IBOC status in SLC as of 2-27-09

[dxstuboy]

Starting with AM,
KUTR 820 is on during the day only now.
KWDZ 910 has been off for weeks, and they couldn't sound better.
KSL 1160 is of course still on and buzzing.

and that's pretty much it as far as the local HD on AM.

on FM here is the current status as of Saturday
89.1 KBYU HD1 was on but HD2 was silent.
90.1 KUER HD1, 2, working, 3 was silent
90.9 KRCL HD1 and 2 working
94.1 KODJ HD1 and 2 working, 2 is KNRS
97.1 KZHT HD1 and 2 working, 2 is country
98.7 KBEE HD1
99.5 KJMY HD1 and 2 working, 2 is elevator music
100.3 KSFI HD1 and 2 working
101.1 KBER HD1 working
102.7 KSL HD1 and 2 working, 2 playing loop
103.5 KRSP HD1 and 2 working, 2 is deep tracks
105.7 KTMY HD1 was off air at last check
106.5 KOSY HD1 and 2 working

as of Saturday 2/27 this is the SLC area HD status.

[friendlee]

...and yes, I know, Cache Valley is a bit outside of the SLC market but I have to mention KUSU/KUSR is running all three HD's - HD2 is counter-programmed to the main channel and HD3 is Fusion, the student-operated facility. ;D In fact, just last week Fusion HD3 interviewed USU president Albrecht for over half an hour concerning the state of the university, the mandatory furlough, and other concerns in a well-done and well-received program. Kudos to the students at Fusion.

[CAwasinNJ]

I really wish more college stations would allow the stations to be programmed by students rather than being mouthpieces for the school. A lot of the big ones here and around the country aren't.

[dxstuboy]

That gives me an idea. What if student run stations like the U's KUTE or Weber's stations ran on a major market's HD-2 or 3? It *might* increase awareness of the station and wouldn't hurt in any circumstance. I think K-UTE could run on KUER's HD-3 signal, that would be awesome. I'd listen to it if they did that.

[CAwasinNJ]

Running KUTE on KUER's HD3 is a good idea. It's already AM so the limited bandwidth and mono sound wouldn't be a big deal. It would be a step up. I'm not sure BYU has a similar station, but that could work on KBYU HD3 too, assuming there aren't any other plans for it. Anything else, I don't see it. Certainly no commercial station would do that. That would be revenue right down the drain. I know it's a shame, but radio is a business.

I'm pretty sure I mentioned this idea, but what I *could* see is a commercial station or two outsourcing some or all of their public interest/community service programming to local schools, both high school and college. That's a money drain and a distraction at most stations. They do it because they have to. Why not give it to kids who will do it for free or peanuts? That sounds like a win-win, especially for a station gunning for the 18-24 market.

[friendlee]

From what limited view I have, nationwide, universities and colleges feel their secondary and tertiary digital channels are "too valuable" to allow students to utilize. I don't know if that feeling is shared by the administrations at the U or the Y, I hope it's not. I think that with the ability for student groups to do internet broadcasts (not even going into the discussion about music licensing fees here) some may see a semi-valid point in keeping the kids off the air yet with so many college-level stations not even encoding on their HD-2 and -3 streams when there could be an avenue for students to learn and gain experience (news, underwriting, promotion, programming, etc.) without taking away from the primary signal, it strikes me as odd. We've done it here at USU and our students work hard at sounding good, bringing credit to the university and to UPR. I'm amazed other institutions haven't seen the light?!

[dxstuboy]

I totally agree Friendlee