https://news.****************/cgi-bin/rol.exe/headline_id=n35930
Yes WLAC will have an FM simulcast.
Yes WLAC will have an FM simulcast.
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WLAC/Nashville Adds FM Simulcast, Expands TN Star Report
- Thread starter Y2kTheNewOldies
- Start date
What that story doesn't say is it means the legendary Gerry House is gone again. He was the voice of The Big Legend, the classic country station that had been on that translator before this flip to talk:
https://radioinsight.com/headlines/1...-in-nashville/
The station didn't really accomplish its mission, which was to take listeners away from Nash Icon, Nashville's highest rated country station. It has done so with a mix of current hits and classics from the 90s. So now, Gerry House fans will instead hear Steve Gill, who is not related to Vince Gill. In the meantime, the Big 98, iHeart's primary country station, has been losing listeners.
Hey Tibbs! What happened?
https://radioinsight.com/headlines/1...-in-nashville/
The station didn't really accomplish its mission, which was to take listeners away from Nash Icon, Nashville's highest rated country station. It has done so with a mix of current hits and classics from the 90s. So now, Gerry House fans will instead hear Steve Gill, who is not related to Vince Gill. In the meantime, the Big 98, iHeart's primary country station, has been losing listeners.
Hey Tibbs! What happened?
Just in time for the mid-terms!
BigA - This is an interesting move. I honestly think two things have happened. I might have improperly listed the numerical importance:
1.) I think WLAC-AM, and talk radio, in general, has certainly been stalling in Nashville for too long. There simply is little value left for anyone under 50 to listen to AM in this city. A sad truth. The heritage effect is gone in the New Nashville. So, I think this move was more about saving WLAC and less about Gerry House.
2.) As we have all seen with the PPM market, times have changed and even Gerry House could not drastically move the needle on the limited signal, with virtually no marketing on a radio dial way overcrowded by country music. When Gerry retired, much of his audience was forced to move on and once your retire, well, you probably should not return. That being said, Gerry's return was not really full with lots of liners and little substance that just did not win the audience back. I think it the deal actually lasted longer than I expected.
3.) It might actually be more interesting (and easy) to take on WWTN and be more effective. WLAC sadly became a dinosaur. Now, even with the limited signal, the station has a "better" signal than WLAC with all it's noise. My guess is someone looked at all this and saw no effect from the country format war and saw a need to give even good ole Dave Ramsey a shot in the arm.
Now, I have to ask you a question, BigA! You have paid great attention to flips on stations like this. Any thoughts on what you think the outcome will turn out? Can you really blame management for trying? (FWIW, Cumulus has had a lot of issues with WWTN's signal and honestly it's not being programmed as tightly as it once was.)
Also, Let me look at some real numbers from 97.9. I have glanced at some and noticed they were down. TSL seems to really be taking a hit? I should not bring up the need to again look at WKDF's dismal "real" numbers. Have you seen those, as well?
1.) I think WLAC-AM, and talk radio, in general, has certainly been stalling in Nashville for too long. There simply is little value left for anyone under 50 to listen to AM in this city. A sad truth. The heritage effect is gone in the New Nashville. So, I think this move was more about saving WLAC and less about Gerry House.
2.) As we have all seen with the PPM market, times have changed and even Gerry House could not drastically move the needle on the limited signal, with virtually no marketing on a radio dial way overcrowded by country music. When Gerry retired, much of his audience was forced to move on and once your retire, well, you probably should not return. That being said, Gerry's return was not really full with lots of liners and little substance that just did not win the audience back. I think it the deal actually lasted longer than I expected.
3.) It might actually be more interesting (and easy) to take on WWTN and be more effective. WLAC sadly became a dinosaur. Now, even with the limited signal, the station has a "better" signal than WLAC with all it's noise. My guess is someone looked at all this and saw no effect from the country format war and saw a need to give even good ole Dave Ramsey a shot in the arm.
Now, I have to ask you a question, BigA! You have paid great attention to flips on stations like this. Any thoughts on what you think the outcome will turn out? Can you really blame management for trying? (FWIW, Cumulus has had a lot of issues with WWTN's signal and honestly it's not being programmed as tightly as it once was.)
Also, Let me look at some real numbers from 97.9. I have glanced at some and noticed they were down. TSL seems to really be taking a hit? I should not bring up the need to again look at WKDF's dismal "real" numbers. Have you seen those, as well?
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Ha! Good question...but you're my guy in Nashville. You probably have better information.
Tom Taylor asked a good question today in his newsletter. He wondered why iHeart hasn't subscribed the translator to Nielsen for the past few books. I don't know.
What will the outcome be? As you say, WLAC is not the station it once was. The talkers on the station are older, syndicated hosts, while those at WWTN are local. Local talk works. National talk, especially now, isn't. But iHeart's goal is to take back the news/talk audience. It's obviously a bigger priority in Nashville than country music. The country programming team lost this battle, and we'll see if WLAC gets revitalized with an FM translator.
You're right, and guess what country station is #1. It's Nash Icon.
TSL increased at 95.5, down a bit at 97.9 and virtually non-existent at 103.3. Looks like WSM-FM has done all the right things. I did manage to listen to 97.9 a few times this week. I am not a fan of the music, which obviously does not matter, but the station sounds like the air personalities are all from Tuscan and I am definitely too old for the sound and no one seems to know when to get back to the music. BigA - is it possible that the station has skewed so deep into grabbing younger listeners that it will never truly bounce back? Problem is the younger demographic they are attempting to capture are not compelled to listen to radio. I think they have gone too cool. Nash Icon has the local sound and flavor. Like a good pair of shoes, comfortable and dependable. Are we at a county crossroad? Think there will actually be a point that Cumulus feels no threat from SIX and points the format guns away from Country and sees the "obvious" pot of revenue shared between three stations in the Top 5? I don't particularly desire that format change for various reasons, but how long can you sit on a 100kw signal with such low numbers and justify?
With WLAC's format competitors WPLN and WWTN being on FM, for a number of years, a translator is probably too little too late...
No doubt. They say anything is better than nothing. This may not apply, but I guess it's a lot cheaper than trying to actually run a format. Don't get me started on what Translators are doing to "real" stations.
Not sure I agree with that completely. If 98 could get Bobby to be on all day, they might get better numbers. I think he does a good job, but he reminds me of the president. It's all about him. So he sucks the air out of the room. His fans like him, and they listen to him on air, online, and podcasts. When they're listening to those other things, they're not listening to 98. But 98 is monetizing all those other things. So it works for them, and they see their future as those other things any way.
Meanwhile, it's all about the music at Icon. People who love the music are loving the mix of old & new.
Actually - I "think" we are thinking/saying about the same thing. My wording was not great. Surprised?
I find Bobby Bones to be a highly interesting find, both compelling and odd. Not exactly in a bad way. He seems right and yet wrong. With no middle ground. Does that even make sense? (Actually, I think you get what I am thinking, BigA.) If you were programming this station, what changes would you make to get 98 back to first place?
Wow, that's a big question, because programming a radio station involves more than the air talent. It involves the music, the promotions, the marketing, the information, the community involvement, and all that sort of thing. So all of those things would have to be evaluated. Are they all rowing the boat in the same direction? Is there a sense of "community?" Those are areas I'd look at.
Well. I have to admit something, BigA. (you know that is hard for me...)
The limited power of 250w on this "little" translator is already making waves. Albeit small. The listeners are catching on quickly and LAC-AM will drop down in listenership, but this may well be shaping up for just the shot iHeart needed. Someone made a very good decision and pushed the idea through. The timing was pretty perfect, given the hearings and commentary from Hannity and Rush. It is interesting to see "98.3 and 1510 WLAC" on the RDS. Powerful calls here. I give them props. (Will it matter is another $tory.)
The limited power of 250w on this "little" translator is already making waves. Albeit small. The listeners are catching on quickly and LAC-AM will drop down in listenership, but this may well be shaping up for just the shot iHeart needed. Someone made a very good decision and pushed the idea through. The timing was pretty perfect, given the hearings and commentary from Hannity and Rush. It is interesting to see "98.3 and 1510 WLAC" on the RDS. Powerful calls here. I give them props. (Will it matter is another $tory.)
Let's put it this way: I think the use of the translator will do more for talk ratings than it did for country. It was a flop in what it was supposed to do in the country format. Primarily because, even thought it had the voice of Gerry House, it was still primarily an automated jukebox. That's not what WLAC is.
Now we get Gill, Limbaugh, Hannity, and even Dave Ramsey on the FM dial. Noticing that readout on my car radio as well (although 98.3 doesn't come in that well here at home, never has).
Gill is on Inside Politics this weekend, and they already have him on the chyron as a talk show host on "98.3 FM." No mention of the AM frequency at all!
If you go to the website, the branding is "TalkRadio 98.3" The AM is in small letters down at the bottom.
With all the FM translators that have popped up, does AM at some point cease to exist? Sorry if this has already been discussed.
To a lot of people, it already has. If a tree falls in a forest, and no one's around, does it make a sound?
Just this week the FCC denied a request from an AM station with translator in Show Low, AZ, to turn off the AM signal permanently. So, not until the FCC has a change of heart.
The government can't require a company to lose money. At some point, the owner can simply shut down the AM & the translator.
Sign of the times.
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