Is X98.5 gone?

[awp69]

Well, I heard from a source that the PD who did both X98.5 and Chuck did not have his contract renewed.

Summit apparently did, however, miss a deadline for an auto renewal for a contract with Apex Broadcasting for the imaging and music for Chuck so doubt that is going anywhere for a while (and from my other post, may be moving to 99.5).

X98.5 has been up and down in the ratings, but overall had been doing better. In recent trends it was matching Chuck, which is way down, on a much crappier signal.

So, should have gotten to the point that today the stream and on-air for X was stopped about two hours ago. Sounds like the player itself was shut down so doesn't sound positive for its outlook. Too conincidental with the PD now gone.

Ashame because I still truly believe there is a market for alternative in GSP. The inconsistent signal with bad atmospheric issues and poor overall penetration really did not give it much of a chance. I think the more stable WROO would be a good match and it's ripe for a flip with even worse numbers on a better signal.

But X was on air for 3.5 years with lower ratings than they are currently. However, I wouldn't be surprised if they just abandon use of the translator due to its signal issues and Summit's poor overall financial state.

Time will tell. They have had server issues in the past so this could be a false alarm but I have my doubts.

Edit: It's back! But for how long?

 

[101tm]

Very rare for a company to rescind use of a translator that covers a decent portion of a market. More and more translators are going on the air, not just going off the air. If Summitmedia doesn't want it anymore which is rare in today's radio environment I'm sure iHeart or Entercom would take it off their hands. The RDS on both 97.7 and 98.5 has been turned off...

98.5 isn't the best signal but it's still decent enough to be of benefit to a broadcast company. It's better than 96.3 The Block. Chuck fm plays the same stuff already on 103.3 and 98.9.

 

[awp69]

Very rare for a company to rescind use of a translator that covers a decent portion of a market. More and more translators are going on the air, not just going off the air. If Summitmedia doesn't want it anymore which is rare in today's radio environment I'm sure iHeart or Entercom would take it off their hands. The RDS on both 97.7 and 98.5 has been turned off...

98.5 isn't the best signal but it's still decent enough to be of benefit to a broadcast company. It's better than 96.3 The Block. Chuck fm plays the same stuff already on 103.3 and 98.9.

The RDS on both stations has been off for six months (maybe more). The problem with 98.5 is that the best reception is in the downtown area. Get out past Woodruff Road and it begins to lose strength quickly. 98.5 would actually be better for an urban station like The Block.

But it also has some serious atmospheric issues causing static sometimes to the point of being unlistenable during the morning drive (all year, but worse in the Spring all the way through early Fall). With the morning commute being so important, that's a huge issue for X or anything else that would take its place.

I agree on Chuck. With its ratings in decline probably due to Earth and the better mixed Magic, I'm surprised that Summit is spending the money to reimage and all the other costs associated with moving it to 99.5. I'm sure there is some way they could get out of the Apex contract. It may cost them less to do that.

 

[101tm]

97.7 and 98.5 are both projected to have the same service contours. 98.5 is roughly 30 feet lower as far as antenna height goes but everything else is identical to 97.7. 98.5 should be a clear frequency considering the closest signals on that frequency are in Atlanta and Columbia and don't reach to any part of the service contour, even fringe, though 97.7 is overall a clearer frequency. Both have exceptional signals for translators, and W249CB/97.7 is going to get a little height boost going to 99.5...

The W249CB/Chuck FM move to 99.5 will mean no more reception of WBT on 99.3 from Charlotte in many areas.

If you want a bad translator signal, try 96.3 The Block, they have no height (less than 200 feet) and it gets eaten alive. Horrible. 98.5 and 97.7/99.5 are, as I said very exceptional signals for translators, and better than any of the others in the market.

 

[charlestondxman]

The problem is the FM atmospherics help the stronger signals. B98.5 is 100kw, and the signal in Columbia is good. Those signals skip into Greenville when there's good atmospherics. This is like what happens on the coast in the spring and summer when the Savannah stations are in every day in Charleston.

But that's an issue with a lot of stations. Even full-power signals. WSPA causes problems to our 98.9 at least half the year, and Charleston's 98.9 is 50kw.

 

[awp69]

97.7 and 98.5 are both projected to have the same service contours. 98.5 is roughly 30 feet lower as far as antenna height goes but everything else is identical to 97.7. 98.5 should be a clear frequency considering the closest signals on that frequency are in Atlanta and Columbia and don't reach to any part of the service contour, even fringe, though 97.7 is overall a clearer frequency. Both have exceptional signals for translators, and W249CB/97.7 is going to get a little height boost going to 99.5...

The W249CB/Chuck FM move to 99.5 will mean no more reception of WBT on 99.3 from Charlotte in many areas.

If you want a bad translator signal, try 96.3 The Block, they have no height (less than 200 feet) and it gets eaten alive. Horrible. 98.5 and 97.7/99.5 are, as I said very exceptional signals for translators, and better than any of the others in the market.

Have you tried listening to X98.5 in especially late Spring and Summer on sunny mornings? Maybe then you'll understand.

There is static almost every day during that period and sometimes days when it is completely unlistenable in the morning. Meanwhile, Chuck on 97.7 comes in crystal clear.

This is in the Woodruff Road area too -- not way out in Fountain Inn. I don't give a crap about height or it being an "exceptional" signal. I'm talking reality.

Charlestondxman, may be right that B98.5 is causing it.

Regardless, the signal IS horrible during the late Spring and Summer months. Even after the morning drive, there still is static -- just not to the same extent.

Whatever you are saying is irrelevant to what's truly happening in the market. There is a huge difference in the signal penetration between 97.7 and 98.5.

 

[awp69]

Was actually mostly cloudy this morning but lots of static on 98.5. None on 97.7.

Oh, and just tried 96.3 The Block, also clear.

Maybe The Block is worse in other parts of the county, but in the Woodruff Road / Butler Road area, it beat 98.5 in an important suburban area just outside Greenville's city limit today. Probably less important to the urban audience centered around downtown but still.

 

[101tm]

96.3 is on Paris Mountain with the other translators and WGTK, WEPR, etc.

They have the power, max for a translator at 250w but lack the height that they need. It's 2/3rd lower than the Summit translators. They're already doing extremely well considering the limitations. The signal is the first of the translators to die as you go down I-385 but it's a bit better than Lite 102.9.

I can occasionally DX B98.5 on top of X-98.5 which normally comes in decently 20 miles to the north. I would say the main problem for 98.5 is probably WSB-FM in Atlanta causing interruption at certain times of the day, mainly in the AM, even if you can't flat out hear the programming. 97.7 is an extremely clear frequency. The only thing they have to worry about is WCOS in Cola at 97.5 or WPEG in Charlotte at 97.9 that even during strong tropo times probably could not cause an issue. When 97.7 moves to 99.5 I expect issues to the Southside from WKXC in Augusta during certain times.

With WMYI moving closer to CHR maybe Summit should consider salvaging the rock format at 98.1...

 

[awp69]

Anyone who's a fan of alternative should check out X98.5's current playlist (although it doesn't look like Mediabase has everything yet). While the old PD is gone, the new person on the local level has been tinkering extensively with the playlist. Lots of more obscure cuts and bands that don't get much airplay on commercial alternative stations like Kaiser Chiefs, Less than Jake and others.

It's pretty bold and I like it, but I worry that it may be going a bit too far for a mainstream audience. Sounds a lot like a college station at times. It's still got most of the current hits so maybe I'm over thinking it. And I do like the element of surprise there. But I'm also surprised Summit went along with the changes. It'll be interesting to see if this helps or hurts the station's long term viability.

I hope it works.

 

[tylerSC]

97.7 and 98.5 are both projected to have the same service contours. 98.5 is roughly 30 feet lower as far as antenna height goes but everything else is identical to 97.7. 98.5 should be a clear frequency considering the closest signals on that frequency are in Atlanta and Columbia and don't reach to any part of the service contour, even fringe, though 97.7 is overall a clearer frequency. Both have exceptional signals for translators, and W249CB/97.7 is going to get a little height boost going to 99.5...

The W249CB/Chuck FM move to 99.5 will mean no more reception of WBT on 99.3 from Charlotte in many areas.

If you want a bad translator signal, try 96.3 The Block, they have no height (less than 200 feet) and it gets eaten alive. Horrible. 98.5 and 97.7/99.5 are, as I said very exceptional signals for translators, and better than any of the others in the market.

I am consistently infuriated that all of these low power translators are being allowed that interfere with distant reception of the full power Charlotte stations. I listen to WBT on 99.3 consistently on my home radio, and I get a clear signal including the HD radio with just rabbit ears. Already the Georgia station on 99.3 has increased their power such that I can no longer get WBT very good in the car. Now another potential problem when the Chuck station moves to 99.5. The FCC has gone too far with allowing all of these LPFMs, as they limit the complete coverage area of the full power stations. 107.9 and 102.9 from Charlotte are also disrupted by this annoying interference.

 

[awp69]

I am consistently infuriated that all of these low power translators are being allowed that interfere with distant reception of the full power Charlotte stations. I listen to WBT on 99.3 consistently on my home radio, and I get a clear signal including the HD radio with just rabbit ears. Already the Georgia station on 99.3 has increased their power such that I can no longer get WBT very good in the car. Now another potential problem when the Chuck station moves to 99.5. The FCC has gone too far with allowing all of these LPFMs, as they limit the complete coverage area of the full power stations. 107.9 and 102.9 from Charlotte are also disrupted by this annoying interference.

Well, there's the other side of the story too. It seems 98.5 in Greenville is hurt by WSB-FM in Atlanta. That's insane. I know it's a relatively low powered translator but, particularly in the late spring and summer months, X98.5 gets a lot of static. I've encountered at least some static almost every day (at different times of the day) since mid-April. I don't think a station 150 miles away should be interfering at all in the GSP market. Granted, I think a lot of it is atmospheric (hence the spring and summer months are most affected).