Yesterday (Wednesday) at 10 am, KKWV(FM) dropped its
reggae-flavored soul/AC format in favor of a simulcast of San
Jose-based soft-AC station KBAY(FM). Both stations are
owned by Infinity.

"The Wave" received some unwanted attention earlier this summer
when a New York Times articles called it out as an example of an
underperforming station owned by Infinity. There was some
speculation that Infinity's "Blink" format on WNEW(FM) New York
might be imported onto KKWV. However, with KLLC(FM)'s modern-AC
format, it would seem that such a move would cause Infinity to
be competing for its own listeners.

The simulcast appears to be permanent, in as much as anything in
radio is permanent, of course, with the station's promos and web
site both promoting the fact that KBAY is now available both in San
Jose and in San Francisco. Infinity has also reserved the KBAA call
letters, presumably for use on one of the two stations.

There is precedent for a two-station FM simulcast in the Bay Area.
KFOG has simulcast for five years on South Bay station KFFG.
Between the wide geographic expanse of the market and the
relatively moderate power levels of most FMs, it is difficult for a
single FM station, even one that is centrally located, to cover the
entire market or even more than half of it. At the same time, the
simulcasts are reducing the number of stations that are programming
primarily for San Jose and other South Bay cities.

In addition, the KKWV signal is notorious for coverage problems due
to a rather odd location on a hill in the East Bay city of San
Leandro. Because of the terrain in the area, the station can't even
be heard clearly in many parts of Oakland, even in those areas
adjacent to San Leandro.

--
Mark Roberts |"Their latest [CD], 'I Love America', is a collection of songs
Oakland, Cal.| inspired by the Sept. 11, 2002, terrorist attacks and performed
NO HTML MAIL | by five nephews of 1970s pop icons Donny and Marie Osmond."
-- Wall Street Journal, 8-15-2003, p. A4 (yes, "2002")