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bobdavcav

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This is old news now, but there's been some changes to the translators in the Tri Cities, and just developing now, KMBI 1330 has changed calls and is now stunting.
 
AM 1330 Spokane is now KYOZ and paired with a translator on 95.7 as OZ, playing classic rock.
Lots of translators moving all over the place in Eastern Washington, and well, everywhere with the AM revitalization moves.
 
bobdavcav said:
This is old news now, but there's been some changes to the translators in the Tri Cities, and just developing now, KMBI 1330 has changed calls and is now stunting.[/QUOTE

100.1 KQFO Walla Walla/Tri-Cities experiment with adult/alternative is over. They are now "The Oz 100", with "the legends of rock". Or in radiospeak, Classic Rock. The only other Classic Rock in the market is The Eagle (KEGX at 106.5), with a much better signal.

Too bad, kinda liked The Oasis. At least there was some variety there, but now just the same old classic rock you can hear anywhere...
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Listen to a real AAA. You'll be blown away. Hodgins jockless hyper tested IPOD was pretty poor. It could've been so much more. Sadly, the ownership wasn't keen to heed the uniqueness of the format and research KPND and KINK to what they and do well to make it work. AAA's require some unconventionality. In the end, it came off as a 'grown up' version of KTCV 88.1 without KTCV's better parts. KQFO's owner even bragged that The Oasis was "like KTCV only better" and that KQFO was super focus group tested. Too bad some real AAA programmer wasn't there to tell Hodgins he was wasting time and money doing it the way he did.

I was interested in feeling Hodgins out for a gig at The Oasis last year. He asked me what I thought, I didn't heap endless praise, but said it was an exciting step forward with the format. Never heard back, lol. Glad it didn't go any further. Would've ended up not lasting anyway - and just being a exercise in frustration.

I will say this about Hodgins he does like his hyper tested focused programming. OZ is after the 55-65 year old male classic rock demo. Tightest locally programmed classic rock I've heard in years. No quirks, no curveballs. Every song is hyper tested and super familiar.

Commercial radio. I don't miss it.
 
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You've spread your beef with The Oasis and/or its owners across multiple threads and platforms now. You don't know of what you speak. You're comparing mature, heritage, established radio stations to a scrappy underfunded start-up. Your experience is in non-commercial radio, which has its place and purpose, which are usually polar opposite of commercial radio strategy. The Oasis is in the COMMERCIAL radio part of the dial, where the goal is to make a profit, not to see how experimental you can be. All hail KEXP and the others who can live somewhere out past the bleeding edge of music and make it work for them. The Oasis is not that and does not aspire to that. KPND is a fine radio station, but I guarantee you that if KPND were signing on today, in a market where most of the library was unfamiliar to the populace, it wouldn't sound like it does now, being this many years in. They've earned the right to play what they play now. And there is far more KINK inside Oasis than you acknowledge.

The thing is, no one in their right mind launches a AAA in this day and age, and the heritage ones in large markets are holding on for dear life. The format relies on its heritage, on grooming an audience of open-minded listeners who enjoy multiple genres and eras assembled in one place. It takes time to "train" listeners to listen to that on terrestrial radio. And yet, you throw rocks at the people who try to make better radio, even when it's a labor of love.

Last week Oasis went on a translator on 106.9 out of Walla Walla that has car coverage into Tri-Cities and should be sustainable there for some time. Oasis has been on a smaller Walla Walla translator for 2 1/2 years and getting the larger footprint of 106.9 when the Bob brand went to 100.1 is a win. I know it's just a bigger manure spreader to you, but it's a win for sticking something out there that's not country, Hispanic or pop.

Enjoy your tenure in non-comm radio. You have the freedom to super-serve your listeners without having to appease advertisers, owners & stockholders, and that's a nice sandbox to be in.
 
Yes, KQFO is now Bob FM and parallel with 104.5 Walla Walla. So many new stations in Tri-Cities/Walla Walla nowadays. Let's see what I can think of:
- KUMA-1290 signed on a new translator at 96.5 (K243CK), 250W off the hills near I-84,
- KGDN-1320 signed on a new translator at 92.9 (K225CJ), which I can hear well north of the Tri-Cities mixing with KDBL.
- The 94.5 in Walla Walla is now Fox Sports off the bird, with practically no local anything other than the TOH ID (it's a KZIU-101.9 HD subchannel). K233CJ is the calls.
- Brand new Spanish station on 105.7 in Kennewick (KDIL-LP), which has taken 100KW KRSE off the dial from Prosser onward.
- Don't know how long it's been on, but 94.3 is a Spanish religious LP (KSAE-LP).

BTW, Exitos 104.9 K285FN was featured on KNDU's newscast the other night. Long time ago they used to relay KUJJ (now KZIU) 101.9, back when they were Smooth Jazz. SJ is now on 102.3 K272ED Kennewick, which is completely local (not ran by SJN/BA) now. The TOH ID still says "KWDR Royal City" which is FALSE! 93.5 KWDR is now Spanish Religion again. Translators are not supposed to be separate stations, they must translate something from somewhere. Perhaps KLKY is HD now? Great mix of smooth jazz by the way, lots of rarities (even heard Incognito with the vocals of Maysa Leak!) Someone has been researching how to do smooth jazz right.
 
Hmm, I wonder where the Smooth Jazz is originating from? It sure seems like there are a lot of translators over there. I think Lance Venta pointed out some time back that 104.5 was to move to Spokane on 103.5, can't remember which AM it's going to rebroadcast. Last time I heard 93.5 it was running I think it was called the Horizon Broadcasting Network, mix of AC and contemporary Christian music if I remember correctly. I remember the toh ID was quite long, listing probably half a dozen stations, and I couldn't figure out which station it was I was listening to but figured KWDR. With the radio I had on that trip, it was pretty much the only thing I could get on 26 west of Othello.
 
When was this? I can barely get KWDR here in Yakima, and I know it's in SS. Spokane's dial is getting packed as well, lots of new AM translators. Yakima has lost five channels in the past two years but several are still open for DX, like 97.3, 98.1 and 95.5.
Also, KFFM is creating spurious interference and mixing product on 107.9 and 106.5 yet again - this is wiping out local KYRF-LP on 107.9, a Spanish Christian station. Even heard them in Ellensburg! They must be 500w, if not more. This has happened multiple times in the past few years.
 
This seems to be the trend in a lot of places, I grew up in the east end of the Coachella valley (Palm springs CA Market) and use to DX LA stations all the time and listened to them a lot because there was not much in the valley I liked. Now I've given up on that because new stations came on or translators have made it impossibe ( in my case) so I don't bother. If I want to listen to em I stream em.
 
crainbebo said:
When was this? I can barely get KWDR here in Yakima, and I know it's in SS. Spokane's dial is getting packed as well, lots of new AM translators. Yakima has lost five channels in the past two years but several are still open for DX, like 97.3, 98.1 and 95.5.
Also, KFFM is creating spurious interference and mixing product on 107.9 and 106.5 yet again - this is wiping out local KYRF-LP on 107.9, a Spanish Christian station. Even heard them in Ellensburg! They must be 500w, if not more. This has happened multiple times in the past few years.
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This was Easter weekend 2009, came over to University of Idaho for an orchestra festival. I could get KPQ-FM on most of that stretch, but preferred the clearer 93.5. No doubt the G8 would have been able to pull in much much more, but I didn't have that radio at the time.
 
100.1 KQFO, as Bob-Fm is a bit of an oddball. Most of the Bob's, or Jack's, etc. feature a mix of classic rock, hot ac, even top40 and are super focused on the 90's and 00's. The Bob coming out of KQFO seems to be super focused on the 70's, plus some 80's. Very few stations play 70's much anymore, atleast to the deep level that KQFO does. Today I heard "Ariel" by Dean Friedman, a song from '77 that peaked at #26! Wow.
 
I enjoy KQFO's Bob format. Probably the best full-power in Tri-Cities, outside of that 38-watt Smooth Jazz 102.3 (K272ED). Lots of 1970s music including some disco stuff. Wonder how they do in the ratings? In fact, I'm not sure which station is the most listened to in that region. Power 99.1? Mix 105.3? 94.9 the Wolf?
 
crainbebo said:
I enjoy KQFO's Bob format. Probably the best full-power in Tri-Cities, outside of that 38-watt Smooth Jazz 102.3 (K272ED). Lots of 1970s music including some disco stuff. Wonder how they do in the ratings? In fact, I'm not sure which station is the most listened to in that region. Power 99.1? Mix 105.3? 94.9 the Wolf?
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Few, if any stations buy ratings in the Tri-Cities. When you look up the market ratings on Allaccess you will notice that the last posted ratings are atleast 4-5 years old. However, it is quite easy to tell who is doing well, based on the # of commercial minutes sold. Power 99.1 is high in this category, as is KORD, and KONA AM & FM.
 
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crainbebo said:
I enjoy KQFO's Bob format. Probably the best full-power in Tri-Cities, outside of that 38-watt Smooth Jazz 102.3 (K272ED). Lots of 1970s music including some disco stuff. Wonder how they do in the ratings? In fact, I'm not sure which station is the most listened to in that region. Power 99.1? Mix 105.3? 94.9 the Wolf?
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The only group that subscribes to any rating service in the Tri-Cities is Townsquare. So there are no real accurate comparisons. However, it is quite easy to tell who is doing well, based on the # of commercial minutes sold. Power 99.1 is high in this category, as is KORD, and KONA AM & FM.
 
seatownmedia said:
The only group that subscribes to any rating service in the Tri-Cities is Townsquare. So there are no real accurate comparisons. However, it is quite easy to tell who is doing well, based on the # of commercial minutes sold. Power 99.1 is high in this category, as is KORD, and KONA AM & FM.
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Commercial minutes sold is more often a measure of how cheap the rates are. Stations with small audiences often offer very low rates but have to sell tons of spots to make any money.


A lower billing Los Angeles has gross sales greater than all the Tri-CIties stations combined.

In any case, the rank on billing is KORD, KEGX, KEYW, KXRX, KUJ, KZTB and KONA. They all bill from $40 k per month to $100 k per month. Those stations account for just under 70% of market revenue.
 
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DavidEduardo said:


Commercial minutes sold is more often a measure of how cheap the rates are. Stations with small audiences often offer very low rates but have to sell tons of spots to make any money.


A lower billing Los Angeles has gross sales greater than all the Tri-CIties stations combined.

In any case, the rank on billing is KORD, KEGX, KEYW, KXRX, KUJ, KZTB and KONA. They all bill from $40 k per month to $100 k per month. Those stations account for just under 70% of market revenue.
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I don't disagree with you. However, let it be noted that my assessment of market revenue based on the number of commercial minutes was pretty accurate. (With the exception of KEGX and KZTB). I'm sure the comparison with LA is somewhat irrelevant as the LA market is approximately 20-25 times larger than the Tri-Cities in active listeners.
 
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seatownmedia said:
I don't disagree with you. However, let it be noted that my assessment of market revenue based on the number of commercial minutes was pretty accurate. (With the exception of KEGX and KZTB). I'm sure the comparison with LA is somewhat irrelevant as the LA market is approximately 20-25 times larger than the Tri-Cities in active listeners.
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In revenue, the Tri Cities has a total radio billing of $9 million on 285 k population. Los Angeles has $730 million in billing on 13.6 million population.

There are 26 LA stations billing, each, more than the total billing of the Tri Cities.

LA revenue is 81 times higher on about 46 times the population. The revenue per person in the Tri Cities is half that of the LA market.
 
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