KGA - Crippled in Old Age

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KGA - Crippled in Old Age

Postby jon » Sun Sep 23, 2007 2:45 pm

http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/cdbs/form ... _id=524863

All the gory details are in the report linked above, but what was once one of the finest Top 40 radio stations to ever grace the airwaves, is being crippled. Back in the 1960s, it was rare to find that perfect combination of great 50KW clear channel (1-4 stations across the country on the frequency at night) signal and Top 40 formatting. KGA only had one year of greatness, basically the 1968 calendar year, but its signal was legendary well into the 1980s. I remember trips to San Diego in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when KGA was the strongest non-local on the AM band as soon as it got dark. And this in the early Autumn.

Members of this forum have told stories of getting requests in Calgary for songs that only KGA played. Almost 10 years ago, I wrote about KGA's demise at http://www.reelradio.com/jp/index.html#shkga69 Some of the information is out of date, most notably Shane's past and future, so you will want to read through the Comments.

KJRB's stranglehold on the national advertisers killed KGA as a Top 40 station, but they did fairly well, as I understand it, with a Country format immediately afterwards.

The current story will see KGA give up its Clear Channel status so that KPIG, also on 1510 KHz, can have a decent signal in the San Francisco area.

The 1510 frequency has a long history as a place to listen to great music, as WLAC Nashville was the R&B station that Bob Dylan, Wolfman Jack and so many others listened to, to learn about the roots of Rock.
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Postby jon » Sun Sep 23, 2007 5:24 pm

I first heard about this from a friend on the IRCA (International Radio Club of America) list server. The following Q & A has since occurred, and also makes interesting reading. The respondent is Scott Fybush, who runs a fabulous transmitter tower pics site (fybush.com).

Q: What is NOT part of the application -- is what Mapleton really paid to the owners of KGA -- in cash. Why doesn't KGA just move to Bellevue or Seattle?

A: That's public record, too. The asset purchase agreement for the seven Citadel stations in Spokane was filed under KZBD-FM, one of KGA's sister FM stations.

Mapleton is paying Citadel $22.5 million for the three Spokane AMs and four FMs, plus up to $1.5 million once the KPIG upgrade is complete ($1 for each new person in the KPIG nighttime contour, which will probably amount to about $1 million.)

Considering Mapleton can then turn around and sell the Spokane cluster, including the downgraded KGA, that's not a bad price at all. Here in Rochester [New York], which isn't that much bigger than Spokane, there's a single FM on the market for $24 million right now.

Why not move KGA wholesale to Seattle? It wouldn't be impossible, down the road, but as things stand right now, you'd have to get the 1540 in Bellevue, the 1480 in Lakewood and the 1490 in Bremerton out of the way, at a minimum. 1520 in Oregon City could be an issue, too. Better to keep the application simple for now and look at a move later on, I suspect.

(Come to think of it, a move to Portland might be easier - it could even be done as a frequency swap, with KGA continuing to exist in Spokane on 1520 and Oregon City going to 50 days/5 or 10 nights on 1510...)
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Postby radiofan » Sun Sep 23, 2007 5:55 pm

KGA would fit right in in Seattle.

Until the late 70's / early 80's there was a daytime only station licensed to Mountlake Terrace (between Seattle and Everett) on 1510.

Since moving and rebuiding it's TX site in the 1980's, KGA's signal has not been what it once was.
Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who couldn't hear the music.
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