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Entercom Hands In KDND/Sacramento License

Sounds like someone tweaked the processing at 106.5. The End (on 106.5) sounds pretty good. I didn't listen to the Star format but it sounded flat.
 
stewie said:
Sounds like someone tweaked the processing at 106.5. The End (on 106.5) sounds pretty good. I didn't listen to the Star format but it sounded flat.
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I would listen to more radio if it were done like this. Reminds me of working in radio in the early 90's. :)
 
Are they likely going to trade for the Cumulus stations in like either Indianapolis or Minneapolis/St. Paul so that the station go to them? Entercom/CBS only own three stations in both of those markets.
 
And so KDND rides off into the sunset. If anyone in Sacramento has a good antenna and radio, I'm sure KSAN may pop up from time to time on 107.7; and KKLC Fall River Mills has a good shot on 107.9 (a K-LOVE station near Redding, power 13KW). The transmitter is west of Burney, CA, where KRRX-106.1 is located (100KW).
KLLE Fresno may be possible as well. 1.75KW but transmits from a high point ESE of Oakhurst.
 
Was driving around the Arden area today and 107.7 "The Bone" was coming in a bit. (I STILL think that's the WORST name for a station I've ever heard!) My car radio has better than average tuning but I don't know if it ever came in there before 107.9 went off the air.
 
Alan Smithee said:
Was driving around the Arden area today and 107.7 "The Bone" was coming in a bit. (I STILL think that's the WORST name for a station I've ever heard!) My car radio has better than average tuning but I don't know if it ever came in there before 107.9 went off the air.
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Heard the same thing.

I've never heard 107.7 in Sacramento but I've only lived here about 20 years.
 
This is not the whole story. With my media watchdog group the Media Action Center, I filed a Petition to Deny the license of KDND in 2013. Last October, the FCC called for a rare hearing so Entercom could defend its license. We have been in constant legal filings ever since and put the license under genuine threat. Entercom would have been fighting this case at the FCC at the same time it would be trying to get FCC approval for the merger. That's why Entercom surrendered a license worth $20 - $30 million rather than selling it; they needed this case out of the way. Google KDND, FCC, license, Sue Wilson, Media Action Center and you will find scores of stories about this, it was well covered in the industry trades. Here is the FCC hearing designation order, it makes for interesting reading: https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-16-153A1_Rcd.pdf Here is a recent story: http://www.insideradio.com/free/entercom-turns-in-kdnd-license-the-end-gets-new-fm/article_b3a8c6b6-ec2e-11e6-9452-5f9139963cab.html
 
Sue Wilson said:
This is not the whole story.
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Maybe you can explain why you feel it's a "victory for the public interest." In my view, unless the license is designated by the FCC for use by a community group, it will simply be up for application by various commercial operators who will do whatever they want with it. The FCC has been vocal for 20 years about how the industry needs to do more for minority ownership. Here is the FCC's chance to actually do something. We'll see if they're any better at serving the public interest than the companies they supposedly regulate. AFAIC, it won't be a victory for anyone until then.
 
Sue Wilson said:
. That's why Entercom surrendered a license worth $20 - $30 million rather than selling it; they needed this case out of the way.
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You vastly exaggerate the value of that or any other license in Sacramento now.

There were three full signal FM sales between 1996 and the pre-recession and pre-dominant-streaming era. One went for $15,900,000 and the other two went for $25 and $27 million.

Today, station values are about a third of the peak post-consolidation years. Under that benchmark, the station you reference might be worth $8 million to $9 million.

Examples: 100.3 in LA was valued at $400 million around 2000; it sold at the start of the recession for $137 million. Today, it is probably worth around $80 million... about $20% of its peak value. The $80 million is based on the 2012 sale of a better signal, 93.9, for just over $80 million.

So surrendering a devalued license in market 28 was a relatively painless way to move the larger deal along.
 
TheBigA said:
Maybe you can explain why you feel it's a "victory for the public interest." In my view, unless the license is designated by the FCC for use by a community group, it will simply be up for application by various commercial operators who will do whatever they want with it. The FCC has been vocal for 20 years about how the industry needs to do more for minority ownership. Here is the FCC's chance to actually do something. We'll see if they're any better at serving the public interest than the companies they supposedly regulate. AFAIC, it won't be a victory for anyone until then.
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And "then" can be a number of years as the vacated channel is put up for a future auction and brought back to the air under new owners.

A monetary sanction and continued service on that channel or the immediate assignment to an interim operator would have been vastly superior solutions.

Depriving the market of one of its broadcast signals is not a victory. All that does is drive more listeners to streaming, where there is far less or no regulation and no localization at all. A small cost for the station owner, but a signifant loss for the 2.5 million people in the market.
 
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I'm not sure what was "won"? The offending format moves to another spot on the dial, and that format was displaced.
 
gr8oldies said:
I'm not sure what was "won"? The offending format moves to another spot on the dial, and that format was displaced.
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The format didn't cause the "offense." It was a poorly conceived contest. Even with all the negative publicity the station received from the incident, the station itself continued to get great ratings. If the community really wanted to punish the station, they simply had to stop listening. They didn't.
 
gr8oldies said:
I'm not sure what was "won"? The offending format moves to another spot on the dial, and that format was displaced.
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Pyrrhic Victory. A point was made, but the market lost one of its best signals and will be without it for at least a year or two.
 
DavidEduardo said:



Pyrrhic Victory. A point was made, but the market lost one of its best signals and will be without it for at least a year or two.
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Agree on all accounts.

No real victory here... Jennifer Strange is still deceased. Responsible parties and air staff are LONG gone and the sucessful format (and remaining staff) move to a new signal.
 
Would there have even been the possibility of the license going to a "community group", given that non-profit full power stations are restricted to the area between 87.9 and 91.9 on the dial? A low-power non-profit could go on 107.9 for the time being but would probably have to give that up once the full-power license was taken over by another company.
 
Alan Smithee said:
Would there have even been the possibility of the license going to a "community group", given that non-profit full power stations are restricted to the area between 87.9 and 91.9 on the dial? A low-power non-profit could go on 107.9 for the time being but would probably have to give that up once the full-power license was taken over by another company.
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We have an unusual situation here. A valuable commercial license is being turned in to the FCC. It's happening very quickly, with no time for replacement operators to take over the license. AFAIK, the Media Action Center had no plan of action once the license was turned in. All they know is they can celebrate some kind of victory. Hooray.

First question: Are there qualified community groups who COULD operate the station? Someone who has the financing, the legal and technical knowledge to complete the FCC paperwork? That will take time to ascertain. The FCC can't just turn it over to anyone. They have to qualify. They won't get a facility. Just a license. Starting from scratch. Could it be low power? Non-profit? Minority owned? All of those questions must be answered by the FCC. And from my experience, they don't move quickly. The frequency will go dark in the meantime, and it will stay that way for a long time.
 
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