Bison Radio Coverage

[Hammersmith]

I normally do these every year, though I didn't last year. Every time I was half done, NDSU added another station and I had to start from scratch. Eventually, I gave up(the season was starting and I had better things to do). Anyway, I was just thinking about starting this year when a poster on SS asked for theirs. That got me off my butt and I did our FB and their FB & hockey. If you want to compare, head over to their thread (http://forum.siouxsports.com/index.php?showtopic=12564) and check them out. Here are ours:

Daytime:
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o117/Hammersmith52/NDSUFBRadioNetwork-Days.png

Nighttime:
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o117/Hammersmith52/NDSUFBRadio-Nights.png

If there was any possible way to get KSJB 600 AM (http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=KSJB&service=AM&status=L&hours=U) out of Jamestown, that would fill in the last serious gaps in ND. After that, St Cloud or Alex would be the best avenues for expansion.

[Herd]

Great Post!!! I'm sitting in Mankato. Man do I wish that TC station had some power. Looks like our MN coverage keeps getting better though.

I agree, the next step would be for some coverage in Alex or St. Cloud, but of course I'm biased for some help in Mankato. I usually make 1 home and 1-2 away games, but I sure wish more games would be carried on FSN, or the ND Network games could be picked up somewhere on DTV.

[aces1180]

I'll be moving to Bemidji soon, so looks like I'll have to rely on Web casts for road games...One thing that is nice, however, is that they do get KVLY...So there's a possibilty of seeing games on TV.

[Hammersmith]

I'll be moving to Bemidji soon, so looks like I'll have to rely on Web casts for road games...One thing that is nice, however, is that they do get KVLY...So there's a possibilty of seeing games on TV.

There's a chance you might still be able to pick up one or more of the stations. Bemidji is just beyond the stated fringe range of WDAY 970, KRCQ 102.3, and KXMR 710(daytime). Depending on weather and atmospheric conditions, some radio stations can be clearly picked up well beyond their stated range. When you get to Bemidji, try the three stations at different times of day in different weather and with different radios. Some combination might work. If all else fails, the free audio of the webcast is exactly the same product, just with the WDAY commercials(and a couple seconds delay).


Here's something to think about: Both NDSU and UND claim KDVL out of Devils Lake as part of their radio networks. I wonder if KDVL switched sides over the last month, or whether they're trying to burn both ends of the candle. With two full conflicts, and several more potential conflicts if the earlier game runs a little long, it's could make things interesting if they're trying to cater to both schools. In the end, UND needs the station far more than we do. We've got several other stations that overlap the Devils Lake area, while UND has none.

[aces1180]

There's a chance you might still be able to pick up one or more of the stations. Bemidji is just beyond the stated fringe range of WDAY 970, KRCQ 102.3, and KXMR 710(daytime). Depending on weather and atmospheric conditions, some radio stations can be clearly picked up well beyond their stated range. When you get to Bemidji, try the three stations at different times of day in different weather and with different radios. Some combination might work. If all else fails, the free audio of the webcast is exactly the same product, just with the WDAY commercials(and a couple seconds delay).


Here's something to think about: Both NDSU and UND claim KDVL out of Devils Lake as part of their radio networks. I wonder if KDVL switched sides over the last month, or whether they're trying to burn both ends of the candle. With two full conflicts, and several more potential conflicts if the earlier game runs a little long, it's could make things interesting if they're trying to cater to both schools. In the end, UND needs the station far more than we do. We've got several other stations that overlap the Devils Lake area, while UND has none.

Yeah, I'll do that if I need to...When I was a kid, I used to go out in my dad's pickup to listen to North Stars games on KFGO (I lived in Mandan)...Heck, I listened to the Ball State game a few years ago sitting in my Blazer in Detroit Lakes because I couldn't get a decent signal in my apt...There are always ways!

[bincitysioux]

Here's something to think about: Both NDSU and UND claim KDVL out of Devils Lake as part of their radio networks. I wonder if KDVL switched sides over the last month, or whether they're trying to burn both ends of the candle. With two full conflicts, and several more potential conflicts if the earlier game runs a little long, it's could make things interesting if they're trying to cater to both schools. In the end, UND needs the station far more than we do. We've got several other stations that overlap the Devils Lake area, while UND has none.

UND hockey and NDSU football have always been heard on KDVL while UND football has always been on their AM sister station KDLR. Maybe Lake Region Radio Works swapped UND and NDSU football, perhaps UND was willing to pay more for the air time than NDSU was since they already have that strong Rugby station covering the area. Or maybe UND's SID printed the release wrong and everything is going to stay the way it has. The stations listed on Fightingsioux.com's "Multimedia" page are the old stations from last year so it still says KDLR, while the new press releases say KDVL. Do you know if the stations listed on GoBison.com's "Multimedia" page are current, or still from last season?

Selfishly, I hope UND football is on KDVL 102.5 so I can listen on that nice crisp FM signal. :nod:

[Hammersmith]

UND hockey and NDSU football have always been heard on KDVL while UND football has always been on their AM sister station KDLR. Maybe Lake Region Radio Works swapped UND and NDSU football, perhaps UND was willing to pay more for the air time than NDSU was since they already have that strong Rugby station covering the area. Or maybe UND's SID printed the release wrong and everything is going to stay the way it has. The stations listed on Fightingsioux.com's "Multimedia" page are the old stations from last year so it still says KDLR, while the new press releases say KDVL. Do you know if the stations listed on GoBison.com's "Multimedia" page are current, or still from last season?

Selfishly, I hope UND football is on KDVL 102.5 so I can listen on that nice crisp FM signal. :nod:

NDSU's press release came out in late June with KDVL on the list. With your info, I'd bet that it was a small mistake by the UND SID and that UND FB will be on KDLR as before. I'll update my maps as soon as we know for sure. Thanks for the info.

BTW, with the exception of the MSP station, NDSU doesn't "pay" for coverage. What they do is set aside a certain number of ad slots for the individual stations to sell. The radio stations' profit is whatever they can sell those slots for. I assume UND is doing the same thing. The MSP station costs NDSU those ad slots plus $5,000(or that's what it was a year ago). I'd say it's worth the money for all 11 games.

[HerdBot]

I normally do these every year, though I didn't last year. Every time I was half done, NDSU added another station and I had to start from scratch. Eventually, I gave up(the season was starting and I had better things to do). Anyway, I was just thinking about starting this year when a poster on SS asked for theirs. That got me off my butt and I did our FB and their FB & hockey. If you want to compare, head over to their thread (http://forum.siouxsports.com/index.php?showtopic=12564) and check them out. Here are ours:

Daytime:
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o117/Hammersmith52/NDSUFBRadioNetwork-Days.png

Nighttime:
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o117/Hammersmith52/NDSUFBRadio-Nights.png

If there was any possible way to get KSJB 600 AM (http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=KSJB&service=AM&status=L&hours=U) out of Jamestown, that would fill in the last serious gaps in ND. After that, St Cloud or Alex would be the best avenues for expansion.

Too much Canada and not enough Minnesota. I travelled to Minneapolis last year during the Youngstown State game and I was trying to get closer to Minneapolis so I could catch the ending and I missed it. Too big of a gap between Fargo and Minneapolis. It was really frustrating. I had to catch the score on my cell phone. Lakes area is prime NDSU recruiting and many folks have Lake homes. Getting a St Cloud or Alexandria station would be huge.

[bincitysioux]

BTW, with the exception of the MSP station, NDSU doesn't "pay" for coverage. What they do is set aside a certain number of ad slots for the individual stations to sell. The radio stations' profit is whatever they can sell those slots for. I assume UND is doing the same thing. The MSP station costs NDSU those ad slots plus $5,000(or that's what it was a year ago). I'd say it's worth the money for all 11 games.

Thanks for the clarification. I was never sure how these new radio deals worked after both schools brought their broadcasting "in-house". I was under the impression that each university directly solicited advertising from businesses and then "purchased" air-time on whatever stations they could come agreements with in a target market.

[onbison09]

UND hockey and NDSU football have always been heard on KDVL while UND football has always been on their AM sister station KDLR. Maybe Lake Region Radio Works swapped UND and NDSU football, perhaps UND was willing to pay more for the air time than NDSU was since they already have that strong Rugby station covering the area. Or maybe UND's SID printed the release wrong and everything is going to stay the way it has. The stations listed on Fightingsioux.com's "Multimedia" page are the old stations from last year so it still says KDLR, while the new press releases say KDVL. Do you know if the stations listed on GoBison.com's "Multimedia" page are current, or still from last season?

Selfishly, I hope UND football is on KDVL 102.5 so I can listen on that nice crisp FM signal. :nod:
Rugby's station sucks. I lived there 15 years I know :hide:

[bisonmike2]

Too much Canada and not enough Minnesota. I travelled to Minneapolis last year during the Youngstown State game and I was trying to get closer to Minneapolis so I could catch the ending and I missed it. Too big of a gap between Fargo and Minneapolis. It was really frustrating. I had to catch the score on my cell phone. Lakes area is prime NDSU recruiting and many folks have Lake homes. Getting a St Cloud or Alexandria station would be huge.

couldn't agree more. I live in albertville and I am on the very edge of coverage during the day. If I have to run anywhere further west I have no chance at getting the game. on a different note, I've been able to pick up a daytime game as far south as Watertown SD, which comes in handy if I'm visiting my folks.

[westnodak93bison]

no Jamestown or Valley City stations?
Anyone notice how strong that station out of Cedar Falls, IA is?
I listened to a UNI playoff game last year and I was about 50 miles west of Jordan, MT with a good strong reception.

[Hammersmith]

Before anyone gets more worked up about Canada over Minnesota, remember that all the Canadian coverage comes as a byproduct of North Dakota stations. The lobe that covers Winnipeg is actually the edge of the Bismarck stations(KFYR/KXMR). There aren't a lot of good options in the NW corner of the state, and KEYZ in Williston is by far the best. It does penetrate deep into Canada, but that's not why it's part of the network. We courted them because it's a single station that covers the entire NW corner of ND with a good signal. Check out the patchwork that UND has assembled in that area and how poorly it's still covered.

As for Minnesota, I'm sure it's not that NDSU isn't pursuing MN radio stations, it's that they're not interested. If you recall, NDSU worked the MSP stations hard in 2005-06, but they couldn't get any takers. Only after the fantastic Bison fan showing at the 06 & 07 Gopher games could NDSU finally find a station willing to listen. Even then, it was a pretty low-power station. It's going to be very tough to convince a St Cloud or Alex station that they won't lose money on the deal compared to what they would normally broadcast at those times.

The number one priority of JJ's department has got to be turning more of these FB network affiliates into basketball stations. I think there are many MBB & WBB games where WDAY is the only station broadcasting. It's extremely tough to compete against HS basketball in this state(esp. class B), but we have to do the best we can.