KMRI WVC Re-Launched as SLC Sports

[Timmy]

More information here:
radioinsight.com/headlines/283120/dino-costa-launches-slc-sports-radio/

[CAwasinNJ]

Well that's interesting.

It's good that there will be a local presence in Dino Costa, even if it's only 5 hours out of the day. If his previous job history is any indication he will be gathering attention. According to news reports he's been highly controversial. Whether that will work in this market, only time will tell.

By the way, the Radio Insight article is wrong about KMRI's authorization. They do have authorization for 10kW days, and the current CP is for 375W nights.

[CAwasinNJ]

I'm not getting anything on 1550. The Radio Insight article seemed to indicate they are already on the air. Can anyone hear anything?

[Terry]

Nothing but static

[oldiesfunhouse]

I did some searching and they do have a website. It's slcsportsradio.com. There's a phone number and an email there for Dino Costa. There's an article very similar to the one Timmy shared on the website. I'll post that link below. That article says they'll be on around the clock and that their signal will be streamed to insure anyone can listen anywhere. That article acts more like they haven't started yet but also doesn't give a start date.
Here's the link.

slcsportsradio.com/sports-byline-usa-joins-forces-with-slc-sports-radio/

[dino]

Hello to all, I was just referred to this board earlier this afternoon. Thank you for having me. I see there is already some speculation from people concerning our new venture. I would be happy to answer any questions you might have here - or - you may feel free to email or phone me - the contact info for both is on the front page of the website. Not since my five years doing national radio with SiriusXM have I been so energized and excited about a project. Thanks again for allowing me the opportunity to talk shop with you all on this board.

-Dino

slcsportsradio.com/


www.thedinoshow.com/

Attachments:

[oldiesfunhouse]

Hi, Dino!

I have some questions for you if you can answer them.

Is there a projected start date for the station? Based on what people were saying yesterday, 1550 is still dark. Will internet streaming be available from day 1 or am I going to have to dig out my portable radio to hear your "maiden voyage"? This may be sacrilegious to admit here but I do nearly all my radio listening by streaming on my iPhone. Finally, what took you from doing national shows to doing a show for the Salt Lake City market? As an SLC native, I'm always curious what brings people here. It sounds like you might be taking phone calls on your show. With some rare exceptions, our two other sports stations don't take listener phone calls and I miss that so I'm hoping that's part of your plan. I have a friend that used to be a fan of Ron Barr when one of the stations carried him, I think, in the 90s, so he'll be excited when I tell him he's coming back to Salt Lake Radio. Best of luck with the new station.

[dino]

Mr. Funhouse, firstly, thank you for the positive and hopeful words. I'll try to answer all of your relevant questions. Allow me to also tell you that this project was supposed to debut last fall, however, zoning issues, permit issues, FAA approvals, tower manufacturing changes, all contributed to pushing the station to a debut date this fall. Now, on to your specific inquiries:

1-Is there a projected start date for the station?

A-Kind of? How's that for starters? I'm sort of reticent in giving you a specific date, however, the tower was actually completed earlier today, and I am now hopeful of getting on to the air before the end of this month (October 2024).

2-Based on what people were saying yesterday, 1550 is still dark.

A-Yes, it is, we have some tuning to do, some pattern testing, and a module needs to be replaced with the current Nautel transmitter in our building. This was a total and complete renovation of a radio station that hasn't been on the air in any kind of a meaningful way since the earthquake took down the old tower a few years ago.

3-Will internet streaming be available from day 1 or am I going to have to dig out my portable radio to hear your "maiden voyage"?

A-Yes, our plan is to stream beginning with our first official day on the air - we got you covered!

4-Finally, what took you from doing national shows to doing a show for the Salt Lake City market?

A-Probably the most interesting question you posed, and there is a story to be told about this, and I'd prefer to save a lot of this for the air if you don't mind. I will tell you I had been to SLC and Utah many times previous to my move here, loved it (how could you not?), and a huge Jazz fan...so.

5-It sounds like you might be taking phone calls on your show.

A-Stay tuned.

Ron Barr is a legend and I'm thrilled to be working with him and Sports Byline USA.

I'll be sure to post some tower construction pictures soon.

Thanks for the questions and God bless.

[oldiesfunhouse]

Thank you so much for getting back to me. I've been a big Jazz fan since I was 10 years old. My grandpa, who's now in heaven, got me into them. I sure miss the great Hot Rod Hundley who used to be our play-by-play announcer. Our new pbp man Davic Locke has grown on me but there'll never be another Hot Rod. You gotta love it baby! I guess the jury's still out on the Smith-Ainge administration for me. I'm trying really hard to "trust the process". From what I've heard of your show on your website and what I've read about you on Wikipedia, we're in for a wild ride. Can't wait! Things have been a bit too tame in Salt Lake sports radio, radio in general really. It will be fun to have you here to stir things up a little ... or a lot. LOL! God bless you too. My actual name is Michael. I run a hobby internet station called Oldies Funhouse Radio which is where my moniker on here comes from. I am definitely staying tuned! Have a great weekend all.

[dino]

Thank you, Michael. I'll have to check out your internet station. Go Jazz!

[oldiesfunhouse]

Thank you Dino. It's fun to observe this thing taking shape. A few days ago, they posted a job for a full-time office manager. The next time I visited the site a day or two later, there was a posting for a radio show producer. The last time I remember being able to follow a station as it was basically being built from the ground up was when Mills Crenshaw and company were building AM 1230 KWUN Radio 1. They were supposed to launch on July 21 1997. Because of some legal stuff, they were unable to launch until October. Odd, I don't remember the actual launch date. Because of that delay, I actually was a part of that station through its entire run which was just slightly longer than a year, but some of the best times of my life. Hopefully SLC Sports Radio will have a much longer run than Radio 1 did. Best of luck to Dino and everyone involved in this project.

[CAwasinNJ]

Here's a question. Are there any plans to change the callsign?

[oldiesfunhouse]

Well CA brought up call letters so I went to the call sign search site enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/public/tv/publicCallSignSearch.html to see if I could come up with any cool call letters. The first one I tried that is available are call letters that just left the market recently. It's a bit of a stretch but KSRR for Salt lake spoRts Radio. The last time those calls were here, they were branded as "K-Star. Another one I came up with that's available is KSHS, Salt lake's Home for Sports. Last time I checked the site a few months ago, the historic call KFNZ was available, but an AM and FM in Kansas City is using them now. I was a little disappointed. K-Fan was such an iconic brand here for so many years. It was the station the Jazz were on the two years they made their championship run. KWUN is available. "NUMBER WUN FOR SPORTS!" Per my last post, I'm a little partial to that call sign. Speaking of historic calls, KTKK is available. That was branded as K-Talk when it was here but I always thought a sports station branded as the Ticket (TicKKet" could use that call sign. I was thinking 1550 the Fanatic or Fanatic 1550 would be a cool brand. I thought of the perfect call sign too but, alas, it belongs to the US Coastguard--KFFT. That would have been awesome! KFFT Fiftten fifty, the FanaTic. And FFT sounds like fifteen. I wonder if the Coastguard         would be willing to relinquish that call sign. CA's probably thinking, why did I give him that website?

[oldiesfunhouse]

If you look at the radio producer part of the careers page on slcsportsradio.com, one of the slogans is "Fearlessly Independent Entertainment." I checked and the call sign KFIE is available. If you wanted to go with the city of license, KWVC is available as well.   

[amanuensis]

I just now asked Google Gemini, "what sports branding could be derived for a radio station with the call sign KMRI." And got this AI response:

Branding Ideas for KMRI Radio Station

Understanding the Call Sign:

K: Typically indicates a commercial station in the United States.
MRI: Could be interpreted as "Magnetic Resonance Imaging" or "Market Research Institute." While these terms might not seem directly related to sports, they could be creatively tied to a sports theme.

Potential Branding Ideas:
1. MRI Sports Radio

Tagline: "Scanning the Sports Scene" or "Your MRI for Sports News."
Concept: The MRI metaphor could be used to convey a deep dive into sports, analyzing every angle and detail.

2. The Pulse of Sports Radio

Tagline: "Feeling the Beat of the Game."
Concept: The "pulse" references the heart and excitement of sports, positioning the station as a vital part of the sports community.