AM Changes

The Walt Disney Company is applying to consolidate its two Los Angeles stations at one site. Sports “710 ESPN” KSPN Los Angeles is seeking to relocate to the site of “Radio Disney Country” 1110 KRDC with a significant downgrade from its 50kW day/10kW night from its three tower array in Valley Village to 34kW day/2.5kW night from KRDC’s site in suburban Irwindale. The nighttime array will be directional to the southwest severely hampering KSPN’s coverage of the San Fernando Valley.

iHeartMedia Talk 950 KPRC Houston requests to relocate to the site of co-owned Sports 790 KBME. KPRC will increase day power from 5kW to 7kW, while night power will drop from 5kW to 4.3kW utilizing four of KBME’s eight towers.

Titus Harvest Dome Church applies to relocate 1400 WZAZ Jacksonville FL to a new tower behind its church using a folded unipole antenna to operate with 1kW day/night.

FCC Decisions

Calvary Educational Broadcasting Network’s 89.5 KOKS Poplar Bluff MO has entered a Consent Decree to resolve multiple issues over the past decades.

The agreement will renew the station’s long-pending license renewal until February 2021 when all licenses in Missouri are set to expire, complete the transfer of control of the station to its new governing board led by Gerald Woolverton, approve an STA to operate with reduced power, and give the station 150 days to build out its application for new facilities. KOKS admits that it has violated multiple rules and must come into compliance or will have its license revoked without any proceedings at the end of its one year probationary period.

Since 1989 shortly after the station launched, KOKS has caused interference to reception of radio and television to a number of Poplar Bluff residents. Failure to resolve the problem had led to the FCC withholding action on the station’s license renewals in 1995, 2005 and 2012. A 2017 filing over the interference also noted that the station’s tower lights were non-operational. FCC inspections noted the station did not maintain operational logs, had transmitter operation and control issues, was operating at low power without authority, and the online file was not timely established and missing significant required information. No fine was issued due to the financial issues facing the operator.

The FCC has also reached a Consent Decree with Big Horn Media leading to the payment of an $8000 civil penalty for unauthorized transfer of control and 73% of the stock of Soft AC “Easy 104.1” KUEZ Fallon/Reno NV from John and Mercedes Burkavage to Harry and Bonnie Dixon. John Burkavage filed the application for the transfer in February 2020 with a waiver request stating they failed to timely file the transfer when it was made in November 2017.