Updates On The New Radio Station 96.5

[spursfaninoklahoma]

Just wondering if anyone has heard any new updates on this new station NOW 96.5, which is basically another top 40 hits type format much like KJ 102.7 and Wild 104.9 They been playing music 24/7 now for months without any DJ's, but heard rumors that may change come January. Also since that means now we will have 3 top 40 hits type radio stations in Oklahoma City, it makes me wonder who's going to survive or not survive. I know Wild 104.9 for a few years now has hit rock bottom in the ratings, so is this their exit out of the market.

[zookeeper]

Also, supposedly KOMA and Jake are going to swap frequencies. KOMA will be at 93.3 and Jake will be at 92.5. Seems ridiculous, but that's the plan apparently.
Tyler does some strange things.

[bchris02]

Wild 104.9 was never a true Top 40 but a rhythmic Top 40 that basically straddles the fence between pop and urban/hip-hop. They have hit rock bottom in ratings because Cumulus Media has forced the station to use their national playlist, which is very different from how the station was programmed when owned by Citadel. The national Cumulus playlist leans heavily on recurrent and gold tracks and doesn't add new music until it reaches a certain point on the Hot 100. A rhythmic Top 40 format relies on being cutting-edge. The format needs to be heavy on current music with plenty of new music. A conservative playlist like the one Cumulus has forced the station to air just sounds terrible. If Cumulus would allow KKWD to hire their own PD and program their playlist locally, the station could improve and possibly compete again. It was an amazing station back when it was Wild 97.9 and its sad to see it in the condition its in now.

Now 96.5 on the other hand sounds pretty good and is worthy of a better frequency than the translator it is on in my opinion. I wish they would put it on 99.7 and put the terrible sounding classic country on 96.5. I think it's just a matter of time before there's a different format on 104.9. Hopefully it is something other than country, classic rock, or sports. Then again, Cumulus Media is notorious about keeping bad formats alive well past their expiration date.

[HOT ROD]

Dance music perhaps? Okc doesn't have a techno station yet.

[bchris02]

Dance music perhaps? Okc doesn't have a techno station yet.

Electronic stations have failed in much larger and more progressive markets than OKC. I don't really see it working here especially being that OKC doesn't have a strong clubbing culture. It might work on an HD frequency.

I think OKC could really use the following formats.

1. Alternative rock
2. Urban - simply move Power 103.5 to a frequency that covers all of the metro area.
3. Variety i.e. Jack FM

The country and sports talk herd needs to be thinned.

[bradh]

you want EDM you have to have satellite, period

[bchris02]

you want EDM you have to have satellite, period

Agreed. San Francisco, Boston, and Miami have terrestrial EDM stations but outside of that they are pretty rare in the US. Those specific markets are very progressive and have a strong club culture. Satellite has BPM which is an awesome station.

[Soonerman]

Electronic stations have failed in much larger and more progressive markets than OKC. I don't really see it working here especially being that OKC doesn't have a strong clubbing culture. It might work on an HD frequency.

I think OKC could really use the following formats.

1. Alternative rock
2. Urban - simply move Power 103.5 to a frequency that covers all of the metro area.
3. Variety i.e. Jack FM

The country and sports talk herd needs to be thinned.

I think 99.7 would make a great Jack FM if they went that route. I agree 100% on Alternative rock, I wish they would bring back the Buzz on 94.7.

[bchris02]

Now 96.5 is now playing commercials. I wish they would move the station to a better frequency though. It has a great playlist but sounds pretty bad on better sound equipment due to the weak signal. OKC really needs more variety on its stronger signals. If you don't care for country, classic rock, or sports, terrestrial radio is pretty depressing.

Wild 104.9 is pretty much unlistenable these days. Songs like "Yung Joc - It's Going Down" and "Rihanna - Live Your Life" in 2014?

[windowphobe]

There are no better frequencies to be had, unless something else shuts down or the FCC decides the hell with spacing requirements.

If you have HD Radio -- I don't -- I'm told you can get it on KRXO-HD3 at, yes, 107.7.

[MWCGuy]

KOMA at 93.3 is going to cost them quite a few listners. I can barely pickup 93.3 in the house and there are areas around the city where the signal fades in and out. If anything they need to replace Jake FM with something else. Pop Country is just awful and to tell you the truth. I don't really listen to country music anymore unless it's what I have in my iTunes Library. Everytime I listen to country radio I always end up changing the channel because of Taylor Swift's awful pop music voice.

[HangryHippo]

Why are all the stations moving around?

[bchris02]

There has been times when OKC had much better stations and more variety on the dial than is here right now. Today, I would say with confidence the stations here are the worst I've ever heard, anywhere. Then again, I could care less about sports and don't like country music. I am sure a lot of it has to do with the major operators here having sold out to corporations like Tyler and Cumulus, both of which specialize in rural markets. Hopefully eventually one or more of the corporations running these stations will realize the market is saturated with country, classic rock, and sports talk and try some different formats.

[bchris02]

Why are all the stations moving around?

Tyler Media wants its country stations on its best signals. 92.5 is better than 93.3.

As for pop country, I would imagine its probably far and away the most popular genre in OKC.

[KenRagsdale]

A few years ago, the previous ownership tweaked the KOMA 92.5 format to keep pace with aging demographics. A business associate, who would know these things, said management at that time moved from "50's and 60's" music to "60's and 70's" music. He anticipated the format to last another five years. It could be about that time, and Tyler is moving a new, younger demographic to a very strong 92.5 frequency, while simultaneously sliding KOMA to a less powerful frequency.

[Plutonic Panda]

There are no better frequencies to be had, unless something else shuts down or the FCC decides the hell with spacing requirements.

If you have HD Radio -- I don't -- I'm told you can get it on KRXO-HD3 at, yes, 107.7.

Why does the FCC have those spacing requirements? Are they a danger to public health?

[CuatrodeMayo]

Wait...people still listen to terrestrial radio?

[bchris02]

Wait...people still listen to terrestrial radio?

Unfortunately not everyone has an unlimited data plan.

[windowphobe]

Why does the FCC have those spacing requirements? Are they a danger to public health?

The idea is to reduce interference so that stations don't stomp on each other's signals. In general, full-power signals in the same town must be no less than 0.8 MHz apart (say, Twister/KJ103). Wedging stuff in between is tricky business: if you wanted to squeeze in a station at 102.3, halfway between Twister and KJ103, a Class A station (usually 6000 watts, like Wild 104.9) would have to be 95 km -- about 60 miles -- away. Bring it in any closer, and your power is limited severely: K283BW, the 104.5 facility that houses the old KRXO format, puts out 250 watts. K243BJ, the 96.5 facility, stuck between two powerhouses, gets a mere 120 watts.

[zookeeper]

This is off-topic, but anybody familiar with the radio and television industry in this city is probably at least familiar with the name Dennis Orcutt. He's been engineering around OKC radio for more than thirty years, a big part of ham radio around these parts too. Sadly, Dennis passed away a bit over a month ago. I had heard he was actually doing better (he's been ill for some time), but appearances can be deceiving with disease. I never really knew where to post this, but since this thread is going to be looked at mostly by inside baseball types - there's the bad news if you didn't already know.
DENNIS ORCUTT Obituary

[bchris02]

The idea is to reduce interference so that stations don't stomp on each other's signals. In general, full-power signals in the same town must be no less than 0.8 MHz apart (say, Twister/KJ103). Wedging stuff in between is tricky business: if you wanted to squeeze in a station at 102.3, halfway between Twister and KJ103, a Class A station (usually 6000 watts, like Wild 104.9) would have to be 95 km -- about 60 miles -- away. Bring it in any closer, and your power is limited severely: K283BW, the 104.5 facility that houses the old KRXO format, puts out 250 watts. K243BJ, the 96.5 facility, stuck between two powerhouses, gets a mere 120 watts.

I am pretty sure OKC has fewer frequencies, at least powerhouses than do most markets. Thus, you have less variety on the dial here than in most places. I wonder if proximity to Tulsa, which is its own market entirely, has anything to do with it. It probably doesn't help that our antenna farm is in far northeast OKC, which puts it in distant range for many Tulsa stations.

I wonder what the chances are of Tyler eventually placing the 96.5 format on 99.7 or some other frequency? I know Oklahoma City residents love their country music but can the market support four at once? I think the city needs another Top 40 before another country. Wild 104.9 sounds so terrible and outdated these days so KJ 103 is pretty much it. Most of the great stations in OKC, or at least my favorite, have been flipped or tweaked in the past few years. Hopefully one day some variety can be re-introduced to this market.

94.7 The Buzz - changed the classic rock
99.7 The True Oldies Station - changed to country
Wild 104.9 - changed to Cumulus' outdated national playlist that has ruined hundreds of Top 40 and rhythmic top 40 stations nationwide.
105.3 The Martini - changed to sports

[windowphobe]

I am pretty sure OKC has fewer frequencies, at least powerhouses than do most markets. Thus, you have less variety on the dial here than in most places. I wonder if proximity to Tulsa, which is its own market entirely, has anything to do with it.

It has something to do with it, but not a whole lot: the original FM allocation table was designed to interleave between the two towns, because they're too close together to have full-power stations on the same channel or on adjacent channels. The only way Tyler gets away with 96.5, same as KRAV in Tulsa, is because it's so weak. Likewise Perry's 92.1, which duplicates a Broken Arrow station.

And Tyler doesn't own 99.7, which belongs to Enid-based Champlin Broadcasting, also owner of 96.9 Bob FM -- though Cumulus provides programming for Bob under a Local Marketing Agreement. (Both 96.9 and 99.7 were originally Enid stations.) I concur that the group operators around here tend to be resistant to innovation.

[theparkman81]

Maybe its time for a change again at 94.7, the last ratings they have they were a 1.4, WKY had a better ranking then they did.

[bchris02]

Maybe its time for a change again at 94.7, the last ratings they have they were a 1.4, WKY had a better ranking then they did.

Yeah it's time for 94.7 to flip in my opinion. Plus, if there is any operator that can bring something fresh to the market its ClearChannel, and by fresh I mean anything other than another country or sports station. Cumulus is known for their conservative, small market way of doing things and it appears that Tyler is the same kind of operator.

[Soonerman]

Does anybody think an Adult hits format (Jack FM) would work on 94.7 FM?