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F10 Fri., Dec. 16, 1988 ghr Bahcrufirlfr (CulifnrnimtCover IKDOB:New on tubeContinued from FIdustry are saying the station’s call letters, which stand for the initials of its owner (Dorothy Owens Broadcasting), emphasize the fact that the station will be one more addition to the Owens’ media empire.Buck Owens (Dorothy’s brother) already controls two radio stations (KUZZ AM and FM) and three publications (The Kern Shopper, Home Preview and Camera Ads).There also has been debate among area broadcasters as to whether any rules, set up by the FCC to restrict media monopolies, were bent to accommodate the family’s interests.FCC Rules and Regulations state generally one entity cannot own a radio station, a TV station and a publication in a single market, according to Michele Fargu-har, an attorney with the Policy and Rules Division of the FCC’s Washington, D.C. division.However Farguhar said the agency is constantly liberalizing rules on a case by case basis.During an interview at the KDOB studio, Owens discussed her situation.“I am the sole owner of this station,” she said. ‘‘I severed my (business) ties with my brother when I quit my job. I have no stock or ownership whatsoever in his radio stations or publications. Those are all Buck’s, not mine.”The 54-year-old businesswoman, who worked as secretary-treasurer of Buck Owens Enterprises until Nov. 30, obviously is proud of her accomplishment — a $1.6 million broadcasting facility at 1225 N. Chester Ave., Oildale.The large, white building, which is still owned by her brother, (Mice was his old recording studio and before that (in the late 1930s) housed the old River Theater. It is now being leased by Owens — resulting in lower construction costs and reasonable rent.The complex contains several business offices, an editing booth, a master control room, production area (which for now will be used only to film commercials) and a private office that features a wet bar and sunken bathtub.“We really revamped the place,” Owens said. “We just got through painting and carpeting and now we’re installing the last of the equipment.”Because the station will be locally owned and operated, Owens said everyday business decisions won’t have to wait for a corporate response.“We’re going to be different, and that difference will be clear once we’re on the air,” she said.+ '-“We’re going to be different,” she said, “and that difference will be clear once we’re on the air.”—DorothyOwensOne thing the station won’t be doing, at least not yet, is producing any of its own programming.“We’re not going to be having news — it’s too expensive,” she said. “Besides, I don’t think news could be covered any better than it already is in this town. Later though, down the road, we hope to produce some (live) shows originating from our studio.”When KDOB goes on the air Sunday, it will be picked up by one of two local cable companies. Warner Cable is carrying it as cable channel 13, but Cox Cable has yet to add the station to its listings.Pete Leveroni, marketing manager for Cox, explained why.“Dorothy Owens filed a written request asking the station be added to our lineup, and it’s under consideration,” he said. “Our problem is that we don’t have any room to expand. We have a 35-channel capacity and it’s filled. If we give KDOB a channel, we’d have to take off some other station.”Leveroni said he plans to do subscriber research in the first quarter of the year to determine potential viewer-ship and then make a final decision.However, the station’s 5-million watt transmitter, which sits 15 miles northeast of Bakersfield atop Mount Adelaide, will send out a strong enough signal to be picked up even without cable.Inside the studio, chief engineer Rockey Curless explained other technical aspects of the station.Curless said KDOB is being outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment, including an automatic (videocassette) cart machine with 24-hour program-loading capacity, a 5,000 cassette library that will feature one-half-inch Beta tapes and Sony’s best CCD cameras.Another first for KDOB, which has a frequency of 656 to 662 megacycles, is that it will be the only TV station in the area featuring 24-hour stereo broadcasting, according to Curless.“The only time we’ll be off the air is midnight (Sunday) to 6 a.m. on Monday, and that will be for maintenance,” he said.KDOB employees go through training in master control roomTV: Competition welcomeContinued from FIthat they will be offering anything that isn’t already being offered in this area.“The fact is, their advertising rates may be more on a level with some of the better radio stations in town. But somewhere, someone had to make a decision to take this step and Dorothy did.”Ron Mires, general manager of KER-O-TV Channel 23 expressed a similar concern.“Selfishly, we’d like to be the only game in town, but that’s unrealistic,” he said. “We already compete with two other stations for advertising dollars and now we’re going to have to try even harder to get our share of the pie.”Hie station managers said that advertising revenues for network affiliates are usually lessened by 3 percent to 5 percent when an independent station moves into a ADI (Area of Dominant Influence).Still, they maintain the true power base of a TV station is its news department and since KDOB doesn’t have one,they’re not overly worried about the competition.But, Marlene Delano, general sales manager for KDOB, says the station will be competitive with other Bakersfield stations.“We’ll be charging what the network affiliates charge (advertisers),” she said. “KDOB will by no means limit itself to low-budget businesses. We plan to have affordable rates and those who want the best spots will pay the highest rates.”Delano, who worked at KGET-TV for several years before moving to KDOB, said that the independent is also trying to attract a number of major accounts, such as McDonald’s, by offering children’s programming on a daily basis.“Normally, the only time advertisers can attract kids is on Saturday morning, but we’re going to be airing children’s shows every day,” she said.
Newspaper Details
Bakersfield Californian
Bakersfield, California, US
Fri, Dec 16, 1988
Page 75
Full Page
Clipped by
Sammi B.
NA 15 Apr 2024
Other Publications Near Bakersfield, California
The Berkshire County Eagle
Southern Californian and Kern Weekly Courier
The Weekly Californian
Kern County Californian
Daily Californian
