KRKO 50kw site gets approval

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Postby radiofan » Wed Jan 24, 2007 10:48 pm

Published: Tuesday, January 23, 2007

KRKO to turn up the volume
Radio station plans to start work on controversial towers that will push its signal to Seattle

By David Chircop
Herald Writer



EVERETT - Sports talk radio in Snohomish and Island counties is about to get supercharged.

After seven years of legal wrangling and appeals, NorthSound AM 1380 KRKO could start construction this summer on four towers that will allow the station to reach listeners in deepest Seattle.

The new 50,000-watt transmitter will replace the station's 5,000-watt transmitter, which loses its signal in south Snohomish County.

"When this is done, we'll have a tremendous competitive advantage over the major Seattle transmitters located 30 miles to the south on Vashon Island," said Andy Skotdal, president and general manager of KRKO.

On Friday, King County Superior Court Judge Richard A. Jones issued a written ruling upholding Snohomish County's approval of the towers on 40 acres of farmland two miles south of Snohomish.

That's the second failed attempt by Citizens to Preserve the Upper Snohomish River Valley, the towers' key opponent, to challenge the project's environmental review.

At a meeting Monday night, the group voted on pursuing a third appeal, this time to challenge a decision by the state Shoreline Hearings Board in December to approve the project's shoreline construction permit.

In February 2005, a county environmental report said the impact of the towers is primarily aesthetic. It discounted claims that the equipment would affect migratory birds and commercial ballooning from nearby Harvey Field.

The group also argued that the county ought to evaluate radio frequency emitted from the towers for possible interference with everything from phone lines to TV speakers.

The new 50,000-watt transmitter is the most powerful strength allowed by the Federal Communications Commission, which regulates radio stations.

The signal should reach from Seattle to Mount Vernon, placing KRKO in Seattle's big leagues of AM radio with KIRO-710 and KOMO-1000.

It would become the fifth full-power station in the Puget Sound area, meaning its advertisements would potentially reach more ears and earn the station more in advertising dollars.

Skotdal says he doesn't intend to skew programming to fit the broader coverage area.

He says keeping hyper-local programming, such as high school football games, gives them a competitive advantage over other stations.

"We're not trying to reach Seattle and Bellevue people," Skotdal said.

KRKO broadcasts all four Everett sports franchises, including the top-ranked Everett Silvertips hockey team, the Everett AquaSox baseball team, the new Everett Explosion basketball team and the Everett Hawks arena football team.

In an era when many radio stations have turned to canned syndicated programs picked up on satellite from remote studios, Skotdal said KRKO plans to increase its local content.

Shows like the afternoon drive-time slot held by rival KJR-AM's former morning sidekick Jeff "The Fish" Aaron include player, coach and writer interviews that can't be done elsewhere, he said.

Not counting play-by-play broadcasts, Skotdal said the station broadcasts 21 hours of local programming a week.

He said the logic behind the signal boost is to better penetrate areas in Snohomish and Island counties where the signal is weak.

Also, he said a stronger signal should keep car-bound commuters driving to Seattle and Bellevue from tuning out.

"If we try to play to King County residents, then we're no different than the King County stations," he said.

A stronger signal isn't the only change on its way for the station.

It also is poised to begin digital transmission in high definition.

KHHO-AM in Tacoma is the only other high-definition AM station that has adopted the new technology.

High definition will allow the station to broadcast text messages and other data that can be displayed in new in-car navigation and information systems and new high-definition portable radios.

The proposed towers would include a 349-foot-tall orange-and-white main antenna and three 199-foot-tall gray towers.

KRKO is owned by Everett's Skotdal family, which purchased the station with a partner in 1987. Its downtown studios are located on the top floor of the Everett Mutual Tower, which is also owned by the Skotdals.

Local ownership is rarer than many people realize, said Glenn Johnson, a professor of broadcast communications at Washington State University's Edward R. Murrow School of Communication.

"There's not many family-owned radio stations left, let alone at 50,000 watts," he said.

Once the province of major news networks, the bulk of full-power stations are now owned by media conglomerates such as Clear Channel, which owns and operates more than 1,200 radio stations in the country, Johnson said.

From The Everett Herald

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