|
Post by commanderlumpy on Feb 27, 2020 12:42:59 GMT -6
I heard a rumer that K-talk Media is being sold. I don't know if this is true. However, I can tell you that who ever buys out K-talk Media has a lot of work cut out for them. Over the last 2 and a half decades. K-talk has been barely hanging on. In fact K-talk Media is wors now then it was back in 2008 and even untill a few years ago. Who ever buys K-talk media had better put it on an FM translator because AM is not cool among the younger generation. I know conservative talk appeals to an audience in there mid 40's on up tell mid 60's. A lot of those people still listen to AM. However, with KSL and KNRS on FM I wonder how many people in there mid 50's un up list to it on FM instead of AM. If the owner is smart, he or she will put K-talk media on an FM translator. They also need to be more consistent with the programming over there. Lately, it is as if they are indecisive. The morning host or at least he was the morning host from 7:00 to 9:00 can't even run the board half of the time. That's another story. If K-talk Media is being sold. Who is buying it. I hope they know what they are etting in to.
|
|
|
Post by David on Feb 28, 2020 0:22:38 GMT -6
KBJA 1640 (a/k/a K-TALK) probably can't afford an FM translator, even if another filing window is opened by the FCC. When their tower was struck by lightning last April the transmitter was also damaged, possibly beyond repair. Last I heard, KBJA was still using their 1 KW back-up transmitter, which is probably the transmitter they used when KTKK was on 630. Their signal strength has dropped considerably in the Ogden area since the lightning strike last April, which suggests to me that either their 10 KW X Band transmitter was damaged beyond repair, or they don't have the money to fix it. I haven't seen a for sale listing for KBJA yet, but the station might be listed through a media broker or some other site besides RadioTV Deals. I know for sure that KDYL is still for sale, because their listing is still posted on the RadioTV Deals site.
AM stations in general are having a hard time staying afloat these days, with the exception of the 50 KW flamethrowers like KSL. This is especially true for stand alone AM stations like KBJA and KDYL which don't even have a construction permit for an FM translator. Even KLO's ratings have slipped lately, and they've got a 25 KW daytime signal that covers much of Utah and part of the neighboring states at night. In order to survive, AM stations are going to have to offer programming with a strong local flavor that can't be heard elsewhere, or an FM translator with good coverage. I wouldn't be surprised to see some AM stations become online only entities in the near future like KWCR did a few years ago. As much as I love AM radio because I grew up with it, the sad reality is that the tower site land for many AM stations is worth more than the revenue generated by radio advertising.
|
|
|
Post by oldiesfunhouse on Feb 28, 2020 15:34:47 GMT -6
I've always wondered why the KTKK call letters weren't moved to 1640. Are the KBJA call letters significant in some way or was it a cost thing? Does anyone know? I also wonder if another station has picked up that call. I've always thought it might be a good call for a sports station calling itself "The Ticket". I know most of you aren't fond of "Sports Yack" but I really do wish some station would pick up CBS Sports Radio so I could listen to Jim Rome and Amy Lawrence (she's their overnight host) over the air too instead of just the internet. Thank God for the internet.
|
|
|
Post by David on Feb 28, 2020 18:23:28 GMT -6
According to the FCC's fee schedule, the cost to change a radio station's call sign is $110. If United Broadcasting is too strapped for cash to cover that cost, it's no wonder they may be looking to sell the station. It certainly isn't doing as well as it did during the 1990's, when Joe Redburn, Hank Hathaway, Bob Lesh, Donald Packard (Golden Delicious), Mills Crenshaw, and Martin Davies were working at KTKK 630 during its "golden era".
The KTKK call sign is still available per an FCC database search. And BTW, Amy Lawrence's show is on KNBR 680 overnights. KNBR has a solid signal in Ogden at night, so depending on where you're located, you should be able to hear the station with a good quality radio.
|
|
henry
Silver Level Member
Posts: 316
|
Post by henry on Feb 29, 2020 2:27:06 GMT -6
To put it into perspective, the land underneath AM 1320's transmitter was worth more than the license. Heck, even here in LA, KABC's transmitter site was sold out from under it (Cumulus kept the license, but it's signal sucks).
Other than a few notable exceptions in VERY LARGE cities, AM is dead. FM is starting to trickle away, just as AM did a generation ago. Religious, non-profit, and multicultural broadcasters are ebbing their way into ownership as the mainstream audience slowly evaporates. KUMT in Utah. KSWD in Los Angeles. WPLJ in New York.
Small markets still do well for community service (only broadcasters in town). Big markets still make good money. It's middle towns (like SLC) which are seeing the most dramatic changes first.
|
|
|
Post by CAwasinNJ on Feb 29, 2020 17:35:48 GMT -6
OK, first thing's first. I'd like to get a better idea of what we're talking about with "I heard a rumor." We don't need to get into specific names if that might get someone in trouble, though the more specific we can get the better. At least a general idea of what the source of the rumor is would be helpful. For example, if it was a neighbor down the street with no connection to the media biz then we can probably end the discussion right now. If anyone has some information and doesn't want to post it publicly you can always send a direct message to me and it will be kept confidential. That being said.....Even putting aside financial considerations there is little to no chance of getting a new translator on the air. The dial is full. That just leaves existing ones and I'm pessimistic that any are available. 95.9 and 103.9 would be two good choices but they're busy running X96 and Mix. Lumpy, you're assuming that whoever buys the radio station would keep the format and that's not an assumption I would make. If it is the case that they can't even get up to their full licensed power then I would think that means they aren't able to sell ads on the station very well which would make the format much less viable. That would bring to the question of what to flip the station TO and I have no answer for that. As for broadcast radio dying, it's not happening. In fact in a study just released this week, podcast listeners listened to MORE radio than non-podcast listeners. ( www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/194001/nielsen-report-says-podcast-listeners-are-listenin ) We can go over all this again if anyone really wants to, but in another thread.
|
|
|
Post by oldiesfunhouse on Mar 2, 2020 9:52:19 GMT -6
Thank you for the KNBR suggestion. I have listened to Amy there before. Those were definitely the Golden Days of talk radio. I had forgotten about Bob Lesh. I miss Martin Davies. I listened to those guys a lot more in the KCNR, KWUN, and KIQN days. I did a weekend talk show on KWUN and KIQN for most of their runs as talk stations. As far as X96, I wonder if Broadway has ever considered putting the X96 HD2 programming on 95.9. Does 95.9 really get into some areas that 96.3 doesn't? I wonder the same thing about 103.9 getting into areas that 105.1 doesn't. Speaking of redundant signals, has anyone heard if Cumulus has any plans to replace the simulcast of 94.9 and 101.9 with a different format on either frequency? Sorry, I'm getting way off the topic.
|
|
|
Post by David on Apr 12, 2020 9:52:03 GMT -6
While I was scanning the AM & FM bands this morning, I noticed that KBJA is off the air. There's no recent applications in the station's FCC file, and I couldn't find anything on their Facebook page explaining why they're off the air. I wonder if the impact of the Coronavirus on the economy and advertisers cancelling put the final nail in KBJA's coffin.
|
|
|
Post by kenglish on Apr 12, 2020 10:53:22 GMT -6
Seems like their carrier is on, but no modulation. This wouldn't be the first time that someone forgot to show up for their program. It happens fairly often on weekends. Today is also a holiday.
I wonder if they had something on automation that didn't roll.
|
|
|
Post by David on Apr 12, 2020 12:11:08 GMT -6
At my location in NE Ogden, I'm not even hearing a carrier on 1640 with a 60 foot random wire antenna hooked to an Icom communications receiver. Either KBJA is off the air, or their transmitter is only putting out flea power.
|
|
|
Post by kenglish on Apr 12, 2020 14:29:44 GMT -6
I saw a carrier on the Northern Utah SDR and thought that was them, but noted that my car radio was getting images of KSOP on 1640 and several other frequencies. I get some funny beats driving up 900 East. Power lines, I guess.
|
|
|
Post by drpepper on Apr 12, 2020 21:15:43 GMT -6
i'd say let's give it a few days and see what happens. A Number of things could be true, but does seem best to start with the little posibilities e.g. something went wrong in automation, then work our way to whether or not United decided to put a fork in KBJA.
|
|
|
Post by CAwasinNJ on Apr 13, 2020 2:17:31 GMT -6
I couldn't have put it any better than drpepper. I see a lot more off-air instances in both radio and TV than what gets posted here. It almost always resolves itself and running around like your hair is on fire every time you see one is a waste of time. If it goes on for a significant period of time, that's a different matter. For what it's worth the online stream was running dead air earlier but is now back. I think the air feed is back too but it's hard to tell with 1kw night power.
|
|
|
Post by David on Apr 13, 2020 15:49:47 GMT -6
KBJA is back on the air now, but their signal is very weak--I can barely hear them above the noise floor in NE Ogden. I seriously doubt the transmitter is putting out a full 1 KW, but that's just speculation on my part.
|
|
|
Post by kenglish on Apr 23, 2020 19:04:21 GMT -6
Does anybody else hear the "black helicopters" noise in their audio? I wonder if it's in their STL, or their transmitter.
|
|