Breakthrough radio 102.5 should switch formats

[nd2023]

If 106.1 is going to become a soft AC 102.5 should switch formats. Doesn't make sense to compete with themselves with hot AC on 102.5. Hopefully that deal with CHoP is done soon.
Maybe they could bring back the throwbacks as Real 102.5

 

[CassChopper96]

WRFY is in a different market. And it’s ratings are amazing

 

[CassChopper96]

I think I heart is making a bad decision considering WBEB and WJBR being in the market

 

[davideduardo]

WRFY is in a different market. And it’s ratings are amazing

And it takes nearly 2/3 of the revenue out of the Reading market... it bills more than WTDY, WRNB, WRFF and a bunch of others in Philadelphia.

 

[CassChopper96]

Does WBEN, WMGK,WMMR, WJBR and WXTU bill a lot for Beasley

I think Iheart is making a serious mistake for WISX. WDAS is the highest rated Iheart owned radio station in the Philadelphia market

 

[davideduardo]

Does WBEN, WMGK,WMMR, WJBR and WXTU bill a lot for Beasley

WJBR, as mentioned, is a Wilmington metro station, and it gets most of its revenue from that market.

WMMR is just about tied for #1 billing with WBEB and KYW. WMGK is in the second tier in billing, with WOGL, WDAS. WXTU is in the third tier along with WIP and WIOQ.

Then WBEN, WISX, WUSL, WTEL and WPEN are all about the same. In 2017, Beasley and Entercom had very similar total revenue shares of the market. This year it will be Entercom in the lead due to the station deals.

I think Iheart is making a serious mistake for WISX. WDAS is the highest rated Iheart owned radio station in the Philadelphia market

WDAS will not be affected by a soft AC; WISX is not a revenue star and its numbers are weakening.

 

[fybush]

To clarify:

The "102.5" the OP was referring to isn't WRFY. It's the in-market Philadelphia translator for WDAS(AM), carrying a hot AC format produced/promoted in conjunction with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. If anything, it probably overlaps more with iHeart's WIOQ than it will with the eventual soft AC WISX, if that's where it's going.

 

[davideduardo]

To clarify:

The "102.5" the OP was referring to isn't WRFY. It's the in-market Philadelphia translator for WDAS(AM), carrying a hot AC format produced/promoted in conjunction with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. If anything, it probably overlaps more with iHeart's WIOQ than it will with the eventual soft AC WISX, if that's where it's going.

Interesting. I did a very quick run of the part of the 60 dbu of the Reading station that covers some of the Philadelphia MSA; it appears that WRFY covers more people in the Philly MSA than the translator does!

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

The translator is a non-factor. It doesn’t even cover Philadelphia in its entirety. Whatever the outcome of the 106 move, there is nothing that is going to change that.

 

[davideduardo]

The translator is a non-factor. It doesn’t even cover Philadelphia in its entirety. Whatever the outcome of the 106 move, there is nothing that is going to change that.

Despite my earlier post, we have to recognize that the translator has nearly 900,000 people in its 60 dbu. We know that translators, in effect, have no protected contours and that the nearby co-channels and adjacent channels can reduce "in the real world" the coverage of many translators, those stations certainly can have an effect on the marketplace, particularly when they fragment even slightly the leading stations.

 

[nd2023]

That translator is located on top of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia building in the heart of downtown. It's a perfect place for a station that targets listeners in their offices.
A 100kw class C in Kansas covers fewer people than that 102.5 translator.
It might actually be better off becoming a booster for WRFY to extend its reach into the city of Philadelphia. Y102 covers the western suburbs well, where people commute into the city from. It's 60 dBu hits King of Prussia, its 70 dBu hits Malvern, people from that area have an hour long commute to the city.

 

[davideduardo]

That translator is located on top of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia building in the heart of downtown. It's a perfect place for a station that targets listeners in their offices.
A 100kw class C in Kansas covers fewer people than that 102.5 translator.

That's not so. While the translator covers around 800,000 persons, a Kansas City "C", like WDAF which I checked, covers nearly 2,100,000 persons with its 60 dbu. Further, a full C has greater (read "any") protections on co-channel and adjacent channel interference.

There is also the issue of 99 watts not being enough to even penetrate office buildings, save in a very small area. I've had experience with stations in the 500 to 600 watt range in LA and New York City, and neither had significant building penetration; in the case of NYC, even at less than a mile the penetration of solid buildings was practically zero.

It might actually be better off becoming a booster for WRFY to extend its reach into the city of Philadelphia. Y102 covers the western suburbs well, where people commute into the city from. It's 60 dBu hits King of Prussia, its 70 dBu hits Malvern, people from that area have an hour long commute to the city.

WRFY would not want to be a low-rated player in Philadelphia vs king of the mountain in Reading. There are really no sales opportunities there, and the risk would be in losing the huge Reading billing in the process.

 

[crainbebo]

For the first time, I listened to the stream for Breakthrough Radio. I find this station really interesting. You could listen for an hour and have three or four different formats all at once plus the CHoP health tips. It's not often that Barry White, Shawn Mendes, The Cars and Zedd all air on the same station - even adult hits station stick away from currents. I love the efforts that CHoP provides for those sick children - and other children's hospitals too, including St. Jude. There *are* ads, which I find somewhat surprising. I thought this station was 'powered by CHOP' which is a non-profit? And does the ad revenue only benefit iHeart, or does it benefit CHoP? I heard Chili's and Macy's ads in addition to CHOP. Didn't hear any children's or Disney music in the short time I listened, but I bet 'Let it Go' and 'Beauty & The Beast' get some airplay...since it's family- friendly. Perhaps we'll see iHeart doing the same with other large markets.
The only other thing that would make it better, is a live morning program originating from CHoP with some of the doctors and patients! But HIPAA rules probably prevent that. Ryan Seacrest has funded many of those 'studios' for other children's hospitals but they are closed-circuit.

 

[nd2023]

Seems like iHeart "donated" a struggling AM to the hospital, probably for a tax writeoff. That AM had an FM translator. Then the translator went on the air. They probably made a deal to put the translator antenna on top of the hospital for free.
I agree that it would be amazing to let the kids in the hospital for a long time to follow their dreams of becoming a radio star by giving them a show on 102.5.