The FCC today announced the approval of transferring ownership of Lincoln Financial radio stations to Entercom. In San Diego, this includes rocker KBZT 94.9 MHz, country KSON 97.3 MHz, and soft rock KIFM 98.1 MHz, In Escondido, this includes the KSON repeater Class A KSOQ 92.1 MHz.The Department of Justice still has to approve the buy-out from an antitrust perspective.If approved, Entercom will own over 110 stations in 26 markets. Entercom took over management of Lincoln Financial stations early this year with a limited marketing agreement (LMA).
Bill Eisenhamer continues to lead the local engineering effort and reports no major changes yet.
Matthew Anderson, the latest addition to iHeartMedia’s engineering crew, passed his SBE Certified Broadcast Radio Engineering exam earlier in June.
Congratulations Matt!
If you would like to get an SBE certification, they’re easier than ever to study for with the study guide CD. Tests are given periodically in San Diego. For more information check out our information page.
After years of non-operation, Horizon Christian Fellowship’s low power station, KHHS-LP at 107.5 in La Jolla (near the intersection of Genesee and La Jolla Village Dr.), finally met its end. The FCC announced this week that it was pulling its license and deleting the callsign. An attorney for Horizon wrote the FCC stating that the station could not return to the air by the June 25, 2015, the date of an the expiration of their last Special Temporary Authority to remain silent.
The station has filed since 2007 for STAs to allow it to remain off-the-air, complaining in FCC STA filings about nagging co-channel interference from KLVE 107.5 MHz in Los Angeles.
The station had filed for a move to 103.3 MHz, but that application became moot when they chose not to return to the air by the June deadline.
After its sale to Tribune Corporation, publishers of the Los Angeles Times, the San Diego Union Tribune management immediately laid off 178 employees, including all printing press and UT-TV staff. Manny Cervantes, SBE Chapter 36 Vice Chairman and the last engineer at UT-TV. He had been the facility’s Chief Engineer during its three-year attempt to bring live and recorded news video to the utsandiego.com website and cable TV. Manny said yesterday that the UT-TV staff recently numbered only 12 until the May final layoff. Manny had been a systems engineer for TV Magic until the company failed in 2012.
K35DG on Mt. Soledad switched to an ATSC broadcast on channel 35 on May 28, 2015, just one day ahead of an FCC-imposed deadline that would have eliminated their eligibility for spectrum auction participation as a Class A low power TV station. The flash cut was conducted by yours truly with a new Anywave 5X exciter and PA140W power amplifier from RF Specialties. The new system has an ERP of only 150 watts due to spacing restrictions and Mexican treaty limitations. UCSD is retiring its Larcan NTSC transmitter installed in the early 1990’s.
