96.3 KTWN Frustration

[Mike Sixel]

There is something magical missing in our new, improved, technology (though I'd argue the gains outweigh the losses).

[Rosterman]

My biggest issue since they left WCCO is the general baseball talk, both pre and post game, not to mention other things during the day. WCCO seemed to go above and beyond the needs of baseball to make Twins coverage part of their daily product.

 

Then the Twins wanted teams to PAY them to broadcast besides keeping a good portion of the advertising revenue to boot.

 

They may have increased their overall monies by selling the Twins to lots and lots of smaller markets (sure, I'm sure, ratings are down because of losing seasons).

 

KSTP swooped in, but I got sick of their talking down to Twins fans and yes I didn't think they were Twins boosters, which seems to work against the fact that you are trying to get people to listen to broadcasts, let alone radio.

 

Pohlads seem to think that the Twins listeners will cross over and make their regular music broadcast day bigger in the ratings. I have yet to figure out what they do actually play for music.

 

I miss the days of a great pre-game show, a great post-game show, and Dark Star mumbling throughout the night about baseball and the Twins during the season. Plus, with WCCO, you could egt the signal from pretty much anywheres.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

Truly pathetic. Western Wisconsin, sunny day, driving around. Pretty much impossible to listen to the Twins on 96.3.

 

Someone needs to say it: this is a weak organization. The quality of their decisions, their ability to hold people accountable for poor performance, their response to criticism -- if they didn't have a monopoly on baseball in this region, they would have been drummed out of town a long time ago.

 

Luckily, they are the kind of team the last few years where, if you don't listen to them, you don't miss anything.

The River Falls station carries the games as well. 104.1 I believe

[Mike Sixel]

Of course, WCCO isn't really the WCCO you remember at all......

[nokomismod]

Some of the newish smart phones have FM tuners in them. Last night I was doing a bunch of outdoor ****e and thoroughly enjoyed listening to the broadcast. I too am about 3 miles South of Target field (Lyn Lake area). Sometimes the signal is decent other times not so good.

On Sunday, we were driving back to Mpls from my parent's place near Pine City and we could only pick up the Spanish broadcast of the game until we reached Forest Lake (on KTWN). That surprised me.

[DJL44]

On Sunday, we were driving back to Mpls from my parent's place near Pine City and we could only pick up the Spanish broadcast of the game until we reached Forest Lake (on KTWN). That surprised me.

 

Pine City has a Twins radio affiliate on 100.9. I don't think they carry the Spanish broadcast.

 

The only thing I miss about the Twins on WCCO is Herb Carneal.

[amjgt]

I agree that many of the reception problems has more to do with building blockage than power.

 

None of the other major / mid-major radio stations suffer from said building blockage.

[SweetOne69]

None of the other major / mid-major radio stations suffer from said building blockage.

 

I know of a couple that do. I buddy of mine lives in Burnsville. He lives about 5 miles from the transmitter of one of the news talk radio stations. He can't pick it up, but I can 100 miles away.

 

That being said, KTWN has a Class C3 license which means that it can transmit up to 25kW and have an antenna height of 100m. They are no where near their limit (19kW and 77meters).

 

Apparently in the FM world, the antenna height is more important than the transmission power.

[DJL44]

That being said, KTWN has a Class C3 license which means that it can transmit up to 25kW and have an antenna height of 100m. They are no where near their limit (19kW and 77meters).

 

Good information. Another 23 meters would certainly help with building shadowing. There aren't too many 100 meter buildings in Minneapolis.

 

From wiki: "Minneapolis, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, is home to 245 completed high-rises,^[1] 34 of which stand taller than 300 feet (91 m)."

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Minneapolis

 

The station transmits out of New Hope. If there is a tall building between you and the transmitter that explains the problem.

[Mike Sixel]

You think radio is bad, try cutting the cord on cable.....I have had the pleasure of watching one show the old fashioned way, holding my antenna, while laying on the floor.......ah, the glory days

[Brock Beauchamp]

The station transmits out of New Hope.

 

Well, that explains why I never have any issue receiving the transmission. I work in Plymouth, live in north Minneapolis.

 

I was a little confused about the issues receiving KTWN, as it's always crystal clear for me.

[Willihammer]

Well I'm in St Paul and receptions fine for me for the most part.

 

ESPN 1500, broadcasting a couple miles up University, not so much. Glad they aren't the carrier anymore.

[DJL44]

ESPN 1500, broadcasting a couple miles up University, not so much. Glad they aren't the carrier anymore.

 

KSTP 1500 broadcasts out of Maplewood. Being close to a tall building is bad. Diffraction is your friend.

[JB_Iowa]

One reason to live in the wilds, I guess. I have tuned in 570AM (Yankton), 1140AM (Sioux Falls), 620AM (Sioux City) and on occasion, 1240AM (Spencer).

 

Of course, that means being 240 or so miles from the TC (not to mention mlles from restaurants and even fast food cuz I really am in the boonies), but hey, we've got our choice of what station to listen to for Twins broadcasts.

[Trevor0333]

Good information. Another 23 meters would certainly help with building shadowing. There aren't too many 100 meter buildings in Minneapolis.

 

From wiki: "Minneapolis, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, is home to 245 completed high-rises,^[1] 34 of which stand taller than 300 feet (91 m)."

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Minneapolis

 

The station transmits out of New Hope. If there is a tall building between you and the transmitter that explains the problem.

 

I thought KTwins tower was out in Glencoe.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

My biggest issue since they left WCCO is the general baseball talk, both pre and post game, not to mention other things during the day. WCCO seemed to go above and beyond the needs of baseball to make Twins coverage part of their daily product.

 

Absolutely. There was a programming synergy during the WCCO days that suffered at KSTP and is non-existent at KTWN. That old radio model is a bit of an anachronism today but I bet the Pohlads could make it work if they wanted to, especially here. Meanwhile the MLB At Bat audio is a very reasonable deal and you get all local broadcasts and advertising of all MLB games, no radio "blackouts," plus all postseason games I believe.

[howeda7]

Couldn't be easier to get them in Sioux Falls. They have a station here and WNAX is a blow torch. Driving through the heart of MN? It was hit and miss once WNAX went out. Whatever extra $$ they got from leaving WCCO, the paltry sum couldn't have been worth the collateral damage of not being able to reach your fans. FWIW, I have MLB at bat and listen on it at home. But I refuse to burn data on it while driving through the middle of MN.

[raindog]

My 6yo daughter, tonight, who went with me to the game yesterday, asked me if she could listen to the game while she went to sleep. I couldn't have been happier.... Until I had to disappoint her by telling her that I couldn't get the game on her radio.

 

I live 4 miles south of Target Field. 4 miles. And I can't get the game on a relatively new desktop radio with a decent sized antenna and digital tuning. I can get just about any other FM station in the area. Not KTWN.

 

This is a problem, Minnesota Twins.

 

I get it. Not many people listen to the game on the radio any more. There probably isn't exactly a bidding war to broadcast Twins baseball games in the metro. But then you need to change with the times. She's got an iPod touch that she be perfectly happy listening to the game on.

 

I recommend tweeting at Dave St. Peter.

 

Hopefully he won't be "amazed at the focus" of wanting to listen to a damn baseball game on the radio.

[Jerr]

Brooklyn Center, here and I always listen to the Twins on the radio. No problems on any of the radios for 93.6.

 

Also, I have mlb.com and the audio broadcasts are worth it, but I fork over the video cost, as it is fun to watch games elsewhere. I refuse to pay for cable:D

[raindog]

MLB.TV is great and all for an out of market fan like me, but citizens of Minneapolis/Minnesota should not have to pay to listen to a clear radio broadcast. They paid for the stadium.

[Benchwarmerjim]

What the Twins gained from moving from CCO to KSTP: the Hubbards paid them a million dollars AND all in house ad revenue (thus the Treasure Island Radio Network was born. The Twins kept all that sponsorship money. None of it to the Hubbards.) . And the Twins picked up a lot of affiliates to make up for the small signal of 1500. the KSTP stop was just a layover until the Pohalds figured out to streamline everything and out it on their own channel.

 

Victory Sports One Radio.

 

WCCO was never going to agree to to those kind of terms. (at that time, CBS owned stations were cutting back on sports coverage. KMOX/Cardinals was another CBS move).

 

Im just glad I live in a part of Minnesota where I can pick up New Ulm or Mankato or a couple other distant AM stations.