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Buddy Shula buys WECK
- Thread starter davideduardo
- Start date
B
Buddy Shula
Guest
The translator comes in great from Lancaster south. The audio processing is really good. We are working on the antenna to sound even better. It is one of the best sounding translators in Buffalo. The station is not about the FM. it's about the AM. the FM is just something extra. It is not pointing to northowns to protect Hamilton, so you won't get well in northtowns. Changing are coming. You'll like it.
Apparently, the FCC approved the sale and the closing must have happened in the last day or so. I was listening to the station this afternoon and heard Bob Taylor identify it during the top of the hour ID as a Buddy Shula Communications station.
Congratulations and best of luck to Buddy on his new venture!
Congratulations and best of luck to Buddy on his new venture!
And it's no longer "Timeless"...now "Positively Buffalo". Great positioner - can't wait to see what's next!
Exactly... localize, and bringing back Danny Neaverth to the Buffalo airwaves helps make you top of mind.
Buddy's made some announcements on the WECK Facebook page:
"I am also announcing that you will soon be hearing Buffalo radio legends Danny Neaverth and former Channel 7 AM Buffalo Co-Host Jon Summers weekdays from 9am-12noon, and Harv Moore from 12n-3pm."
He's also got streaming set up and working well. Speaking of well, he's bring Dawn Wells to town for a three hour tour on the Miss Buffalo. If only Gilligan's was still here for a tie-in...
"I am also announcing that you will soon be hearing Buffalo radio legends Danny Neaverth and former Channel 7 AM Buffalo Co-Host Jon Summers weekdays from 9am-12noon, and Harv Moore from 12n-3pm."
He's also got streaming set up and working well. Speaking of well, he's bring Dawn Wells to town for a three hour tour on the Miss Buffalo. If only Gilligan's was still here for a tie-in...
Those all sound like positive moves. Let's hope that Buddy can put together a "role model" for locally focused stations that can provide service, entertainment and even make money.
So he's stable then?
Very few people under 65 will have any interest in this station.
If they can make money, it will be OLD money.
David has stated that seniors are toxic to advertisers.
(Too hard to get a sale, not worth the investment, etc..)
The station will be serving the senior population. They deserve
credit for being realistic about what audience they can get.
That can't be said about Entercom. The Lake and KB (as Oldies)
combined for about 7 shares. ALT Buffalo and KB now don't even add
up to a 2 share...
Only you could take what is without a doubt one of the best things to happen in Buffalo radio and pee all over it. Sucks to be you.
I have said that older listeners are not desired by agency accounts.
But even local agencies and direct accounts are more flexible and, let's say, open minded. Local accounts which are mostly retail and local service providers seem to find older consumers as a valuable potential client based. This is why "oldies" is a viable format in unrated markets and even for suburban stations; they don't depend on agency dollars.
And I'll bet Buddy knows how to market this audience to a specific and profitable group of local, direct advertisers.
Alt is a rimshot. Its numbers are reasonable for the signal and the competitive environment.
KB is a high-band AM. Keyword: AM.
The only two viable AM formats for big companies are already taken by their other two AMs, so there is not much they can do with it. Buddy has wisely gone in a direction a large operator can not go.
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this is an important observation. I wish WECK well, but it shouldn't be blasphemy to objectively question who exactly and how many people will listen to this station given the format and the legacy personalities the station will admirably hire. It does in fact appear the station will appeal to people who are 55 and older, perhaps 65 and older. Personally, that doesn't seem to be a bad thing, as long as the station can make money appealing to that audience and pay its bills. I have no skin in this game. As I wrote, I wish the station luck. It's likely I'll check out the station, but it's also likely my daily listening habits won't much change to include this station just because a new owner with big plans is in charge and big, old names are being hired. 97 Rock, Jack and WHTT are my "oldies stations" of choice. WTSS, CHUM-FM and WYRK are my "new music" stations of choice. In my daily travels throughout western New York, those stations come in clearly on my radio. WECK-FM does not, and because i prefer to listen to music on FM, I'm conditioned to hearing it sound as good as it does on FM. It's not likely I'll listen to music on AM radio regardless of who's playing it. Like most people in the 35-64 group, when I listen to AM, it's usually to WBEN or WGR for talk oriented news or sports programming. But again, if the music and personalities on WECK light your candle, good for you. Glad you have a station that excites you.
A smaller station that makes a good living for the owner is bad how?
I think there are several positives: 1) a competent operator will serve an underserved audience 2) smaller local advertisers will have a viable medium to reach consumers 3) local services and charities will likely get greater attention on a locally owned station.
And I see no negatives. It's a good move.
B
Buddy Shula
Guest
Some people are just really dumb. WECK is an AM Station with an FM translator component in the southtowns. Folks, this station is going to become Buffalo's very own. I am currently deveoping working on partnerships with The Buffalo News, and television stations. I am hiring Tom Donahue, Danny Neverath, Jon Summers, Harv Moore, Mike Jacobs and more. This will be a great full service AM station with local news and information delivered by familiar respected heratige buffalo air personalities. The station will be the servent of the comminuity, all rotating around timeless hits you can't find anywhere else on radio. The station will sound major market by July. And yes. We are already over our revenue goals fir may and June. Keep it mind, I have owned it 5 days. Don't bet against me. We will chat about this in six months. You will love what you hear.
Best of luck to you.
You will serve an unattended audience. You will offer an ad medium that will appeal to local accounts that don't benefit from spending too much money on the big stations.
I spent some time a few years back considering doing something similar in a smaller Arizona market. But I found that there were few heritage voices, as the community was almost entirely made up of people from somewhere else. Buffalo is a stable environment; while some will say "stagnant" you can employ well known voices who have local equity. And with your sales contacts and relationships and ability to do spots that sell, I am betting the campaigns you run will work.
I have always been a big market, ratings driven radio shark... an endangered species. Have fun!
Go, Buddy. Be big. Be a builder.
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