Radio landscape in OKC

[the michigander]

Lawton has there own station power 103.5,antenna is in anadarko but I have no problems getting the station. Past i-40 now north of Edmond and Guthrie. Forget about it lol.

[bchris02]

Lawton has there own station power 103.5,antenna is in anadarko but I have no problems getting the station. Past i-40 now north of Edmond and Guthrie. Forget about it lol.

In my old car I could pick it up as far north as Edmond. In my new car I am rarely able to pick the station up if I'm north of I-40. It's not a bad station and it would be nice if they would move it to a frequency that properly covers OKC. KVSP is also excluded from OKC's Arbitron ratings because technically it's not in the market. Moving to a better frequency would allow them to go head to head with Wild 104.9 (which is a terrible station that keeps on going because in OKC it's the closest thing to mainstream urban we have.)

[windowphobe]

Lawton has there own station power 103.5,antenna is in anadarko but I have no problems getting the station.

It's actually the same station. But it puts a stronger signal over Lawton than it does over OKC. (Short version: FCC imposes spacing requirements on full-power[ish] stations closer together than 0.8 MHz, and KMGL, the ever-popular Magic 104.1, is 0.6 away. This is why the 103.5 facility was licensed to Anadarko in the first place.)

[the michigander]

So k-98 kjamz is the Same as 103.5 I know they are owned by the same person

[HOT ROD]

but doesn't 103.5 brand and announce itself as Oklahoma City's Hip Hop station? Also, isn't the headquarters and studios in OKC's Eastside district?

[the michigander]

but doesn't 103.5 brand and announce itself as Oklahoma City's Hip Hop station? Also, isn't the headquarters and studios in OKC's Eastside district?

See this is what I was thinking also.

[bchris02]

but doesn't 103.5 brand and announce itself as Oklahoma City's Hip Hop station? Also, isn't the headquarters and studios in OKC's Eastside district?

Yes, Russell Perry has attempted to target the OKC market with Power 103.5, but it broadcasts from west of Anadarko and since its officially licensed to the Lawton market, it doesn't compete in OKC's Arbitron ratings. Coverage is very spotty in the OKC metro north of I-40 so its best listened to online. It's an OKC station in marketing only. It doesn't compete in the OKC market and its signal doesn't adequately cover the OKC market.

OKC doesn't have a legitimate mainstream urban station and hasn't since 107.7 in the late 1980s.

[theparkman81]

Listen to V103 yesterday while I was in the city, great sounding station, coming into the city from Shawnee, it mixed in with KOFM out of Enid, but all in all I was impressed with the station.

[Zorba]

I've been traveling to Seattle a lot lately. Man, they have good radio. I listen to The Edge in Dallas all the time on IHeartRadio, but I was able to easily find two stations that are better than it. In one scan of the dial between 96-107.7 I found 5 stations better than anything in OKC.

I can not believe OKC doesn't have a Alt Rock station, or even a halfway decent Pop Station.

[bchris02]

I've been traveling to Seattle a lot lately. Man, they have good radio. I listen to The Edge in Dallas all the time on IHeartRadio, but I was able to easily find two stations that are better than it. In one scan of the dial between 96-107.7 I found 5 stations better than anything in OKC.

I can not believe OKC doesn't have a Alt Rock station, or even a halfway decent Pop Station.

OKC stations sound very small market. Being the 48th largest media market in the country I am not sure why that is. Other markets this size have a greater variety on the dial and better-programmed stations. Most people in OKC complain about the radio, assume its just as bad everywhere, and proclaim Pandora and XM as the future, but that isn't the case. OKC radio really is bad, much worse than most of the country. I remember within a couple of months after I moved back to OKC I re-activated my XM radio.

In my opinion OKC radio started really going downhill after Cumulus purchased Citadel. Cumulus is a terrible broadcasting company. They specialize in rural and small town stations and give the local stations very little control over what they play. They take a "play it safe" approach in both the formats they operate and the songs that you will hear.

[baralheia]

I would kill to have a good alt/modern-rock station back on the airwaves here in OKC. My vote would be to beg Stephens Media Group to bring us something similar to Z104.5 (KMYZ-FM) in Tulsa.

I'm glad that 94.7 The BREW quit the Classic Rock game (their playlist, imho, was terrible) but if they're going to try their hand at Active/Modern rock again, just bring the BUZZ back! They were a worthy competitor to 100.5 The KATT!

[Soonerman]

I like listening to KXT on IHeart radio. That's probably one of the best radio staions I've heard in my life time. There's nothing like it in OKC. It's way better than the Edge.

[bchris02]

Looking at the ratings for Spring '15 it looks like 107.7 The Franchise has dethroned 94.7 The Brew as the worst-performing FM station in the OKC market. I know sports talk stations typically out-bill their ratings, but I wonder if Tyler Media is going to stay on that horse or try something different on the 107.7 frequency.

[theparkman81]

Looking at the ratings for Spring '15 it looks like 107.7 The Franchise has dethroned 94.7 The Brew as the worst-performing FM station in the OKC market. I know sports talk stations typically out-bill their ratings, but I wonder if Tyler Media is going to stay on that horse or try something different on the 107.7 frequency.

I saw the ratings too, that's is so pathetic that the Franchise is that low, maybe it's time for a change, I also notice that they still classified The Brew as classic rock except for active rock, they need to change that.

[LocoAko]

Most people in OKC complain about the radio, assume its just as bad everywhere, and proclaim Pandora and XM as the future, but that isn't the case. OKC radio really is bad, much worse than most of the country.

Really? Are you sure?

I mean this in the best way possible, but you're the only person I know that even talks about the OKC radio landscape, nevermind has passionate feelings about it. Most people I know turn on the radio to mindlessly have some music while they drive (if they're not already using their phones/ipods). This all sounds like unsubstantiated hysteria to me. Plus, I've posted that back in NYC (presumably the #1 market in the nation) everything is a Top 40 station... a large number of stations I can think of that were somewhat different as a kid moved to exactly the same thing. I really think this is overblown tbh.

[baralheia]

For the record, I have pretty passionate feelings about the OKC radio landscape too. It seriously sucks. I've lost count of the number of times I've turned on the radio to find something good to listen to, flipped through all 6 presets on my radio, and found nothing that interested me. For the record, I enjoy Top40 and rock (modern, active, and alternative) - and I don't often find anything I want to listen to.

[bchris02]

Really? Are you sure?

I mean this in the best way possible, but you're the only person I know that even talks about the OKC radio landscape, nevermind has passionate feelings about it. Most people I know turn on the radio to mindlessly have some music while they drive (if they're not already using their phones/ipods). This all sounds like unsubstantiated hysteria to me. Plus, I've posted that back in NYC (presumably the #1 market in the nation) everything is a Top 40 station... a large number of stations I can think of that were somewhat different as a kid moved to exactly the same thing. I really think this is overblown tbh.

Ask people their opinions on the local radio stations. People who like country probably don't have any issues with it but others will say that FM radio is going the way of the dinosaur and that XM and Pandora is the future. While there is some truth to that, I find that sentiment isn't shared as strongly in other markets that have better (and a greater variety of) stations.

[SoonerDave]

Really? Are you sure?

I mean this in the best way possible, but you're the only person I know that even talks about the OKC radio landscape, nevermind has passionate feelings about it. Most people I know turn on the radio to mindlessly have some music while they drive (if they're not already using their phones/ipods). This all sounds like unsubstantiated hysteria to me. Plus, I've posted that back in NYC (presumably the #1 market in the nation) everything is a Top 40 station... a large number of stations I can think of that were somewhat different as a kid moved to exactly the same thing. I really think this is overblown tbh.

And I Thought I was just *really* out of touch wrt feelings about local radio. For me, its 20 minutes either way en route to work, and some during the day if I need a distraction. And I can't see how any single POV can claim how any *one* region's radio is "much worse than the rest of the country." That implies a *lot* of consistent, non-OKC radio listening from several thousand stations across the nation to make such a claim.

[SoonerDave]

Looking at the ratings for Spring '15 it looks like 107.7 The Franchise has dethroned 94.7 The Brew as the worst-performing FM station in the OKC market. I know sports talk stations typically out-bill their ratings, but I wonder if Tyler Media is going to stay on that horse or try something different on the 107.7 frequency.

Not as long as they remain the flagship for OU sports. While I will state up-front this is an overstatement, I strongly suspect the value in the OU media rights alone is worth at least as much to them as their "ratings," particularly when the fall rolls around and football fires back up. it's one of those odd scenarios where ratings are still important, but there really are secondary considerations. OU radio media isn't the value proposition it was in the 80's back in the Jeeeeeemeny Christmas era, but it still has value, and I think Tyler is content to build a sports station around it - even down to retheming away from "The Franchise" at some point, but retaining the sports emphasis.

[the michigander]

My hometown of grand rapids, mi is a larger media market I think its 39th and its way worse than okc. It just country and the only urban is community radio. So for me its a come up lol

[HOT ROD]

interesting that OKC has such a small radio market but the city is actually quite large (significantly larger than Grand Rapids by far). How is that so?

[bchris02]

interesting that OKC has such a small radio market but the city is actually quite large (significantly larger than Grand Rapids by far). How is that so?

It's because outside of the metro area, most of the area within the OKC media market is pretty sparsely populated.

[Bunty]

Public radio stations hardly ever get mentioned. Is there nothing worthwhile on them as a good means to get away from annoying commercials?

[bchris02]

Public radio stations hardly ever get mentioned. Is there nothing worthwhile on them as a good means to get away from annoying commercials?

I like Classical KCSC here in OKC.

[baralheia]

I listen to KGOU often since my preferred music formats are severely lacking here. I find when I am in the mood for news/talk, it's a very enjoyable experience.