Butler County has a new station
October 25, 2015
Butler County has signed on its first brand-new commercial radio station since the 1940’s, its owner announced today.
Ken Hawk, most recently news anchor and field reporter for Butler-based WBUT, WISR, and WLER, is the president and general manager of the new station, which will be known by its web address: saxonburgradio.com. The station’s audio will also be aired over a low-powered transmitter operating at the frequency of 1620 kHz, and at a maximum power of 100 milliwatts.
The station’s audio will also be available via the TuneIn radio app for smartphones and other mobile devices. “It’s important that we stay at the forefront of today’s technology, and that’s where the phrase ‘new-tech radio’ comes in,” said Hawk. “You’ll hear us often refer to that phrase on the air. We know that the means of delivering a radio product are no longer limited to just an over-the-air signal, and now listeners have more choices than ever.”
The station’s format will be a three-fold program offering, with adult contemporary music during weekdays and early evenings, a smooth jazz/soft rock/R&B show late nights seven days a week, and classic hits on the weekends.
“It’s a throwback to the way radio used to be done,” Hawk said. “Strategically speaking, you can still offer something for almost everyone, as long as it’s properly compartmentalized and not thrown together into a trainwreck mess that’s not listenable or saleable.”
Among those including Hawk that may resonate as familiar radio voices in the Butler County area include Bill Davis, J.C. Simon, Dave Kane, and Tracy Ambrose. Simon, Davis and Ambrose will handle the afternoon, early evening and late night shows respectively, while Hawk will be the station’s morning voice. Kane will round out the weekends.
Hawk, an industry veteran of almost 30 years, says the station does accept paid commercial advertising. Requests for public service announcements will also be accepted, and those will be aired free of charge to bona fide non-profit groups and organizations.
“Our rates are the most competitive the industry has to offer,” Hawk said. “Get heard around town and around the world.”
The 24-hour station officially began broadcasting as of noon today.
Anyone have any luck finding this station on Tune In? I keep searching all variants of SaxonburgRadio.com and can’t find it.
Thanks,
Tom
Tom…thank you for your interest. We are having issues with TuneIn right now, which we are working to resolve. In the meantime, you can download streamlicensing.com’s phone app and you can listen to us from there. I apologize for any inconvenience. Thank you. – Ken Hawk
Tunein is not user Friendly on an Android.Ken did you look at 1340 For your over the Air Signal ?WCVI,WSTV,and WOYL are all off. You Would fit right in Between WWOW 1360 and WGBN 1360.
Philip…yes, I did consider 1340. However, this was before last week’s landmark FCC ruling regarding the revitalization of the AM band. With that ruling, you will likely see major change applications for AMs before long. Had I put my station on 1340, that would have left me vulnerable to an existing licensee filing a major change application. The most likely candidates around here to do that would be WBUT (I did actually suggest this to ownership while still working for them until 2013), WKQW, WMNY or WTYM. That would in turn, knock me off the air, as licensed facilities have precedence. It was a risk I did not wish to take, and I’m emphasizing the online and smartphone streams more than anything.
This is great, I\’m impressed by your website and your ambition. I like that it\’s not just another internet station running an automated music format, and you\’ve added an AM transmitter and actual local talent, way to go! I\’m in Pittsburgh and wish I was closer and could hear your signal on air.
I agree that 1340 wouldn\’t be as good, for antenna efficiency, and especially with heavy skip on that channel at night. 1620 is also a frequency that can be picked up on most older analog radios, and some digitals, even if they don\’t have the expanded band.
I work with a carrier current radio station broadcasting into the power grid down here, and very much support community and local area radio, and think if lots of towns and neighborhoods were doing this, along with new media, it could show people that good things were happening on AM radio and to check it out. There\’s your real \’AM revitalization\’, here\’s hoping..
Boomer
Boomer…thank you for the kind words. We’re small, but we’re mighty!
Thanks, and hopefully if I get up to Butler County sometime, I can tune in, I’ll be sure to try. I support community radio wholeheartedly, and in this postmodern world, I think that’s one of the things the AM band could be good for.
You might want to take readings on your signal range and put up a map of your coverage! Also I was wondering how many listeners you have on the AM side.
Boomer
I too wish you well Ken!
I hope you will be available on wi fi radios as well through reciva for those of us with those devices.
Nick…thank you. We can be picked up on internet radios through our website saxonburgradio.com. and through the streamlicensing.com mobile phone app. We’re expecting to be on TuneIn Radio’s mobile app very soon as well. We’ve run into some delays with that.