Salem Media Group Launches La Patrona 1680 in Seattle

[Kelly A]

How so? How could it be any different anywhere else on the band? Their 1680 signal is pretty strong throughout the metro, day and night, especially in South King County, where probably the majority of Latinos live.

1680 is at the far upper end of the AM band called The Expanded Band. The propagation characteristics of the higher end of the MW band essentially doesn't carry as far, where the lower end (570kHz) is much more conducive to receiving a signal farther away from the transmission point. The way a signal at a certain wavelength interacts with the ionosphere determines how far the signal propagates. Lower frequencies are longer wavelengths and are preferable to shorter wavelengths at higher frequencies.

The FCC added the expanded band in 1983, so radios manufactured prior to then didn't even have that end of the band available.

The high end of the band is also plagued with more terrestrial noise than lower.

 

[boombox4]

I wasn't aware of the noise issue, as I hear a lot more noise on the lower half of the band. When my porch CFL light went wacky (the light was fine, but the mechanism put hash out on the AM band below 670 khz), KVI was almost impossible to hear because of the noise. Upper end of the AM band was fine though.

I do understand the coverage issue (lower frequencies = more coverage per watt). 1680 though seems to get out well, though... The 10KW / 1KW seems to work OK for them, at least in my area of South King County.

As for the question of how many people are going to tune into the station, it's a good question. I have no idea what the ratings are (or their equivalent) for the Latino stations in the area. I would wager that biggest one is probably KKMO, as they've been playing regional Mexican programming for quite a few years, and they've survived a long time even though they're on 1360.

 

[fordranger797]

Wasn't KLAY sold to Sacred Heart a few years ago? If so I don't think they're leaving the air anytime soon, unless they decide to sign off all their stations in the area, which would also include 1050 KBLE and 1240 KBUP formerly KGY.

On the topic of Sacred Heart radio stations, they may be the only group left with any interest in some of these lower-powered AM signals. It seems like the folks behind KGY radio were extremely wise to sell off 1240 while it still had a bit of value. In the current economic climate, who knows what they could realistically get for a class D signal (I'd put my money on very little.)

 

[fordranger797]

As for the question of how many people are going to tune into the station, it's a good question. I have no idea what the ratings are (or their equivalent) for the Latino stations in the area. I would wager that biggest one is probably KKMO, as they've been playing regional Mexican programming for quite a few years, and they've survived a long time even though they're on 1360.

That is an intriguing question. In the south sound/south King County, KKMO has always had an excellent signal. Of course, it's still AM, but if a listener is interested in the content, it would be listenable. The coverage is certainly a big improvement over what KMIA put out, and they maintain their power level at night as well. At this stage in the game, I would say that AM stations with lackluster coverage or nighttime power reduction will probably not survive. To make a long story short, there isn't much of a present or future for class C or D. We know what the future for all AM will be, so it will be interesting to see how many small AM facilities that operate on razor thin profit margins (or no profit at all) will be around this time next year.

 

[Kelly A]

I do understand the coverage issue (lower frequencies = more coverage per watt). 1680 though seems to get out well, though... The 10KW / 1KW seems to work OK for them, at least in my area of South King County.

As for the question of how many people are going to tune into the station, it's a good question. I have no idea what the ratings are (or their equivalent) for the Latino stations in the area. I would wager that biggest one is probably KKMO, as they've been playing regional Mexican programming for quite a few years, and they've survived a long time even though they're on 1360.

Technically, field strength is field strength. It's the propagation effects at the coverage edge, or skywave that are dependent on frequency. That, and getting the signal over an ever-increasing noise floor.

David follows these statistics better than I do, but the Spanish Language audience is no longer dependent on inferior AM radio to hear their music or programming. That ended probably twenty years ago. With the proliferation of smartphones, their choices are even more varied and higher quality. Rightfully so, the much more discerning audience expects higher quality than what an AM signal could provide.

 

[AuxRSS]

KMIA is no longer M.I.A. -- airing a Spanish oldies feed on 1210 AM as of this AM.

There were never many stations in the expanded band, so even if La Patrona 1680 doesn't have great predicted coverage, at least there's little interference from other sticks.

 

[crainbebo]

Only KYIZ and KNTS on X-Band in Seattle. In a perfect world, KYIZ needs an FM translator. There's about 190,000 African-Americans in the Seattle metro. KYIZ probably gets few listeners with a format that is worth listening to. It's Urban AC with some talk shows like Al Sharpton. Would get listeners, especially since Al Sharpton is popular with the liberal Seattle demographic.

 

[Kelly A]

Only KYIZ and KNTS on X-Band in Seattle. In a perfect world, KYIZ needs an FM translator. There's about 190,000 African-Americans in the Seattle metro. KYIZ probably gets few listeners with a format that is worth listening to. It's Urban AC with some talk shows like Al Sharpton. Would get listeners, especially since Al Sharpton is popular with the liberal Seattle demographic.

No more FM translators for AM's available. That window closed at the Commission a couple years ago.

 

[RF101]

KMIA is no longer M.I.A. -- airing a Spanish oldies feed on 1210 AM as of this AM.

There were never many stations in the expanded band, so even if La Patrona 1680 doesn't have great predicted coverage, at least there's little interference from other sticks.

KMIA is carrying Spanish-language romantic "fill" music. While there's the legal top-of-the-hour ID, there are no sweepers, adverts, branding , etc. It's probably just an effort to keep the KMIA license alive. KMIA presently does not appear in Bustos' "La Rola" Android app unlike it did before going silent. (Bustos is pretty quick to include new stations into their Rola app. KOOR "La Urbana" appeared in La Rola the same day as the station switched formats on 1010 AM in Portland.)

 

[crainbebo]

No more FM translators for AM's available. That window closed at the Commission a couple years ago.

Ah, too bad. If only the 104.1 on Cougar Mountain relayed KYIZ instead of KGNW. I doubt that KGNW translator gets more than 5-7K listeners. Urban AC and Al Sharpton would have a bigger audience guaranteed, especially with Seattle being as liberal as it is. San Francisco has a full-power Urban AC in KBLX, with decent ratings, yet Seattle's is punted to an X-Band AM.