[IRCA] KRKO IBOC 1380

["Eric Floden" <eric.f99999@xxxxxxxxx>]

>From Northwest Broadcasters site
http://members.shaw.ca/nwbroadcasters/recentnews.htm

*01/23/07 - After seven years of legal stumbling blocks, KRKO AM
1380<http://www.krko.com/>Everett will likely start construction this
summer on four new towers to
radiate its new 50,000 watt signal.  President and GM Andy Skotdal says that
despite the wider signal coverage, the station will increase local
programming and also add digital HD, only the second AM to do so in
northwest Washington.  *
**
*it also gives a link to
http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/07/01/23/100loc_a1krko001.cfm*
**
*article follows*
**
KRKO to turn up the volume
*Radio station plans to start work on controversial towers that will push
its signal to Seattle*

*By David Chircop*
*Herald Writer*


    <http://www.heraldnet.com/advertising/> EVERETT - Sports talk radio in
Snohomish and Island counties is about to get supercharged.

After seven years of legal wrangling and appeals, NorthSound AM 1380 KRKO
could start construction this summer on four towers that will allow the
station to reach listeners in deepest Seattle.

The new 50,000-watt transmitter will replace the station's 5,000-watt
transmitter, which loses its signal in south Snohomish County.

"When this is done, we'll have a tremendous competitive advantage over the
major Seattle transmitters located 30 miles to the south on Vashon Island,"
said Andy Skotdal, president and general manager of KRKO.

On Friday, King County Superior Court Judge Richard A. Jones issued a
written ruling upholding Snohomish County's approval of the towers on 40
acres of farmland two miles south of Snohomish.

That's the second failed attempt by Citizens to Preserve the Upper Snohomish
River Valley, the towers' key opponent, to challenge the project's
environmental review.

At a meeting Monday night, the group voted on pursuing a third appeal, this
time to challenge a decision by the state Shoreline Hearings Board in
December to approve the project's shoreline construction permit.

In February 2005, a county environmental report said the impact of the
towers is primarily aesthetic. It discounted claims that the equipment would
affect migratory birds and commercial ballooning from nearby Harvey Field.

The group also argued that the county ought to evaluate radio frequency
emitted from the towers for possible interference with everything from phone
lines to TV speakers.

The new 50,000-watt transmitter is the most powerful strength allowed by the
Federal Communications Commission, which regulates radio stations.

The signal should reach from Seattle to Mount Vernon, placing KRKO in
Seattle's big leagues of AM radio with KIRO-710 and KOMO-1000.

It would become the fifth full-power station in the Puget Sound area,
meaning its advertisements would potentially reach more ears and earn the
station more in advertising dollars.

Skotdal says he doesn't intend to skew programming to fit the broader
coverage area.

He says keeping hyper-local programming, such as high school football games,
gives them a competitive advantage over other stations.

"We're not trying to reach Seattle and Bellevue people," Skotdal said.

KRKO broadcasts all four Everett sports franchises, including the top-ranked
Everett Silvertips hockey team, the Everett AquaSox baseball team, the new
Everett Explosion basketball team and the Everett Hawks arena football team.


In an era when many radio stations have turned to canned syndicated programs
picked up on satellite from remote studios, Skotdal said KRKO plans to
increase its local content.

Shows like the afternoon drive-time slot held by rival KJR-AM's former
morning sidekick Jeff "The Fish" Aaron include player, coach and writer
interviews that can't be done elsewhere, he said.

Not counting play-by-play broadcasts, Skotdal said the station broadcasts 21
hours of local programming a week.

He said the logic behind the signal boost is to better penetrate areas in
Snohomish and Island counties where the signal is weak.

Also, he said a stronger signal should keep car-bound commuters driving to
Seattle and Bellevue from tuning out.

"If we try to play to King County residents, then we're no different than
the King County stations," he said.

A stronger signal isn't the only change on its way for the station.

It also is poised to begin digital transmission in high definition.

KHHO-AM in Tacoma is the only other high-definition AM station that has
adopted the new technology.

High definition will allow the station to broadcast text messages and other
data that can be displayed in new in-car navigation and information systems
and new high-definition portable radios.

The proposed towers would include a 349-foot-tall orange-and-white main
antenna and three 199-foot-tall gray towers.

KRKO is owned by Everett's Skotdal family, which purchased the station with
a partner in 1987. Its downtown studios are located on the top floor of the
Everett Mutual Tower, which is also owned by the Skotdals.

Local ownership is rarer than many people realize, said Glenn Johnson, a
professor of broadcast communications at Washington State University's
Edward R. Murrow School of Communication.

"There's not many family-owned radio stations left, let alone at 50,000
watts," he said.

Once the province of major news networks, the bulk of full-power stations
are now owned by media conglomerates such as Clear Channel, which owns and
operates more than 1,200 radio stations in the country, Johnson said.
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