Ch-Ch-Changes

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Tom Taggart
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Ch-Ch-Changes

Post by Tom Taggart »

WKOV-FM Wellston has an app. filed to move to Frazeyburg, with a site a couple of miles north of Gratiot right on the Muskingum-Licking border.

This would be a B-1 on 96.7 that would cover Zanesville. As part of this app., WCMJ Cambridge would move to 102.7, and WBIK, Pleasant City/Cambridge would move its transmitter site so it would not be short-spaced (if beat) to WCMJ.

There is a market hole in Zanesville, now that WHIZ-FM is moving to Baltimore, Ohio to try to be a Columbus station.

Also, WNKO (101.7) Newark, has an app. in to move to New Albany. The site opened up with the request to move the 101.7 in Urbana over towards Dayton.

And finally (but this is WV news,) WLKV, 90.7-K-Love for Ripley, has an app. to in crease from 6 kw to 26 kw with a DA towards the south.
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Re: Ch-Ch-Changes

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Tom Taggart wrote:WKOV-FM Wellston has an app. filed to move to Frazeyburg, with a site a couple of miles north of Gratiot right on the Muskingum-Licking border.
That one stuns me. I know 96.7 is already used up in that area, plus you've got 96.5 in Akron, and 50 kW 96.3/97.1 stations in Columbus. How can they do it ... and why? WKOV is THE moneymaker for Allen Stockmeister's broadcasting empire.

8O
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Post by sportsvoice »

Sounds like that one's contingent on WHIZ actually making their move.

Otherwise 96.7 Cambridge can't move to 102.7 and the tower dance falls apart.

The way all these move-ins are going, a lot of rural areas are going to wind up with little to no radio service. First the FM's will move to the nearest larger size market, then the AM peashooters that are left will go dark because they can't survive for lack of signal and IBOC interference.
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Post by Hoosier Daddy »

sportsvoice wrote:The way all these move-ins are going, a lot of rural areas are going to wind up with little to no radio service. First the FM's will move to the nearest larger size market, then the AM peashooters that are left will go dark because they can't survive for lack of signal and IBOC interference.
Excellent point. Follow the money:

Clear Channel is dumping smaller markets.

Almost everyone who owns a small town FM station is moving their stick as close to the biggest neighboring metro as they can get it, trying to be the 13th or 14th most receivable signal in a large market rather than the only (local) signal in a smaller one.

The NAB railroaded IBOC through the FCC and into the marketplace, even on AM where interference concerns have never been properly addressed.

That same NAB wants Low Power FM, a proposed new Low Power AM service, XM/Sirius, and webcasting dead. Yesterday. They'd also like to have your iPods confiscated if they could ...

Most also-ran stations in all but the largest markets are on auto-pilot, fed from the bird or voice-tracked from a hard drive. No truly live and local content to be found anywhere.

And NPR and the national religious satellite carpet-bombers want to own every leftover scrap of RF spectrum that can hold a 5 watt translator.

The FCC kisses and appeases every one of these "power" groups.

This is NOT a healthy industry situation.
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Post by kentuckymedia »

The signal moving to Frazey is possible because of the null. FM's dont see this too often, but the tower site is actually on the North side of Dresden.

97.1 and 96.3 are both only 20,000 watts.

The new 96.7 signal will serve Zanesville, Coshocton and possible parts of Mount Vernon if they get lucky. I know that Southeastern Ohio Television wants another FM as bad as they want to get paid, but.... I heard that another player in town wants that same FM. Plus if Zanesville loses their DMA status, where is that going to put lonesome Channel 18?

Here is something out of the far reaches...but it might just work.

The Parkersburg/Marietta DMA is only being serviced by 1 television station. If SEOTV can work something out and pick up either ABC or CBS instead of NBC, make the market the Parkerburg/Marietta/Zanesville DMA. The tower is really big enough to do it.

Then the DMA would cover.....WASHINGTON, WOOD, PLEASANT, MORGAN, NOBLE, GURNSEY & MUSKINGUM. It would jump market sizes quickly into the mid 100's.

As for 102.7 move for Cambridge...I see that happening. I am just in awe how Grant can get away with owning every single signal in that county. Oh well...who knows.

Just my 1 1/2 cents.
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Post by Hoosier Daddy »

kentuckymedia wrote:The signal moving to Frazey is possible because of the null. FM's dont see this too often, but the tower site is actually on the North side of Dresden.

97.1 and 96.3 are both only 20,000 watts.

The new 96.7 signal will serve Zanesville, Coshocton and possible parts of Mount Vernon if they get lucky.
That's my point. 96.7 in Dresden would have to protect so many other first, second, and third adjacent stations that the signal would have to be toned way down. Zanesville isn't some booming metro area. The current 96.7 in Jackson throws a respectable shadow from Barboursville, WV and Ashland, KY to Obetz and Grove City, Ohio, just inside Franklin County's I-270 south outerbelt. That includes a receivable signal in Jackson, Wellston, McArthur, Gallipolis, Waverly, Chillicothe, Circleville, Portsmouth, Athens, Logan and Lancaster. Why would you give that up? Everything else Jackson County Broadcasting Company owns is either a shoehorned Class A (97.7 and LMA'd 98.7) or their pea-shooter 500 watt AM station at 1330 kc.
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Post by Tom Taggart »

You guys are both wrong.

Here's the map with the 57 dbu coverage of the proposed WKOV/Frazeyburg:

http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service ... 80415.html

The star is the transmitter site. Gratiot is an exit on I-70 is near the Licking/ Muskingum line, this site looks to be abt 4 miles due north of there, or about 10 miles from downtown Zanesville. This would put a city grade (70 dbu) over Zanesville, as well as a fair size chunk of Newark,

The proposed facilities, 11.5 kw at 147 meters AHAAT, are for a full B-1 (same as the present WKOV).

The Columbus adjacents WLVQ and WBNS (96.3 and 97.1) are full B's at 20 kw because of their height, the spacing works at this site as 96.7 is 2nd adjacent to both. WLVQ and WBNS are not only on the same tower (the WBNS TV tower,) but also the same antenna, shared with 92.3, 94.7 and 99.7.

Of course, this site is too close to 96.7 WCMJ, hence the move of that station to 102.7. Yes, it is contingent on WHIZ moving to Baltimore, but that would allow them to cash in for $$$ as a Columbus station, so I suspect they will go ahead and move. For that matter, I suppose they could also buy WCMJ and move it somewhere out of the way. Haven't looked at that option.

This move will leave two Class A's at Jackson/Wellston: 97.7 and the 98.7 at Hamden (COL McArthur).
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Post by kentuckymedia »

You are correct Tom.

Here is the interesting, and intriguing part about the whole shuffle.

WNKO moving to New Albany. The family has made a fortune off running their little station that could in Heath. I mean, moving this to New Albany, it would have to consist of a company that can feasibly add another FM to their lineup.

You have Wilks who is there to simply clean things up, make a few million bucks and jet for a pricetag of $100 million. Could this be them buying another station?

You have Clear Channel who is fine on current signals in the market, but they cant move in WMRN now or they will have to dump one of their stations.

You have Radio One who could pick up 101.7 as a new "Praise with Yolanda Adams in the morning" station and dump off 106.3 due to weak signal issues.

North American could also add 2 more FM's to their little stable.

And then their is Saga who could just stop by, pick up the station, move B107.9's programming to this signal, dump 107.9 in Delaware to a deserving company and call it a day.

Your thoughts.........
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Post by Tom Taggart »

Saga would be a likely candidate; or North American (the Mnich family). Not sure if Columbus is big enough (45 commercial stations) to allow Saga to own five FM stations. Assuming that it is not, then WODB would have to be spun, since "Franklin Communications" owns 4 already (SNY 95, WODB, and the WJZA pair, especially with the 104.3 moving closer to Columbus).

I assumed that if CC had an ownership problem with the MRN move-in, it was with WQIO, Mt. Vernon, which they spun off. But it may be with WLW, which does appear in the 12+ Arbitron listings for Columbus. Usually with a .5, so the question is whether this is "significant" under the new ownership regs.
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Post by kentuckymedia »

North American was in the running for WLVQ. Could this still be the plan? I mean, pick up 102.5 and 101.7?

Something tells me that Saga is involved in all of this. They will dump 107.9 due to its low signal and move oldies to 101.7. Then 102.5, I would almost have to believe that it will involve North American. Then Saga makes a swap out with North American 103.9 for 103.5. Then

Saga owns

94.7 WSNY
101.7 WODB
103.9 WJZA
104.3 WJZK

Hence getting rid of the terrible Smooth Jazz Sandwhich that plagues the format in Columbus.

North American would have

920 WMNI
99.7 WBZX
102.5 WHIZ (Prolly change calls)
103.5 WTDA

And then Radio One picks up the ever needed signal to boost their Hip Hop station to the Suburbian North known as Delaware.

98.9 WMGM
106.3 WJDY
107.5 WCKX
107.9 WCKX-2

Who knows....just speculating here
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Post by kentuckymedia »

Clear Channel did get rid of WQIO/WMVO back during the planning of the move in of WMRN.

The only thing was CC was still going to be public. Now that CC is going private, they cant own as many stations and have to get a few peeled off.

Dayton, they lose 2 FM's
Cincinnati, they dont lose anything which still bugs the hell out of me
Columbus, they lose an FM if they move in WMRN
Cleveland, the lose an FM
Youngstown, they lose an FM
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Post by Arp2 »

Please don't forget that Salem and EMF have both wanted in bad for a long time.....
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Post by Tom Taggart »

Private, public, or two old ladies from Dubuque--doesn't matter.

Ownership limits in rated markets determined by two things:

1. The number of stations licensed to the metro counties;

2. Plus any non-metro stations with a "significant presence" in the market. presumably determined by 12+ share of the audience.

This determines the size of the market. If Columbus is 45 stations and under, one owner can own seven stations, but no more than four in one service (AM or FM).

Contour overlap is no longer used in rated markets, and of no importance unless that contour from outside the market tickles the fancy of enough diary keepers.
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Post by kentuckymedia »

i know that as well...no doubt there.

clear channel cant move in 106.7 if they wanted to unless they are willing to sell another FM such as 105.7. Its the only way.

When Bain and friends take control of the company, they have to keep Columbus Clear Channel the way it is or dump a station in favor of 106.7.

Now Saga is under the same restriction. They cant own more than 4 FM signals in town. Do they keep 107.9 and its terrible rimshot signal, or do they sell to Radio One and pick up 101.7.

Even more interesting....

What if Radio One picks up 107.1, 107.5 and 107.9 for WCKX, make it a trimulcaster known as 107, THE BIG ONE FOR HIP HOP AND R&B?

Then they offer 106.3 to their friends at Wilks who in return flips it to country?
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