Snap Off, Rochester's Country107.3 is on

[PumpRochester]

Well, that didn't take too long! Snap has flipped to country music. Interesting move for this station that could actually make sense, considering the area where their signal is strongest. Would be interesting if they made it a little more local as has been discussed on this board in the past, but I can't imagine CC actually putting any money into anything.

HD-2 is still classic alternative, or at least as CC defines it. No website yet ("mycountryfm.com coming soon" posted on snap1073.com and mycountryfm.com), although it'll surely be yet another of those CC cookie cutter sites.

I'm interested in how this will do. I know Snap wasn't pulling in anything, but it was still nice to have an older rhythmic station in town (when you could get reception). I kinda wish we could get a real MOViN' station out here!

 

[bowserb]

Personally this format could work for 1073, problem is the signal. The BEE pulls in consistent 9-11 ratings, and this station could make a dent. But does the eastside of Rochester need 3 country stations? BEE, Big dog 103.5, and now 1073? Both big dog and 1073 could make a serious dent, problem is the signal. Big dog fades by the time you get anywhere west of Troupe-Howell, and this new Snap, seems strongest in the Eastern suburbs and places like Penn Yan and Canandaigua. This station could make a dent, but the central city, and places like Greece, Gates, and places west would suffer little to no signal. Unless people want to be continually switching stations, big dog and this new 1073 could have decent audiences, if for one, they upped their signals, and if they were positioned a little closer to Rochester.

 

[Element9]

"IF"
"COULD"
"MIGHT"

Doyle and the Bee team likely aren't too concerned about 107.3. We've kinda seen this movie a few years back at this end of the Thruway when WNUC 107.7 made a run at WYRK 106.5. WNUC got crushed like a sandfly on the windshield of a Peterbilt. 'course, that was before WNSA, which got smacked by WGR, which was just before WLKK came on and got smoked by 97 Rock.

"CRUSHED"
"SMACKED"
"SMOKED"

A wise man once told me, "son, your station can have the best music, the best jingles, the best personalities and the best promotions... but if Billy Scanoots can't hear your radio station when he turns his radio on, you ain't got diddly squat."

It's good to know there's an alterative to the Bee in Rochester, but from what can be seen looking at the 12+ numbers in R&R, it's not gonna make much of a difference.

That's just my perspective from this end of the cornfield.

-good ol' 9-

 

[swhunte]

mycountryfm.com is up. Standard CC website as predicted.

 

[Ed Trefzger]

All they need to do is scrape a point or so from WBEE to help keep WHAM #1 in the market.

 

[Philip_Airtime]

"WNUC got crushed like a sandfly on the windshield of a Peterbilt. 'course, that was before WNSA, which got smacked by WGR, which was just before WLKK came on and got smoked by 97 Rock."

I just want to set the record straight, Niner. WGR never "smacked" WNSA. The two stations were pretty even ratings wise until the end of WNSA's run when WGR started to build a lead. But at its height, when the Sabres made the playoffs in 2001, WNSA actually beat WGR with a 3.1 share 12+. As I recall, WGR was in the mid two share range for much of the time it competed against WNSA. So, no, WGR did not "smack" WNSA. In fact, I would submit that WNSA was the superior sports station. With Doug Young as their producer, WNSA hosts had consistently more interesting interviews with top sports figures while WGR was talking urinal pads. And let's note here that two out of the three top hosts at WGR today (Howard Simon and Mike Schopp) came from WNSA. And the third guy, Bulldog, earned his reputation at what was then rival WBEN. Entercom should thank it's lucky stars that Adelphia tanked, sealing the fate of WNSA. One can't assume the Sabres would be as successful under the Rigases as they are now under Golisano. But imagine if today's Sabres were still on WNSA. I think it would be a much different scenario with WGR on the losing side.

 

[Element9]

All they need to do is scrape a point or so from WBEE to help keep WHAM #1 in the market.

Yes, true... but this assumes (uh-oh) or perhaps PRE-zooms WBEE stays flat or goes down... It's a fair presumption.... but we know about ass-sooming... the Bee is a monster station and could just as easily go up... maybe WAY up... leaving 107.3 to wither like a dried dog turd on Arizona asphalt in August.

And in other news...

I just want to set the record straight, Niner. WGR never "smacked" WNSA. The two stations were pretty even ratings wise until the end of WNSA's run when WGR started to build a lead. But at its height, when the Sabres made the playoffs in 2001, WNSA actually beat WGR with a 3.1 share 12+. As I recall, WGR was in the mid two share range for much of the time it competed against WNSA. So, no, WGR did not "smack" WNSA. In fact, I would submit that WNSA was the superior sports station. With Doug Young as their producer, WNSA hosts had consistently more interesting interviews with top sports figures while WGR was talking urinal pads. And let's note here that two out of the three top hosts at WGR today (Howard Simon and Mike Schopp) came from WNSA. And the third guy, Bulldog, earned his reputation at what was then rival WBEN. Entercom should thank it's lucky stars that Adelphia tanked, sealing the fate of WNSA. One can't assume the Sabres would be as successful under the Rigases as they are now under Golisano. But imagine if today's Sabres were still on WNSA. I think it would be a much different scenario with WGR on the losing side.

Y'know, you make a good point here about the stations being evenly matched mounds of mediocrity at one point in their mano a mano days. The difference was WNSA had the Buffalo Sabres. But that didn't make WNSA the better station because it wasn't the better station... it simply had the Sabres. Take a look at the dayparts, if you have access. Truth be told, both WGR and WNSA sucked. Yes, at times, each had moments of brilliance... well, maybe adequacy... but they were both mediocre.

As to WGR present, you could make the same argument for it being an especially mediocre station made better by the Sabres who have been on an amazing roll the last two seasons. As we've seen, a hometown hockey team in the playoffs tends to pump up the Spring numbers which normally would be mediocre.

Sure, Howard Simon's a knowledgeable guy, well-respected and well-liked. But he's teamed with the brilliance of Jeremy White, which rubs some people the wrong way.

And Schopp and the Bulldog? Mr. Mensa long ago became a tiresome caricature... oh yes, he's soooo smart! The lovable-but-stuttering former pizza delivery guy is a regular Joe and hard to dislike, but listening to him attempting to make a point or present his case is an exercise in exasperation.

WNSA, aside from the Sabres, was a very poorly programmed (sports) radio station. That weekend when programing genius Bob Kocinsky decided to take the station Sports-Rock really stole shares from 97 Rock and WGR... killed two birds with one stone. Brilliant move! (Sorry. I should have inserted the <sarcasm> tag a few paragraphs earlier. My apologies.)

Entercom doesn't have to thank anybody for anything. Shrewd manipulators. They actually did what any other business would do, that is, pick up the worthwhile players of a failed station and buy the assets of the bankrupt company.

We all know Adelphia imploded, lead by the Rigas Crooks who were caught with their hands in the piggy bank. What's particularly sad is the Rigas clan cost a lot of decent radio people (even the ones I've criticized here... I may not like their shtick, but they are, afterall, decent) their livelihoods.

Now, aside from all this sturm and drang, I contend (with some misgiving) that WGR was a better radio station during the WNSA-WGR contest. It was programmed for sports dorks and guys in particular. WNSA was programmed for sports afficianados who wanted to talk about statistics as "educated sports fans."

I'm not advocating LCD (lowest common denominator, not liquid crystal diode) programming, but sports ain't NPR.

Still, you made some good points, Phil, and I enjoy your posts. Let's play two!

-good ol' 9-

 

[ericNY]

the one drawback for big dog country is that the station is mostly national Djs instead of having local djs

Wonder if 107.3 will have local djs or just run a 24-hour "national satellite format" like many small country stations do.

 

[OttoM]

Wonder if 107.3 will have local djs or just run a 24-hour "national satellite format" like many small country stations do.

As someone posted above - this flip is just an effort to siphon numbers from WBEE. I wouldn't count on "local" DJs - the airshifts will likely just be another voicetracking assignment for someone at another CC station.

 

[ThePickleReport]

WNSA, aside from the Sabres, was a very poorly programmed (sports) radio station.

I disagree with that on most counts, but everyone has their opinion.

 

[ThePickleReport]

As someone posted above - this flip is just an effort to siphon numbers from WBEE. I wouldn't count on "local" DJs - the airshifts will likely just be another voicetracking assignment for someone at another CC station.

Most of the fringe stations that CC owns are only there to serve that purpose. How many formats have their Class A FM's in the Rochester had? Don't even try to think about it.............it will make your head hurt!
It's a waste of time and human resources, IMHO, to keep changing formats and spending money to re-launch these stations.

If I were a part of the "new" CC going forward I'd sell many of these underperforming stations off and use the proceeds to either pay down debt and/or pick up stations that matter.

 

[Bob1370]

"All they need to do is scrape a point or so from WBEE to help keep WHAM #1 in the market."

I doubt it would really make that much difference because the signal's so poor in most of the market that scraping a full point off WBEE will be damn near impossible even if Clear Channel chooses to promote the hell out of it. And I doubt they would even then. The 103.5 country station in Wayne County can't do it, and they DO advertise on Rochester TV and put a better signal into the eastern half of the market than 107.3 can muster.

But let's suppose for the sake of argument that 107.3 does hurt WBEE. Then Entercom will retaliate by putting a promotional push on WROC to pull audience away from WHAM, or else it will simulcast WROC on one of the struggling marginal FMs it's picking up from CBS for a while pending the reshuffle of the cluster...down goes WHAM's audience at least in 55 and unders.

WHAM's big problem is that it hasn't found a way to stretch its demos down the age spectrum, and probably won't with the post-10 AM lineup it has now. Nothing CC tries to do to WBEE will help them get the money demos they really want for WHAM, only a programming change will do that.

 

[Unregistered]

Personally this format could work for 1073, problem is the signal. The BEE pulls in consistent 9-11 ratings, and this station could make a dent. But does the eastside of Rochester need 3 country stations? BEE, Big dog 103.5, and now 1073? Both big dog and 1073 could make a serious dent, problem is the signal. Big dog fades by the time you get anywhere west of Troupe-Howell, and this new Snap, seems strongest in the Eastern suburbs and places like Penn Yan and Canandaigua. This station could make a dent, but the central city, and places like Greece, Gates, and places west would suffer little to no signal. Unless people want to be continually switching stations, big dog and this new 1073 could have decent audiences, if for one, they upped their signals, and if they were positioned a little closer to Rochester.

i agree 100%...107.3 having their transmitter in south bristol as opposed to atop pinnacle hill or somewhere closer to rochester contributes to their weak signal....the signal dies anywhere west of elmgrove rd, with severe bleedover from toronto-based q 107 in the western half of monroe, and orleans county...