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Post by CAwasinNJ on Sept 15, 2018 2:12:30 GMT -6
David alerted us to the final days of The Mountain on 107.9 finally being here. Curiously they seem to be working on moving to another FM station. I'd like to brainstorm on where that might be.
One obvious candidate would be the K244DH/KQMB/KSRR combo that's be in a holding pattern for a while now. We don't know who the potential buyer that's been floated is or what the plans are, but that seems reasonable. Another good candidate would be VFX's K252DI (98.3) in North Salt Lake. VFX was never successful in breaking into the Salt Lake market. They're still a Logan station, so I don't think losing the 98.3 signal would be a huge impact for them. I don't see any of the major station groups like iHeart or Cumulus selling for this. The price would have to be too low. There are a few Lake Mountain translators (95.9, 103.9) that could work too.
That's what I can come up with. Other ideas?
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Post by David on Sept 15, 2018 14:46:10 GMT -6
KEGA-FM has been a distant third behind 93.3 and KSOP-FM for a long time, and the addition of the 105.5 frequency doesn't appear to be doing much to boost their ratings. That would be my best guess for a first possibility. The Zeta stations wouldn't be a good choice unless they could get them for cheap. The collapsed KSRR AM tower would have to be replaced, and finding land which wouldn't be attractive to developers might be difficult. The FM transmitter would also have to be replaced, since the old one burned up and left only the exciter usable. A couple of long shots might be one of the FM Spanish language stations, or possibly one of the EMF frequencies (88.1, 88.7, and 107.5). But EMF is mostly known for gobbling up broadcast properties, not selling them, so I think the chances of them giving up a frequency are pretty slim.
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Post by CAwasinNJ on Sept 15, 2018 23:51:59 GMT -6
I wouldn't expect adding 105.5 to 101.5 would make a big change in the ratings. That basically just adds Tooele to the coverage area. They are going to have a hard time in any case being a rimshot. Getting one of the EMF stations is a non-starter.
What about one of the Kona stations and its translator?
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Post by David on Sept 16, 2018 15:55:56 GMT -6
With the construction permit for KNIT's FM translator assigned to Bluffdale, they'd only have good coverage in the Salt Lake area on FM. If the Mountain wants coverage all across the Wasatch like they had on 107.9, I think they're going to need a full power FM, or 2-3 different frequencies like the original KJQ(N) had. And speaking of the original KJQ, maybe Mike Summers could convince KYFO/BBN to sell their stations, or at least do an LMA. I don't know if the Provo frequency is still on the air, but the 91.3 Salt Lake frequency is still broadcasting. I can faintly hear it in Ogden on some of my better quality FM portables. I doubt that KYFO has many listeners since EMF came to Utah.
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Post by CAwasinNJ on Sept 16, 2018 22:35:59 GMT -6
Slow down a sec here. The first priority is getting ANYTHING on the air. Even if it doesn't cover everything they want, they can always add more as it becomes available.
Looking at whether a religious station has any perceived listeners is pointless. That's not how they look at themselves. They have a mission. Unless there is a financial problem it's unlikely that any religious outfit will be selling unless they're upgrading. The only outfit I know of that's in trouble is Family Radio which owns KUFR 91.7 in Salt Lake and even they've been buying while trying to recover from the Harold Camping mess. As for BBN, they even kept the 91.3 translator after adding a booster for 95.5 that basically duplicates it. Also think about how long other stations have been on the market in recent years. I don't see KYFO going anywhere.
There are also the Lake Mountain translators on 95.9 and 103.9 that get out pretty good. They would cover Salt Lake and Utah Counties and up into Davis on 103.9. I don't know how badly Broadway wants those extra signals, but it's possible.
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Post by David on Sept 17, 2018 11:50:05 GMT -6
There's a class C2 Provo FM station and a "Profitable NE Utah FM" that have been listed on the RadioTV Deals site for what seems like forever. Maybe one or both of those stations would be a possibility. I've gotten the impression from the posts on the Utah's Mountain Facebook page that they're seeking another FM frequency, rather than an AM with an FM translator. That makes sense given the fact that most of their playlist consists of music recorded in the past 30 years.
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Post by radiorelic on Sept 18, 2018 11:25:08 GMT -6
I wouldn't think KEGA would jump out of Country format for the unknown... KEGA, while a DISTANT Third audience-wise to KUBL and KSOP... it STILL usually does 100+ K billing every month.. some months better... AND the Monthly cume for the last month Nielsen would report a non-subscriber that doesn't do a week long 6 plus average quarter hour rating of 0.1 or better... was 92400... the best it ever did was 137700... and KEGA's August was 146100 and it has been over 160K this year... compare that to KSOP's August of 158700.
Yeah, I WOULD like to see a AAA format like Mountain on the air here and why not The Mountain? I would actually be a bit surprised if it doesn't pop up somewhere...
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Post by drpepper on Sept 20, 2018 1:27:33 GMT -6
I suppose anything's possible for the right price, but i'd be very surprised if Broadway sold or LMA'd any frequency to support the Mountain in any way. I do like the idea of them broadcasting on K252DI, but also how about on K252DB in Provo? one translator could be fed via KSOP FM hd3 and the other via an am? Now I think I've just entered not gonna happen land with this scenario, which is to bad. It would cover most of the valley pretty well. |
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Post by levoix on Sept 20, 2018 8:38:30 GMT -6
Isn't that what already happened with this frequency? I thought originally Broadway gifted 107.9 to someone, and that was the origin of The Mountain programming.
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Post by David on Sept 20, 2018 13:54:24 GMT -6
Isn't that what already happened with this frequency? I thought originally Broadway gifted 107.9 to someone, and that was the origin of The Mountain programming. Broadway Media donated 107.9 to Park City Wireless, but Park City Wireless remained owner of 107.9 while the Utah's Mountain (KUMT) format was active. As far as I know, the people operating KUMT just had an LMA through Park City Wireless. Unfortunately, they were outbid for 107.9 by BYU Broadcasting when PCW decided to sell the station. |
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Post by CAwasinNJ on Sept 20, 2018 21:29:17 GMT -6
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tuttle
Member
BANNED EX-MEMBER
Posts: 23 
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Post by tuttle on Sept 22, 2018 1:23:04 GMT -6
It's unfortunate, but I think it will be a while, if ever, that The Mountain resurfaces on an FM signal in Utah. Given the competitive landscape, I don't see it coming to pass. Most of the state's larger broadcasters never wanted a full market signal like KUMT in the hands of an independent operator and made that clear openly over the past few years. That put Community Wireless in a tough spot but the right deal came through for them and they got a good price for the station. Operators will come and go, especially with the current environment, but it looks like a tough hill to climb - no pun intended.
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