They've been having these largely unprofitable placeholder formats for six months now and only getting marginal listenership. Why are they still doing this and will they continue doing this for the foreseeable future?
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When will 102.9 and 104.9 get permanent formats?
- Thread starter Tomgsinger
- Start date
When they're sold.
They're in a trust company as they were divested following the CBS/Entercom merger. Those formats will stay TFN (or as KXA just noted, until they're sold).
First, as Rob and KXA pointed out, it's there until it's sold.
Second, Marginal signals also bring marginal listenership as well. Even if 102.9 and 104.9 put big budget formats with everything on their signals, the signal issues remain. And they can't upgrade the signals, they're hemmed in where they are.
Do not be surprised if 104.9 gets sold to either the new owners of KKDZ or Radio Hankook in Everett.
102.9 would be an excellent signal for NWPR (or really, KUOW for that matter). It covers a lot of territory they have difficulty covering with a patchwork of lower powered stations southwest of Seattle and would give the metro another NPR option
BTW, does anybody know where these stations’ “studios” are located now that iHeart put them in a trust? Are they being fed programming directly from the transmitter shack or is there a physical address where one would find a working studio?
And lastly, why would a station even bother with a placeholder format for what may be year(s) generating zero sales when you could simply power down the transmitter, power it back on every 3-6 months to make sure equipment works/to keep the FCC happy, and save the power bill, licensing fees, etc. It just seems to be an unneeded expense that doesn’t have any benefits.
102.9 would be an excellent signal for NWPR (or really, KUOW for that matter). It covers a lot of territory they have difficulty covering with a patchwork of lower powered stations southwest of Seattle and would give the metro another NPR option
BTW, does anybody know where these stations’ “studios” are located now that iHeart put them in a trust? Are they being fed programming directly from the transmitter shack or is there a physical address where one would find a working studio?
And lastly, why would a station even bother with a placeholder format for what may be year(s) generating zero sales when you could simply power down the transmitter, power it back on every 3-6 months to make sure equipment works/to keep the FCC happy, and save the power bill, licensing fees, etc. It just seems to be an unneeded expense that doesn’t have any benefits.
I think the FCC would "prefer" stations run 24/7 or as licensed than stagger through STAs every year. It doesn't look good to them being off the air for months at a time. Secondly, I think you can only do that for so long now before they start seriously breathing down your back.
104.9 and 102.9 are programmed/feed from the Seattle iHeart location. The studio is a 7’ 19” rack with the automation, EAS, audio processor and remote control. When sold there is no studio location or lease on a studio, just the transmitter site leases. The new owners that buy one or the other, may get the EAS, audio processor and remote control, they may get the automation system and the rack. They do get a fully operational transmitter site. Studios are easier to build than a transmitter site.
It’s easier to sell a station that’s on the air and transmitting. That lets the potential buyer know that the transmitting facility is operational. If a potential buyer wants to drive around and see if the coverage fits their needs is easier if the station is transmitting at full power and operating. I doubt that a buyer wants to call up iHeart to arrange to have the station turned on so they can kick the tires. There would be no savings on licensing fee’s, if anything possibly more expense if your attorneys is filling constant paper work with the FCC over being an STA to be silent.
Even with the place holder format the trust may be clearing enough in national or agency advertising to pay the electric bill and engineering. Without having to hire a sales staff. I have not listened to either station for a while so not sure if they are clearing spots of any kind.
The Trust is in the business to sell the station, not plow resources in developing a format and sales that may not be what the new owner wants. The new owner gets a blank slate, no employees to fire or contracts to cancel.
It’s easier to sell a station that’s on the air and transmitting. That lets the potential buyer know that the transmitting facility is operational. If a potential buyer wants to drive around and see if the coverage fits their needs is easier if the station is transmitting at full power and operating. I doubt that a buyer wants to call up iHeart to arrange to have the station turned on so they can kick the tires. There would be no savings on licensing fee’s, if anything possibly more expense if your attorneys is filling constant paper work with the FCC over being an STA to be silent.
Even with the place holder format the trust may be clearing enough in national or agency advertising to pay the electric bill and engineering. Without having to hire a sales staff. I have not listened to either station for a while so not sure if they are clearing spots of any kind.
The Trust is in the business to sell the station, not plow resources in developing a format and sales that may not be what the new owner wants. The new owner gets a blank slate, no employees to fire or contracts to cancel.
From what I heard from one of i<3's engineers, they're just being fed off of production computers at the complex on Elliott Ave.
When I took a tour of KCMS years ago, the server room was actually good sized. I'm assuming every cluster has a similar room somewhere in the back of the building, and a new server can easily be hooked up. The only limitation I could see would be physical space, but I have no idea how big the room is at the iHeart cluster, despite having been there.
Good stuff to know...I knew Clear Channel had studios in Tacoma for 104.9, 850, (and I assumed 102.9), but they must have consolidated operations up to Belltown a few years ago when the iHeart belt-tightening began.
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