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The new KROI/KTHT changes thread

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M

Mediafrog+

Since the “Nightmare” thread got shut down, I thought I’d start a fresh one so we can track and discuss the upcoming changes to KROI and KTHT. Let’s keep the political and religious vitriol out of this, as it appears the moderators have lost patience with threads veering off course, and will quickly close them. And, I for one, am sick and tired of hearing about Jason Aldean.

Closing of the Radio One/Cox deal is Monday, July 31. Will we see an immediate flip of 92.1 to a new format? Or perhaps some stunting? Regional Mexican, Reggaeton, or something unexpected?

It might be a few weeks before K-Love shows up on 97.1. It took EMF three weeks to flip KXXF after the acquisition announcement. What will be on 97.1 between July 31 and the K-Love launch…perhaps a commercial free jukebox?

New calls for either station? EMF is inconsistent about this; some get changed to include L and V, while others stay the same. They never changed KHJK.

It has been suggested by another poster (who seems to have a little inside knowledge) that the KROI call will be replaced.

So hopefully we can continue the discussion here, but be aware the mods have a short leash.
 
If the Instagram page being created is the real thing, 92.1 KROI will be Ritmo 92.1.

As expected would be a Tropical Music station till they realize it’s not working then it will flip, I’m expecting a Rumba 92.5 format on KROI for a while.
 
Mrtejano said:
If the Instagram page being created is the real thing, 92.1 KROI will be Ritmo 92.1.

As expected would be a Tropical Music station till they realize it’s not working then it will flip, I’m expecting a Rumba 92.5 format on KROI for a while.
Click to expand...
When SBS purchased WPYO and WSUN-FM last year, they had all their digital assets locked in months before they launched. Ritmo921.com is available for registration and RitmoHouston.com has been owned for multiple years. I sincerely doubt someone squatting on an Instagram handle is proof of a format...

Sincerely,
Someone who has been tracking digital footprints of radio stations for nearly two decades.
 
Mediafrog+ said:
Closing of the Radio One/Cox deal is Monday, July 31. Will we see an immediate flip of 92.1 to a new format? Or perhaps some stunting?
Click to expand...
For some reason I thought it was just 97.1 that would close on the 31st. I’m curious what changes to all these stations and HD subchannels will happen then. I’m still really hoping they keep 106.9 and 107.5 HD2. 106.9 HD2 has been my station of choice I leave on at my place in the background for good commercial free music. My only other options are KHVL’s translators and KKHA tropos at night because they’re commercial free then.
 
Say what you will, but consider that Houston station. It was owned by a small/medium sized company which should have had the expertise to do local sales…but obviously they couldn’t make it work within the “box” of their expectations for an FM radio station in the #7 market.

Selling the station was inevitable, but to whom? Normally a larger station owner would jump at the chance to have an additional signal, but they’re all having cash flow issues right now. A local owner might be interested, but if the new guy fails the station comes back to them, likely with lower sales projections and depreciated equipment, meaning they can’t ask what they did originally for it.

K-LOVE, with its cash resources, then looks like THE alternative.
 
lanceventa said:
When SBS purchased WPYO and WSUN-FM last year, they had all their digital assets locked in months before they launched. Ritmo921.com is available for registration and RitmoHouston.com has been owned for multiple years. I sincerely doubt someone squatting on an Instagram handle is proof of a format...

Sincerely,
Someone who has been tracking digital footprints of radio stations for nearly two decades.
Click to expand...
Cool story
 
Mediafrog+ said:
Closing of the Radio One/Cox deal is Monday, July 31. Will we see an immediate flip of 92.1 to a new format? Or perhaps some stunting? Regional Mexican, Reggaeton, or something unexpected?
Click to expand...

My assumption is that the station will go straight to the Sugarland Trust on Monday as well unless the FCC has already approved the deal to SBS. Either that or Radio One will wait and take over the Cox properties a few days/weeks after closing. Radio One can't go over the limit until it has 92.1 and 97.1 out from under it. That another entity might be operating it in an LMA has no bearing on the ownership caps. A station under LMA counts against the cap for both companies. A company in Syracuse got a hefty fine for taking over a station in an LMA that it thought it could legally operate because the property it was divesting was already under LMA to someone else.

Mediafrog+ said:
It might be a few weeks before K-Love shows up on 97.1. It took EMF three weeks to flip KXXF after the acquisition announcement. What will be on 97.1 between July 31 and the K-Love launch…perhaps a commercial free jukebox?
Click to expand...

Like 92.1, KTHT will have to go to someone else before Radio One takes over. My guess is it goes into trust and operates the classic country format a bit longer. EMF has a lot of experience with LMA's and acquiring stations in trust, though, and could probably get an operating agreement in place with the trustee quickly.
 
Fieldtech1 said:
Cool story
Click to expand...
See my earlier post about the La Musica link. The Instagram account might be the real deal. And why would an SBS La Musica URL have KROI in the address, and go to a La Musica site that links to other SBS content?
Kent said:
My assumption is that the station will go straight to the Sugarland Trust on Monday as well unless the FCC has already approved the deal to SBS.
Click to expand...
Reading through the various legal filings and postings, my understanding is that the transfer of KKBQ/KGLK/KHPT to Radio One happens simultaneously with KROI and KTHT being spun to the Sugarland Station Trust, so there are no cap conflicts. The question for KROI and KTHT is what happens on air between that point and the beginning of any LMAs.

The Sugarland Station Trust has to go through a separate, complete sale process for KROI and KTHT which will take several months. SBS and EMF won’t want to wait that long, thus the probable LMAs with the Trust.

I don’t know if RO could provide temporary programming to the Trust stations, as that might be considered its own LMAs which would not be allowed under the cap. Perhaps they just leave the Trust with automation spitting out a filler format, possibly without commercials. Others on this board might be more familiar with how this would work.🤔
 
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Radio guy said:
Say what you will, but consider that Houston station. It was owned by a small/medium sized company which should have had the expertise to do local sales…but obviously they couldn’t make it work within the “box” of their expectations for an FM radio station in the #7 market.
Click to expand...
Radio/Urban One is one of the top 10 owners of stations in the country, and is among the best off financially.

But this is not about sales. Several owners, going back to when the station was classical, have tried to make this signal coming from the far (and less populated) southwestern edge of the market. It misses over a third of the market with a signal strong enough for indoor reception.

Up to now, having an OTA signal has been critical for a station. Perhaps this is changing, but not overnight.
Radio guy said:
Selling the station was inevitable, but to whom? Normally a larger station owner would jump at the chance to have an additional signal, but they’re all having cash flow issues right now.
Click to expand...
And nobody wants a less than full market signal. In this case, station owners have seen that this one has never worked in any format, and that sounds a very cautionary note.
 
Mediafrog+ said:
Reading through the various legal filings and postings, my understanding is that the transfer of KKBQ/KGLK/KHPT to Radio One happens simultaneously with KROI and KTHT being spun to the Sugarland Station Trust, so there are no cap conflicts. The question for KROI and KTHT is what happens on air between that point and the beginning of any LMAs.
Click to expand...

My guess is that they'll keep their existing formats and saunter on for a little bit. Not sure how that will affect Praise also being on 102.1 HD2, though. As the trust has to be operated completely separately from the Radio One properties, the HD2 and 92.1 might have separate playlists. I understand 92.1 could theoretically operate from the trust and pay Radio One to be on 102.1 HD2, but it has to keep records of that to prove it's being run separately. That's a lot of trouble. I've known a few people who've worked for stations in trust, and all of them have told me it's a miserable experience. Even the couple who worked for stations in a trust that eventually went back to the parent company hated it. They generally had to get on different health insurance plans (which were usually more expensive), couldn't participate in the parent company's 401K, among other things.

Mediafrog+ said:
The Sugarland Station Trust has to go through a separate, complete sale process for KROI and KTHT which will take several months. SBS and EMF won’t want to wait that long, thus the probable LMAs with the Trust.
Click to expand...

I suspect that will happen at some point, too. Then again, they've waited this long. So, maybe they're okay with taking their time.

Mediafrog+ said:
I don’t know if RO could provide temporary programming to the Trust stations, as that might be considered its own LMAs which would not be allowed under the cap. Perhaps they just leave the Trust with automation spitting out a filler format, possibly without commercials. Others on this board might be more familiar with how this would work.🤔
Click to expand...

It could, but the documentation has to be carefully and meticulously maintained to show that the trustee, not Urban One or any of its affiliates, is operating the station.

DavidEduardo said:
Up to now, having an OTA signal has been critical for a station. Perhaps this is changing, but not overnight.
Click to expand...

Monetizing the stream is also a problem. My understanding is that it can be done, but the margins are really small.
 
DavidEduardo said:
Several owners, going back to when the station was classical, have tried to make this signal coming from the far (and less populated) southwestern edge of the market. It misses over a third of the market with a signal strong enough for indoor reception.
Click to expand...
In its 40 years on the air, 92.1 has been through six or seven different transmitter configurations. The current stick, which went on the air in March 2021, is a very noticeable improvement over any of the previous iterations. Given that the new format will be Hispanic targeted, the coverage should work quite well. I doubt SBS cares about Montgomery County or points to the north.

SBS will be the fourth owner of the station, following Roy Henderson (1983-87), Michael Stude (1987-2004) and Radio One.
 
Kent said:
My guess is that they'll keep their existing formats and saunter on for a little bit. Not sure how that will affect Praise also being on 102.1 HD2, though. As the trust has to be operated completely separately from the Radio One properties, the HD2 and 92.1 might have separate playlists. I understand 92.1 could theoretically operate from the trust and pay Radio One to be on 102.1 HD2, but it has to keep records of that to prove it's being run separately. That's a lot of trouble.
Click to expand...
To be clear: Radio One will continue to program and operate the Praise format on 102.1 HD-2, just as it has since 2011 following the demise of the original iteration of the format on 92.1. The current version on 92.1 the past two years has always co-branded with both frequencies. Since early June, they almost exclusively have used only the HD branding, though a few references to 92.1 still slip through. Praise has also been actively redirecting listeners to the HD.

That’s why I wonder what happens on 92.1 when the sale closes. Stunting or a temporary format is quite possible. When Radio One took over 92.1 in 2004 they ran a fully automated “Best of the 90s and more” temporary format for two weeks before the launch of La Mera Mera.
 
DavidEduardo said:
Radio/Urban One is one of the top 10 owners of stations in the country, and is among the best off financially.

But this is not about sales. Several owners, going back to when the station was classical, have tried to make this signal coming from the far (and less populated) southwestern edge of the market. It misses over a third of the market with a signal strong enough for indoor reception.

Up to now, having an OTA signal has been critical for a station. Perhaps this is changing, but not overnight.

And nobody wants a less than full market signal. In this case, station owners have seen that this one has never worked in any format, and that sounds a very cautionary note.
Click to expand...
Urban one has learned some hard lessons about doing radio, and in doing so they have had to abandon a core value of African-Americans speaking to African-Americans.
 
DavidEduardo said:
Radio/Urban One is one of the top 10 owners of stations in the country, and is among the best off financially.

But this is not about sales. Several owners, going back to when the station was classical, have tried to make this signal coming from the far (and less populated) southwestern edge of the market. It misses over a third of the market with a signal strong enough for indoor reception.

Up to now, having an OTA signal has been critical for a station. Perhaps this is changing, but not overnight.

And nobody wants a less than full market signal. In this case, station owners have seen that this one has never worked in any format, and that sounds a very cautionary note.
Click to expand...
They now have A/C, News-Talk and Sports stations in their company, learning from the people doing them and doing quite well with many of their stations.
 
Mediafrog+ said:
To be clear: Radio One will continue to program and operate the Praise format on 102.1 HD-2, just as it has since 2011 following the demise of the original iteration of the format on 92.1. The current version on 92.1 the past two years has always co-branded with both frequencies. Since early June, they almost exclusively have used only the HD branding, though a few references to 92.1 still slip through. Praise has also been actively redirecting listeners to the HD.
Click to expand...

My understanding was also that Radio One would continue offering Praise on 102.1 HD2. Airing the format on both 92.1 and 102.1 HD2 until SBS takes over 92.1, however, is theoretically possible. It would require Radio One to either sell or lease the Praise format to the trustee, lease the HD2 to the trustee, and potentially (depending on whether it sold or leased the programming) buy back the Praise format after SBS takes over. To me, that would be a lot of work and a lot of recordkeeping to maintain a continuity that the average listener would never notice.

Mediafrog+ said:
That’s why I wonder what happens on 92.1 when the sale closes. Stunting or a temporary format is quite possible. When Radio One took over 92.1 in 2004 they ran a fully automated “Best of the 90s and more” temporary format for two weeks before the launch of La Mera Mera.
Click to expand...

If I were guessing, 92.1 would continue with a gospel format similar to the one on 102.1 HD2 but with a different playlist and, possibly, a different name. Ultimately, the trustee will have to decide what to do moving forward. If you see a quick change, I would suspect that would mean SBS will be taking over very soon. Any new format would be virtually impossible to sell, and the current format would at least have a few sales, even if not enough to be profitable.

Radio guy said:
Urban one has learned some hard lessons about doing radio, and in doing so they have had to abandon a core value of African-Americans speaking to African-Americans.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say Urban One has abandoned that value. The company is still African Americans speaking to African Americans. Those people, though, are also involved in other segments of the market and business. Whatever your opinion on abandonment of core values, seeing a minority broadcaster expand and grow the company in new ways is a good thing.
 
Kent said:
My understanding was also that Radio One would continue offering Praise on 102.1 HD2. Airing the format on both 92.1 and 102.1 HD2 until SBS takes over 92.1, however, is theoretically possible. It would require Radio One to either sell or lease the Praise format to the trustee, lease the HD2 to the trustee, and potentially (depending on whether it sold or leased the programming) buy back the Praise format after SBS takes over. To me, that would be a lot of work and a lot of recordkeeping to maintain a continuity that the average listener would never notice.



If I were guessing, 92.1 would continue with a gospel format similar to the one on 102.1 HD2 but with a different playlist and, possibly, a different name. Ultimately, the trustee will have to decide what to do moving forward. If you see a quick change, I would suspect that would mean SBS will be taking over very soon. Any new format would be virtually impossible to sell, and the current format would at least have a few sales, even if not enough to be profitable.



I wouldn't say Urban One has abandoned that value. The company is still African Americans speaking to African Americans. Those people, though, are also involved in other segments of the market and business. Whatever your opinion on abandonment of core values, seeing a minority broadcaster expand and grow the company in new ways is a good thing.
Click to expand...
10 years ago, if Radio One bought a station in any given market, it was 100% certain to become R&B or Gospel. Today, that’s not necessarily the case. That’s what I meant by abandoning a core principle.
 
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