Published: September 06, 2008 11:46 pm         

KNET nets new FM frequency

Listeners who enjoy the talk show format of KNET 1450 AM, but are frustrated by the decrease in signal strength during the evening hours can now continue to enjoy that same format with just a flip of the dial.

At noon Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission cleared the way for KNET, the oldest radio station in East Texas, to be simulcast on the FM band at 95.7 K239 FM.

“That is good news for Westwood football fans who like to listen to games broadcast on Friday nights,” KNET news director Gary Richards explained Thursday. “It also allows fans of talk radio shows like Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly to continue listening during the evening hours.”

The station’s expansion was made possible through a program by the FCC that allows small town AM radio stations to simulcast on the FM dial.

“After sunset, AM radio signals are reduced nationwide,” KNET general manager Lee Parkinson said Friday. “That presents a dilemma for towns that only have an AM station and need to get emergency information out.

“In our case, the FM station will broadcast to a 25-mile radius listening area, which includes all of Anderson and some of Houston counties.”

According to Parkinson, everything heard on KNET — from commercials and daily programming to Friday night football games — will be exactly the same on the FM affiliate.

“I am so excited about this expansion,” he said. “It is a fantastic thing to be able to offer something like this to our listeners.”

KNET 1450 has been serving deep East Texas since Jan. 2, 1936. The station’s schedule and online broadcasts are available at www.youreasttexas.com.

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Mary Rainwater may be reached via e-mail at mrainwater@palestineherald.com

     

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