Virginia-based TV station group owner TEGNA yesterday announced their agreement with KFMB Stations owner Elisabeth Kimmel to take over KFMB-AM-FM-TV for $325-million cash. Since the group doesn’t currently own any radio stations, it’s likely TEGNA will spinoff the radio stations at a future date. It’s not yet known whether the sale includes the valuable real estate under their Kearny Mesa, Mt. Soledad and Santee facilities.
Elisabeth is the third-generation of Meyer family owners of KFMB who bought the stations in 1964 from Jack Wrather, creators of Lassie and The Lone Ranger.
Because of its independence and lack of debt, the stations have traditionally spent more than its competitors in the market. They have traditionally led the San Diego market in overall news ratings and have the most employees.
Channel 8 applied in late November to increase their power output from 19.8 kW to 87.4 kW ERP. KFMB Stations RF Supervisor Rick Bosscher says they can implement that power level with existing equipment. The station still uses an RCA omni-directional transmission antenna built in 1972 that handled 50 kW transmitter power. Their Harris iCD 30 transmitter, capable of 10.5 kW, has been loafing along at 2.4 kW. There’s an older Harris that can also handle the new power level, and that will continue as a backup unit.
VHF TV stations have had a hard time competing with UHF stations since the digital transition in 2009 because home viewers are trying to use indoor antennas with small apertures designed for UHF reception only. Signal penetration through metal-reinforced stucco causes a loss that used to create a poor viewer experience for rabbit ear antenna viewers, but those viewers who put up with static-filled NTSC video found themselves unable to get a usable ATSC picture at all.
The FCC opened a window this fall for all TV stations to upgrade their signals within the existing rules limiting interference. A number of UHF and VHF stations are taking advantage of this opportunity to boost their power.
Stations around San Diego filed a number of callsign modifications with the FCC after Entercom sold a number of stations to Educational Media Foundation and, in San Diego, KSON and KEGY “Energy” swapped frequencies.
We had such a good time at Mimi’s Cafe last December, we’re doing it again. You can order anything on the menu, spread good cheer and shop talk, and hopefully, you can win a good door prize.
Whether you’re a member or not, please join us Wednesday, December 20, 2017 at 12 noon at Mimi’s Cafe, 5180 Mission Center Road in Mission Valley, San Diego. This is a no-host luncheon–expect to pay $15 – $20 for lunch, a drink, and tip.
Members of SBE Chapter 36 have elected a new slate of officers to serve in 2018. The new leaders include:
Chairman: Tony McDaid, IT Engineer at iHeartMedia. Vice-Chairman: Mike Curran, contract engineer. Secretary: Jessica Colyer, Director of Business Development, D2D Technologies.
The three uncontested candidates each received 15 votes from the 37 members who received the electronic ballots.
The chairman can appoint various positions, including Program Chairman. Bart Schade of Path1 volunteered for, and will likely serve, that position.
The new officers will be inducted at the December 20th luncheon.
Since the group doesn’t currently own any radio stations, it’s likely TEGNA will spinoff the radio stations at a future date. It’s not yet known whether the sale includes the valuable real estate under their Kearny Mesa, Mt. Soledad and Santee facilities.
