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WTNQ flips to oldies

According to radio insight, WTNQ has flipped from country to oldies and is retaining its local morning and afternoon shows. Good change??
 
Probably can't hurt, country is getting a bit crowded in the area. I don't know that they're going full bore as a Knoxville move in. There is the usual upper demographic problem, and they could stand to work on their music ("The Look of Love" by Dusty Springfield in morning drive makes me think "snooze button" more than "get up and go").

It sounded like 1120/97.1 has worked on their music a little bit, unless I just happened to catch a patch of familiar songs driving home last night.
 
I discovered the change by accident last night and was very pleasantly surprised. The playlist seems a bit random but I'm saying that as a good thing. Sorry Brad, I can enjoy "The Look of Love" anytime of the day or night, haha. WTNQ reminds me of "The Hog" but about 10 years older.

As for WKCE, I am hearing more mid '60s, which also is a good thing.
 
I checked their web site today and it still has them as a country station. Also didn't they have a CP to move the tower closer to Knoxville and change the COL to Rocky Top?
 
I'm not sure about the Rocky Top/Lake City/whatever it is this week CP. One problem with a distant rimshot is you never know where a translator is going to park. No WIHG for me with Morristown
 
I would've thought an adult hits/Jack FM format would've been a more logical hole to fill. It's missing from the market, plus the demos are much more attractive than this rather upper demo/60s leaning oldies format as it currently sounds
 
I would've thought an adult hits/Jack FM format would've been a more logical hole to fill. It's missing from the market, plus the demos are much more attractive than this rather upper demo/60s leaning oldies format as it currently sounds

Nah, not on that small signal. Adult Hits will probably be the eventual direction for WNOX anyway as it evolves. WTNQ then can fill the oldies niche with their smaller signal.
 
I guess if you want the "wayback" oldies you can try 1120 AM WKCE, also on 97.1 FM translator.
WTNQ should concentrate on it primary signal area, Same goes for the 106.1 FM in Oliver Springs they own. Oak Ridge is a wide open market. It's 500w signal on a tall antenna site is good for listening in the car but drop the height and go for the building penetration. Currently these two station don't even show up in the Knoxville book.
 
I guess if you want the "wayback" oldies you can try 1120 AM WKCE, also on 97.1 FM translator.
WTNQ should concentrate on it primary signal area, Same goes for the 106.1 FM in Oliver Springs they own. Oak Ridge is a wide open market. It's 500w signal on a tall antenna site is good for listening in the car but drop the height and go for the building penetration. Currently these two station don't even show up in the Knoxville book.

I've always been a bit surprised that 106.1 doesn't do a bit better in the market. Honestly, their signal seems pretty rock solid in the car (especially all over West Knoxville). I would've thought one of the 3 big groups would've tried to buy that signal by now. It's certainly far better in Knoxville coverage than the 104.9 station. In this day & time, I would think in-car listening would pretty much be the standard for ratings. Is building penetration really that important now. Honestly, I hardly ever hear anyone with a physical, boom box type indoor radio anymore. Seems to me most indoor listening is now dominated by streaming or other services. Anyway, with that trend, I'd think the taller tower height w/ less power (which gets farther in-car coverage), would be a better choice.
 
There are still employers (particularly large ones) that don't allow streaming on company computers. I don't know what to make of 106.1, it seems to just be "there" along with 105.3. 106.1 doesn't seem to make any kind of a dent in the B97.5 behemoth. Outside of West Knoxville the signal isn't great. (One thing that's increasingly going to be a challenge for distant rimshots into any market are translators. 105.7 The Hog is unlistenable in south and east Knoxville thanks to the Morristown translator. WTNQ may do well in their local area. It sounds like WKCE has done a little work on their music but they still play a lot of unfamiliars (which I get the geeks love but not much of anybody else)
 
106.1 used to show up in the Knoxville book before it became "subscriber only." Their numbers were not great, but I recall they were better than what 96.7 is sitting at right now. Their signal coverage is surprisingly good (although it does disappear once inside a building.)

As for WTNQ, I really like their oldies mix. Out of the 6 oldies/classic hits stations I can receive now, they might be my favorite.
 
"Subscriber Only" means they only publish the subscribers for public consumption. All stations still show up in the actual book, distributed to said subscribers, radio, agencies, and the like, if they have an audience. 106.1 makes a dent every now and then. Usually very, very small dents.

The Oldies format is not good for them. It's barely good enough for WNOX, but with WNOX they're only in it for the fractional numbers they pull from B97, who themselves are only using DUKE as the same for WIVK. All companies playing the game in Knoxville are doing so do become the undisputed champion of the market. Knock down WIVK enough and it's an actual fight for superiority. A fight that 106.1 and 104.9 will never even be able to buy tickets to watch, let alone be a part of.

That being said it is agreeable that they target Anderson, Roane, Morgan, Campbell and Scott counties for what must be enough advertising dollars to keep the owners in their luxurious lifestyles. But they won't do it. They're not here for the hunting, as they say.
 
(One thing that's increasingly going to be a challenge for distant rimshots into any market are translators. 105.7 The Hog is unlistenable in south and east Knoxville thanks to the Morristown translator.

WIHG is a rated station in the Knoxville Metro (albeit not highly rated) none the less, the FCC Rules provide that if a translator interferes with the regularly used over the air signal of a full power station, the translator must protect that station or cease operation, even if it's outside the protected contour of the station. If you use to listen to WIHG 105.7 The HOG! but now are getting interference from W289BQ in Morristown, please send an email to [email protected] with your name, address and a brief statement describing where you listen, what kind of interference and how long it has been occurring. Full service stations do not have put up with interference from this proliferation of translators and listener complaints are a big key to getting to listen to a full service radio station you enjoy.
 
WIHG is a rated station in the Knoxville Metro (albeit not highly rated) none the less, the FCC Rules provide that if a translator interferes with the regularly used over the air signal of a full power station, the translator must protect that station or cease operation, even if it's outside the protected contour of the station. If you use to listen to WIHG 105.7 The HOG! but now are getting interference from W289BQ in Morristown, please send an email to [email protected] with your name, address and a brief statement describing where you listen, what kind of interference and how long it has been occurring. Full service stations do not have put up with interference from this proliferation of translators and listener complaints are a big key to getting to listen to a full service radio station you enjoy.

That is a great tip Remington3. I did exactly that when the WKCE translator came on 98.3 blocking my reception of WMTY in Knoxville. I notified both stations. The translator was off in a matter of days.
 
Morristown really isn't that much skin off my nose. They're a good station serving their local area and I don't think I want to be the one forcing them to go to the expense of moving (and having those CBS-FM jingles re-sung). If it was an EMF or Cumulus I probably would.
 
Morristown really isn't that much skin off my nose. They're a good station serving their local area and I don't think I want to be the one forcing them to go to the expense of moving (and having those CBS-FM jingles re-sung). If it was an EMF or Cumulus I probably would.

Good call. WIHG is having sound quality issues anyway. Everything is muffled. It sounds like everything is played on an old 8-Track player with dirty heads. I e-mailed them about it and never got any response. It's frustrating because while I love their playlist, I cannot listen to such awful sound quality.
 
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