Skotdal powers up new AM radio station, KXA
Published 12:01 am Thursday, October 27, 2011
EVERETT — The city is host to the newest AM radio station in the Pacific Northwest, Classic Country KXA (1520 AM), a new sister station to long-time KRKO (1380 AM), broadcasting since 1922.
General manager Andy Skotdal said local residents chose the new country music format over a talk-radio
option, reflecting the popularity that radio broadcasting polls show for country music locally and from coast to coast.
Skotdal said the station will feature 1960s to 1990s country music rarely heard on AM radio today, from legends like Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson to Travis Tritt and Brooks and Dunn. The music may be interrupted occasionally by Washington State University football and basketball games and some Everett Silvertips, Everett AquaSox and high-school sports games when the KRKO sports station programming has scheduling conflicts.
The new KXA call sign is a tribute to Seattle’s former KXA, one of the oldest stations in the Northwest. Skotdal, who also sits on the board of the Washington State Association of Broadcasters, spent 14 years navigating the Federal Communications Commission process of licensing the new station and building new radio towers in the Snohomish River valley east of Everett.
At 4 p.m. Oct. 11, KXA began broadcasting a 50,000-watt transmission that Skotdal said will “put a strong, clear signal” into commuters’ car radios and home receivers.
“That’s one of the biggest technical challenges today, getting clear AM band signals past walls, computers, fluorescent lights and electrical devices that interfere,” he said. “When we check our KXA signal it’s coming through clean and robust, contrary to everything you hear about AM radio. We’re also close to broadcasting in static-free, high-definition quality that sounds like FM. We’re tuning our equipment for it now.”
All of the music is being played in the studio, unlike many stations that use taped music and a fixed array of songs, he said. Later, KXA may add on-air personalities to the broadcast mix.
Skotdal noted that because he bought the last open AM frequency in the Pacific Northwest, KXA will be the last “all-new” radio station that will ever be licensed in the region.
Only one other AM station in Washington broadcasts country music, he said, but not in the Snohomish County market. The FCC has approved power levels for KXA of 20,000 watts during the day and 50,000 watts at night but is expected to soon approve a full-time, 50,000-watt signal for KXA.
In early October, the FCC also approved full-time, 50,000-watt power for KRKO, which Skotdal also owns with his brother, Craig. Only about 100 radio stations in the country have that power level, including Seattle-area AM stations KIRO 710, KJR 950, KOMO 1000 and KPTK 1090.
Andy Skotdal sees the new Classic Country KXA as a business enterprise that will boost Snohomish County businesses.
“Many businesses don’t advertise on Seattle area stations because they end up paying to reach areas like Pierce County,” said Skotdal. “Listeners in those areas will never come here. But now we have a whole new station with a popular new format that is already attracting advertisers very well.”
On-air advertisers include Coastal Community Bank, Judd & Black and Pacific Power Batteries.
Skotdal said being able to offer a new advertising venue for Snohomish County businesses will not only boost the success of KXA but also generate new business for county enterprises that don’t like the higher radio market prices in King County or the fact that those signals reach people who rarely shop in Snohomish County.
