premium these days. I've only lived in Utah since 1987, and the state's population has more than doubled in 30 years. UPDATE: Radio Insight has confirmed that KFNZ has gone dark: radioinsight.com/headlines/116788/kfnz-salt-lake-city-goes-dark/
|
|
|
Post by CAwasinNJ on Mar 1, 2017 1:18:22 GMT -6
I don't see how thy could be required to surrender the license. Cumulus put the land under the transmitters for KABC and WMAL up for sale and just moved the transmitters. KWCR tore down the building the antenna was on and they've had a number of STA requests granted for several years now. And then there's KTKK which hasn't been at a licensed site since the 90's. I could go on....
There are lots of other options available rather than turning in the license. If that's what Cumulus does actually do and they do nothing else I'll bet somebody will apply for the same or similar facilities at the next AM auction. I have to think there's more to this story. I guess we just wait now.
|
|
|
Post by David on Mar 1, 2017 21:51:33 GMT -6
|
|
|
Post by CAwasinNJ on Mar 1, 2017 23:05:32 GMT -6
Call me skeptical but I'm not going to be convinced that the 1320 facility is gone until I see it's been deleted from the Commission database.
|
|
|
Post by David on Mar 2, 2017 0:04:21 GMT -6
Call me skeptical but I'm not going to be convinced that the 1320 facility is gone until I see it's been deleted from the Commission database. I think the FCC only updates the AM and FM databases once a week on Fridays, so I guess we'll see if anything shows up tomorrow. It may be that the rumors of the death of KFNZ have been greatly exaggerated.
|
|
|
Post by amanuensis on Mar 2, 2017 10:59:47 GMT -6
|
|
|
Post by David on Mar 2, 2017 17:53:14 GMT -6
I looked up the address for the KFNZ towers (1181 W Bullion ST in Murray) on Google Maps, and the land looks like a prime site for a housing development. There's a few houses at the far end of the street and what looks to be a farm property, but I'm assuming the land that's surrounded by a chain link fence is where the KFNZ towers are. Unfortunately, the land is worth far more to a developer than Cumulus could ever hope to make by keeping KFNZ on the air. The same encroaching residential development is present on Highway 89 in the Willard-Perry-Brigham City area where the fruit orchards used to be. As long as Utah's population keeps growing, there will be developers looking for land to build on, and we all know how much land is required for AM radio towers.
|
|
|
Post by CAwasinNJ on Mar 4, 2017 3:56:31 GMT -6
If you've ever driven south on the west side of I-215 heading to the south interchange you couldn't miss the KFNZ towers. If you kept going straight you'd drive right into them.
Even forgetting about the other possible sites the station could move to, it's definitely possible to build around AM tower sites. It's been done for many years around the country. There are towers in the middle of parking lots and even one with a five tower array with the tower bases inside a warehouse. If someone wanted to, it could be done.
|
|