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Classic Country in Phoenix

C

CAVEMANager

Guest
A trip up to Phoenix reveals that there are now two classic country stations in the Phoenix market. 96.3's signal is a fraction of what it was several months ago. Plus their music is a far cry from Haggard and Jones. They've attempted to update it and have only made it worse. Meanwhile it looks like KIKO has moved from the Globe market into the east valley and they now have a translator on 97.3. For some reason they have branded it "The Bull" in spite of the word's connotation of dishonesty. Why the Bull? Why not the goat or the rooster? And what's the big deal about foxes for rock stations? Neither 1340 nor 97.3 covers Phoenix very well. KIKO runs liners about various old country stars and then plays a song by someone else.

Another observation is that only two AM stations are still running HD: 550 and 910. KTAR appears to have turned theirs off.
 
KTAR has not been running HD on their station for nearly 10 years now. The most recent station to abandon it was KOY. It made sense when KOY was adult standards to hear Frank Sinatra and company in FM quality like sound, but not now that they have a translator on 93.7 FM. 1580 ditched it when the Mouse got out of the radio business and sold the station. 860 ran it forever, even as a gospel station but not anymore.

AM HD, in my opinion, only really works for big market 50,000 watt stations in big cities like LA (KNX and KFI), Chicago (WBBM, WSCR) and NYC (WCBS). Besides that, the signal isn’t strong enough to warrant having HD when it covers such a small part of the market. If anything, it’s annoying on my car radio when 910 KGME comes in and out of the HD radio lock at night here on the east side. When it’s there, it’s great, but the constant in and out of it is annoying.
 
asugeorge1 said:
It made sense when KOY was adult standards to hear Frank Sinatra and company in FM quality like sound, but not now that they have a translator on 93.7 FM.
Click to expand...

I agree...why pay to run HD when you can put your AM signal on an FM translator that sounds just as good and can be received without special equipment?
 
CAVEMANager said:
A trip up to Phoenix reveals that there are now two classic country stations in the Phoenix market. 96.3's signal is a fraction of what it was several months ago. Plus their music is a far cry from Haggard and Jones. They've attempted to update it and have only made it worse. Meanwhile it looks like KIKO has moved from the Globe market into the east valley and they now have a translator on 97.3. For some reason they have branded it "The Bull" in spite of the word's connotation of dishonesty. Why the Bull? Why not the goat or the rooster? And what's the big deal about foxes for rock stations? Neither 1340 nor 97.3 covers Phoenix very well. KIKO runs liners about various old country stars and then plays a song by someone else.
Click to expand...

KSWG is running on a lower-power STA. It had been found that the station's coordinates were incorrect, so they have to run at lower power until the issue has been resolve (they have a construction permit for the updated coordinates, using the same directional pattern which is away from Phoenix). That may explain the weaker signal.

KIKO is an odd character. Classic country with personalities and a hefty amount of political commentary from the mayor of Apache Junction during commercial breaks (mostly pro-Second Amendment, but also conservative stances on other issues--I wouldn't be surprised if they took Willie Nelson off their playlist). They've been hopping from translator to translator in order to resolve interference issues. Management is probably hoping to get the KIKO-FM 96.5 Class C upgrade completed, but there's some backlash regarding that. They've also been looking to convert their all-comedy station at 1260 to talk as the "America's Lifestyle Network," as the Bull's PD is soliciting potential hosts via 96.5.

You also forgot about 94.1 KRDE in Globe, which puts a good signal into the East Valley. They play a lot of what can be described as "classic country" as well as more traditional artists of recent times.

P.S.: KTAR 620 has had their HD shut off since around 2009, if I recall correctly.
 
To be relevant today, a classic country station is centered in what was once called "Young Country" but is now considered "old."
 
johndavis said:
To be relevant today, a classic country station is centered in what was once called "Young Country" but is now considered "old."
Click to expand...

Except that this station defines "classic country" this way, according to their website. I find it's not unusual for a lot of AM classic stations:

Classic County
Waylon Jennings
Willie Nelson
Patsy Cline
Johnny Cash
Garth Brooks
Merle Haggard
Jesse Colter
David Alan Cole
John Paycheck
Tanya Tucker
Roseann Cash
Tom T Hall
Kris Kristofferson
Don Williams
Marshall Tucker
Eagles
Tennessee Ernie Ford
Conway Twitty
 
TheBigA said:
Except that this station defines "classic country" this way, according to their website. I find it's not unusual for a lot of AM classic stations:

Classic County
Waylon Jennings
Willie Nelson
Patsy Cline
Johnny Cash
Garth Brooks
Merle Haggard
Jesse Colter
David Alan Cole
John Paycheck
Tanya Tucker
Roseann Cash
Tom T Hall
Kris Kristofferson
Don Williams
Marshall Tucker
Eagles
Tennessee Ernie Ford
Conway Twitty
Click to expand...

I'm guessing that exactly one Tennessee Ernie Ford song makes the playlist. Same for Jessi Colter. Eagles and Marshall Tucker Band weren't considered country acts when they were current.

If they're playing Garth Brooks, you can be sure they're playing many more "young country" acts than the list lets on.
 
EricStein said:
KSWG is running on a lower-power STA. It had been found that the station's coordinates were incorrect, so they have to run at lower power until the issue has been resolve (they have a construction permit for the updated coordinates, using the same directional pattern which is away from Phoenix). That may explain the weaker signal.
Click to expand...

Or, a reverse analysis: KSWG built their tower and transmitter site a bit closer to Phoenix, a bit taller than authorized, and were a lot less directional away from Phoenix than what the license specified.

Taken together, all those violations might make one wonder if they had done it on purpose.
 
DavidEduardo said:


Or, a reverse analysis: KSWG built their tower and transmitter site a bit closer to Phoenix, a bit taller than authorized, and were a lot less directional away from Phoenix than what the license specified.

Taken together, all those violations might make one wonder if they had done it on purpose.
Click to expand...

I wonder if Barna has a legal case against the previous owners if he didn’t know about the discrepancies before he bought the station? That has got to be hitting what revenues he has.
 
EricStein said:
I wonder if Barna has a legal case against the previous owners if he didn’t know about the discrepancies before he bought the station? That has got to be hitting what revenues he has.
Click to expand...

As one who has driven through Wickenburg many times, it is hard to imagine that the community could support a station without the added coverage towards Phoenix.
 
CTListener said:
If they're playing Garth Brooks, you can be sure they're playing many more "young country" acts than the list lets on.
Click to expand...

Precisely. Here's the last 15 minutes:
Alabama
Toby Keith
Restless Heart
Shania Twain

Now, they did play Merle right before the top of the hour, but the core of the station is in the 90s. That's right where they need to be.
 
DavidEduardo said:


As one who has driven through Wickenburg many times, it is hard to imagine that the community could support a station without the added coverage towards Phoenix.
Click to expand...

At one time Wickenburg had an Ancient Modulation station, which shifted frequencies and now resides in Apache Junction. Traded horses for trailers on that move.
 
DavidEduardo said:


As one who has driven through Wickenburg many times, it is hard to imagine that the community could support a station without the added coverage towards Phoenix.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I don’t think that KAZV (the silent 50,000-watt station on 107.3 outside of Wickenburg) will fetch $5,300,000 like the brokers are asking.
 
EricStein said:
I bet those Paysonians are loving his music station from Vegas, with commercials for Vegas businesses and all!
Click to expand...

When those Paysonians come to the Valley, they'll dig the music on KPHX 14~Eighty which comes from three or four other stations upstream. When it comes to weird, we got it! (nothing personal, Nurse Jeff)
 
TheBigA said:
Except that this station defines "classic country" this way, according to their website. I find it's not unusual for a lot of AM classic stations:

Classic County
Waylon Jennings
Willie Nelson
Patsy Cline
Johnny Cash
Garth Brooks
Merle Haggard
Jesse Colter
David Alan Cole
John Paycheck
Tanya Tucker
Roseann Cash
Tom T Hall
Kris Kristofferson
Don Williams
Marshall Tucker
Eagles
Tennessee Ernie Ford
Conway Twitty
Click to expand...

The Cavemanager's version of Classic Country includes Kansas, The Beatles, Carly Simon, The Everly Brothers, Jim Croce, etc. What a train wreck! (and current Country songs)
 
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