Bye bye, KFRC-FM

[RockTheGlobe]

KCBS-AM will begin simulcasting on 106.9 on October 27.  KFRC-FM moves to 106.9 HD2 and kfrc.com.

[RadioStarOne]

Thats a sound business move in order to recoup the $95 Million CBS paid for the signal. Its about time someone openned their eyes to the fact that what they were doing was a waste of time. Do the jocks move over to the HD channel?

[Lkeller]

Thats a sound business move in order to recoup the $95 Million CBS paid for the signal. Its about time someone openned their eyes to the fact that what they were doing was a waste of time. Do the jocks move over to the HD channel?

This is in keeping with what radio experts like David Eduardo have been saying - that in order to remain competitive going forward, AM stations will increasingly have to simulcast on FM. According to Eduardo, this has started to happen in other markets.  It seems like the Bay Area is entering this trend a little bit late, if anything. All News KCBS is one of the few bright spots in the Bay Area for CBS.  It makes sense to make plans for the future, even if the move will gain them few new listeners in the short run.

If all this is true, I doubt CBS is willing to continue shelling out a half million bucks (conservatively) for jocks to work on HD2, considering very few people are listening.  As far as I know, there are no other HD2 stations with jocks - live or voice-tracked.  Also, given the state of the economy (deep recession), this move is a way for CBS to save some money.

This may be another sign that KGO is heading for trouble - Citadel has no Bay Area FM stations on which to simulcast, and I doubt they will spend the money to buy an FM frequency, given the financial state of the company, and the economy.

[landtuna]

This may be another sign that KGO is heading for trouble - Citadel has no Bay Area FM stations on which to simulcast, and I doubt they will spend the money to buy an FM frequency, given the financial state of the company, and the economy.

Maybe they should have kept the old 103.7 ?

(F-MMMMM.....One-Oh-Three-Point-Seven......K-G-OOOOOO....S-T-E-R-E-O.....San Franciscooooooo)

[Bongwater]

YIPES! They barely got this pig off the ground and now they're flipping it AGAIN?

This seems to be a disturbing trend that I think will spell the end of FM radio. KIRO in Seattle recently blew up a popular heritage classic hits station to simulcast and eventually move entirely it's AM format to FM.

The sad fact is, if you put too much news talk on it, you'll just ghetto it like AM. The fact is it wasn't entirely the low-fi and static of AM that killed it 30 years ago, but the lack of exciting new programming on the band as well. FM has it's limitations too and it's no more immune - even with HD.

It's a cost cutting move I'm sure, but like they say, you get what you pay for.

Will KFRC keep it's calls? Probably so, unless they swap with KCBS in L.A. I just can't imagine KFRC being anywhere but in 'Frisco.....

[djj]

Maybe they should have kept the old 103.7 ?

(F-MMMMM.....One-Oh-Three-Point-Seven......K-G-OOOOOO....S-T-E-R-E-O.....San Franciscooooooo)

Whatta grand jingle that was...

As for Bongwater's comments:
>>> This seems to be a disturbing trend that I think will spell the end of FM radio. KIRO in Seattle recently blew up a popular heritage classic hits station to simulcast and eventually move entirely it's AM format to FM.

Too often of late, many stations have tried skewering toward the younger demo.
The repetitive nature of KFRC's '70s/80s music simply did not recapture that of
the '50s-'70s sound that was successful before...

>>> The sad fact is, if you put too much news talk on it, you'll just ghetto it like AM. The fact is it wasn't entirely the low-fi and static of AM that killed it 30 years ago, but the lack of exciting new programming on the band as well. FM has it's limitations too and it's no more immune - even with HD.

Couldn't have said it any better, BW...

>>> Will KFRC keep it's calls? Probably so, unless they swap with KCBS in L.A. I just can't imagine KFRC being anywhere but in 'Frisco.....

Agreed...but WHERE would they put the calls? Maybe 1550 AM, which would be
decidely much better than the crummy KYCY calls...

As I recall, weren't San Jose's KOME calls were "parked" for awhile in Sacramento on
1470 not long ago? No one has picked them up, far as I can tell on the FCC search
engines. Let's hope the KFRC calls, at the very least, remain unassigned...

As for the KFRC staff, if they were let go, I do wish the jocks/jockettes well...they
did well with what they had at their disposal...
--jay

[Julius May]

KCBS-AM will begin simulcasting on 106.9 on October 27.  KFRC-FM moves to 106.9 HD2 and kfrc.com.

Link: http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/news/local-broadcast/e3i0731a974271226257c5e69351c17fe2f . What would be the new call letters for this station? KCBS-FM is used in LA right so I'm guessing they can't use those calls unless CBS radio or whoever decides to change the calls for that station in LA so the KCBS-FM calls can be used in SF.

[AnimatronicAbeLincoln]

The sad fact is, if you put too much news talk on it, you'll just ghetto it like AM.

Not if it's good news and talk you won't. 

[Bob_Hudson]

The sad fact is, if you put too much news talk on it, you'll just ghetto it like AM.

Not if it's good news and talk you won't. 

People stopped listening to AM because music sounds better on FM: but some AM news and talk stations have continued to be among the the highest rated 12+ stations in many markets and will probably do even better without the audio and static problems of AM.

[skyrocker]

I'm in the Image Promo business. We know that a listener is too
busy to keep a broadcaster's priorities in mind, so it's a small
relief for them when a radio station's selection for "Mental
Narrative," its Image Voice, can do the memory work for them.

Lately, I keep hearing this Image Liner rolling through my
head... a female voice repeating a message of comfort. She says,
"With so many radio stations changing their music these days,
isn't it comforting that you can always depend on KOIT for Light
Rock, Less Talk..."

Ever hear that one?