COMMENTS, QUESTIONS & UPDATES

• REGARDING HD-TO-FM INSTANT FM STATIONS

Previous Coverage:

WHQR BRINGS 24/7 CLASSICAL TO WILMINGTON VIA NEW “INSTANT FM STATION”

NEW “INSTANT FM” – PRIDE 96.7 DEBUTS IN MINNEAPOLIS

WUFT TURNS "HD RADIO LEMON" INTO "FM LEMONADE"

QUESTION FROM REGINA DEAN, WUOT, KNOXVILLE

Hey, Ken.
I'm curious about what kinds of coverage (in terms of square miles and/or population) do these 'new FM translators' have?  At a previous station years ago, we fed four translators in four different communities --- but each translator's reach was only a few miles and didn't cover even all of a relatively small town.......of course, there was virtually no cost associated with them.  But unless I knew a good portion of my 'main' signal's population was covered, I'm not sure selling a small-powered translator as a 'new FM replacement signal" would be a good idea.

KEN: I agree that someone should NOT promote an FM translator as a “new” station unless the signal covers almost all of the home metro area. WUFT and WHQR felt confident in the geographical reach of their translators before they announced their new stations.

FM signal coverage is a matter of physics – height of the antenna, power of the transmission.  I am have not been in Knoxville but I looked up the city on Radio-Locator [link] and there appears to be several dial positions available.  I also noticed that religious NCE broadcasters including Educational Media Foundation are active in Knoxville. I suggest contacting Cleve Callison regarding a consulting engineer.

QUESTION FROM RYAN BRUCE, KBRP, BISBEE, AZ

I have been following your blog posts about instant FM, and I am curious about the possibilities.  One is can an LPFM own a translator, which I am assuming it cannot?  

KEN: An LPFM station CAN have an FM translator.  Keep in mind that translators are repeaters so they MUST be fed by another FM station, AM station or HD Radio station. There is plenty of unused FM spectrum available in Bisbee.

QUESTION FROM STEVE MARTIN, WASHINGTON DC

Saw your post about WUFT  -- isn’t WAMU doing the same thing with their Bluegrass Country HD channel which is also broadcast on the 105.5 FM frequency?

KEN: Yes, 105.5 FM repeats WAMU HD2. In the May Nielsen Audio PPM’s WAMU’s Bluegrass Country station had a 0.1 AQH share and 37,500 weekly listeners. They could do much better.

CONFIDENTIAL COMMENT: CEO, MAJOR PUBIC RADIO ORGRANIZATION

Specifically about iHeartMedia’s cozy translator relationship with religious NCE broadcast Educational Media Foundation (“EMF”):

One complication not yet clear is the recent changes to PSOA (public LMA) rules – I’m not sure how the FCC will treat these agreements for religious non-comms; if EMF can recover only costs, and not split revenue, this activity may be far less attractive.

KEN: Thank you for this comment – I hadn’t heard about this rule before I received your note. PSOA is a rule recently enacted by the FCC that limits the amount of windfall revenue a nonprofit organization can get from leasing out a TV translator to a commercial TV broadcaster.  The uncertainty involves whether it applies to FM licensees.

MY INTERVIEW ON K-HIGH RADIO

Previous Coverage:

NEW RADIO BUZZ IN COLORADO SPRINGS: “K-HIGH MARIJUANA RADIO”

Last week I was interviewed live on K-HIGH radio [link] in Colorado Springs by my favorite JOINT JOCK Maranda Harris:

MARANDA HARRIS • JOINT JOCK

Listen to a portion of the interview only if you like to hear a bunch of stoners talking about radio. Click on this link:

https://soundcloud.com/kenmillsagency/ken-k-high-06-11-15-edit