Radio Power donates WAMO to Pittsburgh Public Media
November 20, 2022It looks as though 660 AM and 1550 AM will soon be sister stations again. WAMO-AM (660 Wilkinsburg) owner, Tim Martz’s Radio Power, Inc. is donating the station to Chuck Leavens’ Pittsburgh Public Media – owners of WZUM (1550 Braddock) and WZUM (88.1 Bethany, WV). What it effectively means is Leavens will also have ownership of the Forest Hills tower site the two stations have shared for many years. The filing for assignment of license with a construction permit was filed Friday.
Earlier this year, Radio Power turned the operation of WAMO and programming over to Audacy, Inc. But, as with most AM stations these days, the focus has been put on WAMO’s FM translator W297BU (107.3). With WAMO being sold to a non-comm outlet that likely means an end to 660’s relationship with the urban format, likely leaving Audacy to put the main programming on an available HD-2 signal which is also eligible for being simulcast on an FM translator. (Meanwhile, some may suspect a shift in formats among one of the Audacy-owned FM stations – not KDKA-FM (93.7) of course, but namely WBZZ (100.7 New Kensington); or WDSY (107.9). Though I personally doubt that.) A non-commercial signal may not be simulcast on a commercial station or vice-versa.
WAMO’s former translator, W261AX (100.1) was re-assigned to translate Audacy-owned KDKA-AM (1020) on the “Big K’s” 100th anniversary in 2020 though the translator station remains under the ownership of Radio Power. It remains to be seen if Martz will sell the translators to Audacy.
More information as we hear it.
This is a fascinating development! I wonder if Chuck Leavens will feed WZUM’s jazz audio to 660 as well? 660 has a vastly stronger signal (1400w, bottom-dial position) than the weakish 1550. With 2 AMs and 2 FMs in the Pittsburgh market, that’s a lot of good coverage options. Down here is Waynesburg, 40-50 miles to the southwest, 1550 is mostly unlistenable, but 660 is pretty strong. Out here in the fringes, the two FMs (88.1 Bethany WV and the 101.1 WZUM trranslator) are hilltop-spotty and not listenable otherwise. So
I personally would be delighted to have a solid (if lo-fi) 660 AM jazz signal here!
That’s right, AM 660’s signal is ten times stronger than 1550’s in my Pittsburgh-west location. I’ve driven straight west into Ohio, and 660’s signal keeps on going, you can hear it for over an hour.
I think jazz is a good format on AM, it’s more fundamental tones sound better on most AM radios, compared to the highly produced pop music of today.
Good choice, but it seems like someone must want to get rid of WAMO. I’d rather hear their other format, The Beat.
Boomer
Nobody asked me, but…
1. Just what the heck is the purpose of an “AM Revitalization Program” if after a few years the FM translator can be peeled away and sold off, leaving the empty hulk of an AM station to be disposed of? It would appear that this program was nothing but a way for owners of existing AM stations to cut in line ahead of other applicants once they made the decision to start licensing low-power FMs.
2. Pittsburgh Public Media will now be responsible for maintaining four local broadcast facilities. It is somewhat impressive that they appear to have the cash flow that allows them to do this. Few nonprofits do. If part of the scam here is that you must donate your AM to a nonprofit before you are able to cash-in on the translator the dial is going to be littered with a bunch of WGBNs really struggling to stay on the air.
3. Audacy is already loudly promoting WAMO 107.3 and pushing listeners to get the app. It could not be more obvious that their long-term gameplan is to win the bulk of listeners over to the app and then dispense with the expense and trouble of maintaining broadcast facilities. So at some future date AM 1020 will probably end up being donated to Little Sisters of the Poor.
I used to think that too, in Revitalization, an FM translator was paired with an AM station for life. Revitalization had what, 30 points of improvement? How many were actually put into place? Modulation Dependent Carrier, allowing lower efficiency antennas and translators are the ones I know about.
WGBN seemed to be fine, at least they were stable back on 1150 for years. They hit the big time getting 1360, but then couldn’t cut it and it messed them up. Now it’s like they’re back where they started, except they have the translator with a cut down pattern because the antenna is so low.
1550 could be an orphan. If it’s going to be shut down, maybe it’s time for all of the low power radio believers around Pittsburgh to see about saving it, Ken, Tube City and a few others around here. It’s only a kilowatt, non directional, daytime, with 4 watts at night. That’s right, the same power as a CB radio.
I know, radio station’s apps are promoted so heavily. I think what they really want are the analytics, as I see from reading the radio trade papers, the same with smart TVs that let companies track everything you watch and in the future, listen to on the set, the ATSC 3.0 radio stations that are set to go into place.
Boomer