KAHM Sells Out

[EricStein]

I understand you're mad about losing a "hometown station," but the Easy Listening format has been mostly gone from American radio for nearly three decades. KAHM was a holdout because Lou Silverstein was not the kind of person who liked change, even if that change meant more money in his bank account. His widow has been trying to keep it afloat for the past three years since his death, and eventually she knew that the time would come.

Things like this have happened in small towns all across the country. Other owners, including Sanford Cohen and Grant Hafley do provide local news and information on their stations, even if the music is piped in via satellite. No one is bringing back a music format where the target audience was those born before World War II started.

 

[landtuna]

According to Areavibes.com about 4% of the population of Prescott, AZ speak Spanish. I do not know if that is Spanish as an only/first language or just everyone that knows Spanish but in either case it is a pittance of the 40,000-odd population (even considering KAHM as a rim-shot). If I were desiring to pick up a station serving the majority of the people in my market I would not have bought this station and turned it into a Spanish speaker. Simply not enough listeners - even considering the number of little bitty villages surrounding Prescott.

 

[EricStein]

According to Areavibes.com about 4% of the population of Prescott, AZ speak Spanish. I do not know if that is Spanish as an only/first language or just everyone that knows Spanish but in either case it is a pittance of the 40,000-odd population (even considering KAHM as a rim-shot). If I were desiring to pick up a station serving the majority of the people in my market I would not have bought this station and turned it into a Spanish speaker. Simply not enough listeners - even considering the number of little bitty villages surrounding Prescott.

Through the use of a translator and a HD subchannel of KPPV, Sanford has the only Spanish-language radio station targeting the "Quad Cities." It's "narrowcasting," to say the least, but someone's trying to serve that 4 percent.

http://www.juan107.com/

 

[Prescott Joe]

With the sale of KAHM, that leaves KTMG and KPPV as the only full power FM stations
here in Prescott. Yes, we have numerous translators in town from stations outside Prescott.
There are also stations on Mingus, Flagstaff and elsewhere that reach us but none of
those "SERVE" the Prescott community. The true reality is that with KAHM's sale, that
leaves about 37,000 people to choose between two local stations and 3,000 others
who speak a foreign language, with two stations..... It's not rocket science here folks....

 

[EricStein]

With the sale of KAHM, that leaves KTMG and KPPV as the only full power FM stations
here in Prescott. Yes, we have numerous translators in town from stations outside Prescott.
There are also stations on Mingus, Flagstaff and elsewhere that reach us but none of
those "SERVE" the Prescott community. The true reality is that with KAHM's sale, that
leaves about 37,000 people to choose between two local stations and 3,000 others
who speak a foreign language, with two stations..... It's not rocket science here folks....

So KKLD and KDDL don’t serve Prescott? KAHM has been broadcasting from Mingus for nearly 30 years, and you don’t consider other stations on Mingus that may be licensed to Cottonwood “local stations,” even though they have news bureaus in Prescott? I doubt there’s any teens or soccer moms tuning into 102.1. A majority of the station’s audience is 75+, an unsellable demo. KAHM is a relic of a bygone era. Times change. You’ll never see another broadcaster like Lou Silverstein ever again.

 

[b-turner]

So Prescott Joe, why don't you contact the new buyer and purchase the station? I'm not being sarcastic. Why not you? Anybody can buy a station if the FCC approves. If you hate to see KAHM go, you could give it a shot. Just because a buyer has been found doesn't mean it is a done deal.

You are right, it is not rocket science. Radio follows the money like any other business. If there is money to operate the station, then it typically continues to do what it does simply because the sink is not broken and doesn't need fixing. That KAHM sells tells the story well: it was not making enough revenue to say no to the offer. It might have put up the illusion it was doing well but I'd want to see their P&L. You can have all the loyal listeners you want but that does not make the station profitable. It's all about selling that audience to businesses at a price that allows you to be financially sound. And KAHM has the listeners but it seems not enough revenue to make an owner say they're not for sale.

Radio signals usually cover more than just the city of license. It seems the forthcoming owners of KAHM see their audience as beyond the city limits sign.

 

[pattiwacki]

Awe,sad- it's history. But I knew it was coming after the owner passed away. Like KSAZ.

 

[DavidEduardo]

According to Areavibes.com about 4% of the population of Prescott, AZ speak Spanish. I do not know if that is Spanish as an only/first language or just everyone that knows Spanish but in either case it is a pittance of the 40,000-odd population (even considering KAHM as a rim-shot). If I were desiring to pick up a station serving the majority of the people in my market I would not have bought this station and turned it into a Spanish speaker. Simply not enough listeners - even considering the number of little bitty villages surrounding Prescott.

"Prescott" is not a market. It's one town in a region. If you take the now-inactive Nielsen market, it has a total population of over 300,000 including Flagstaff, Cottonwood, Sedona, Prescott Valley, and smaller towns like Dewey/Humboldt, Jerome, etc.

Closer to home, the Census considers all of Yavapai County to be the Prescott Metro Area, with an updated population of nearly 226,000. The county is about 15% Hispanic and growing per the ACS 2016 data.

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/yavapaicountyarizona,US/PST045216

Radio stations don't serve just one city. They serve a "community" which is defined as the population centers in the primary signal coverage area. That's why, even going back to the 60's, our license renewal procedure required we interview community leaders in all the towns and cities we covered, not just the community of license.

In radio, Prescott is not the merely a city of license. It's the center for a bunch of towns that form a trading zone where a station can market its advertising services.

 

[DrAkbar]

Awe,sad- it's history. But I knew it was coming after the owner passed away. Like KSAZ.

Yes indeedy, the Big 5~Eighty with Dancin' Dan Babbitt and his weekend polka programs. If Prescott Joe is looking for elevator music to replace KAHM, there are a number of them online (free) and SiriusXM's Escape...just no Presskit news or weather. With the station's move to Spring Valley, we'll soon open a Media Hut location right next to the Union 76. Many of our graduates will get their first gig at that station.

 

[DavidEduardo]

No, I do not think that the Hispanics DESERVE a spanish language station. KAHM has provided invaluable service to Prescott and much of Northern Arizona for over 35 years. Their PSA's inform and educate their listeners frequently on an hourly basis. This is the United States and ENGLISH is spoken here.....For those that do not speak ENGLISH, I suggest they learn it, the way all the other immigrants have.....

Yavapai County has 22 licensed radio stations, which is, honestly, far too many for the economy to support. Thus the migration of many stations to transmitter sites that allow the facility to serve at least a portion of Phoenix. The good thing here is that those stations no longer compete for the meager quantity of dollars available in the market for those that don't attempt to compete outside the Prescott area.

As to KAHM, it is best to say that it served... past tense... a constituency that has, for the most part, died. The format appeals to folks over 75 and only stayed on the air because Ole' Lew was a rather unique and contrarian figure who was willing to sacrifice potential profits for "his" format.

And, excuse me, but Arizona was first a Native American nation (or group of nations) before it became a Spanish, and later, Mexican territory. The heritage of the state includes the use of Native American languages as well as Spanish. America's goal should not be one of wiping out other cultures but of benefiting from all cultures. Heck, New York City had two stations in Italian through the late 50's... well into the third generation of the Italian migrations from the late 1880's through the beginning of WW I. Chicago still has Polish stations. Miami has Kreyol stations. The Navajo nation has Diné Bizaad and there are other Native American languages spoken in Southern Arizona.

Factoid: only a small percentage of first generation immigrants become fully fluent in English. They are too busy working to build opportunities for their family to learn, as adults, a new language. They may pick up an amount of English that lets them function in society, but they are not bilingual; they deserve to have entertainment opportunities that reflect the language they think in and where the music and subject matter reflect their culture.

Another factoid: Language learning abilities decline rapidly as a young person enters adolescence, and for many people learning a new language well as adults is very difficult if not impossible unless the individual has special skills.

 

[DavidEduardo]

Yes indeedy, the Big 5~Eighty with Dancin' Dan Babbitt and his weekend polka programs. If Prescott Joe is looking for elevator music to replace KAHM, there are a number of them online (free) and SiriusXM's Escape...just no Presskit news or weather. With the station's move to Spring Valley, we'll soon open a Media Hut location right next to the Union 76. Many of our graduates will get their first gig at that station.

Will you give a discount to members of the UFW?

 

[DavidEduardo]

Was that a song introduction?

Only for a song by the Puerto Rican boy band.

But then, on the Island, "menudo" means "pocket change" too.

 

[pattiwacki]

BABICH, So help me Cele Peterson I wish you'd learn to speak proper Slovenian (or whatever it was).

 

[pattiwacki]

Yes indeedy, the Big 5~Eighty with Dancin' Dan Babbitt and his weekend polka programs. If Prescott Joe is looking for elevator music to replace KAHM, there are a number of them online (free) and SiriusXM's Escape...just no Presskit news or weather. With the station's move to Spring Valley, we'll soon open a Media Hut location right next to the Union 76. Many of our graduates will get their first gig at that station.

BABICH. So help me Cele Peterson I wish you'd learn to speak proper Slovenian (or whatever it is).

 

[pattiwacki]

Ha! double post.

 

[Prescott Joe]

See below.....

 

[Prescott Joe]

If you ever actually listened to KAHM, KKLD, KDDL et all, you'd know there is a huge
difference between them in handling "local" stories. For example, on cold, snowy,
icy mornings, KAHM and KYCA would announce that "ELKS HILL in Prescott is closed
to traffic in both directions," or "United Animal Friends is having a fundraiser at the
Prescott dog park, something you should know from calm, KAHM Prescott, 102.1
Yes, the other stations do mention MAJOR events here in town but only on occasion.
The teens radio seems to covet so highly have lots of disposable income...... They buy
cars, trucks, homes, land, etc, etc right??????

 

[DavidEduardo]

Yes, the teens radio seems to covet so highly have
lots of disposable income...... They buy cars, trucks, homes, land, etc, etc right??????

Not exactly. Young adults are far more likely to be influenced by advertising, while the older a consumer gets the less and less influence advertising has. This is due to both skepticism and established brand preferences. So stations with geezer demos like KAHM don't find much advertiser support.

 

[Prescott Joe]

So Prescott Joe, why don't you contact the new buyer and purchase the station? I'm not being sarcastic. Why not you? Anybody can buy a station if the FCC approves. If you hate to see KAHM go, you could give it a shot. Just because a buyer has been found doesn't mean it is a done deal.

You are right, it is not rocket science. Radio follows the money like any other business. If there is money to operate the station, then it typically continues to do what it does simply because the sink is not broken and doesn't need fixing. That KAHM sells tells the story well: it was not making enough revenue to say no to the offer. It might have put up the illusion it was doing well but I'd want to see their P&L. You can have all the loyal listeners you want but that does not make the station profitable. It's all about selling that audience to businesses at a price that allows you to be financially sound. And KAHM has the listeners but it seems not enough revenue to make an owner say they're not for sale.

Radio signals usually cover more than just the city of license. It seems the forthcoming owners of KAHM see their audience as beyond the city limits sign.

I met with Lou and Nancy many years ago to discuss radio with them. Their advice: Stick with what you know.
They made a good living in radio despite what anyone else tells you.

 

[Prescott Joe]

Not exactly. Young adults are far more likely to be influenced by advertising, while the older a consumer gets the less and less influence advertising has. This is due to both skepticism and established brand preferences. So stations with geezer demos like KAHM don't find much advertiser support.

So if what you say was true, the years of Olson's, Roxie Webb, Galpin, Tim's, Findlay, Earnhardt, etc, etc, etc commercials didn't make the station viable, what did??????? How could any business continue for 35 plus years not making money to sustain itself????