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PLJ SOLD

AllAccess has information about the final 2 days of WPLJ before the handover to EMF.
Thursday will feature an on-air reunion of former WPLJ personalities, including Carol Miller, Bobby Valentine, Pat St.John, Fast Jimmy Roberts, Mark Coppola, Jim Kerr, and quite a few others.
On Friday, the switch to K-Love programming is now set for 7 pm, instead of midnight, as was originally reported. The regular personalities will host their shows, with Race Taylor signing off the station. Several people that have been part of WPLJ are expected to be on hand for that show. The article mentions that Race has been with the station for nearly 20 years.
 
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TheBigA said:
The iHeart NYC cluster is incredibly strong. Some of the top billing stations in the country. I say yes.

But not as the station it's been for the last 20 years.
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I agree. IHeartMedia's NYC cluster is doing very well in the ratings, especially it's biggie WLTW, which peaks at #1 almost every month. Z100, Power 105.1, and KTU also do well. Also, WLTW is one of the top billing stations in the country.

And I can realize why the Cumulus stations are not doing well in the ratings. It's not just PLJ, but WABC and WNBM are also struggling to gain some revenue. There's even a possibility that they might consider downsizing by pulling out of major cities to shift its focus on medium markets, given that they had emerged from bankruptcy under new management.

Wouldn't be surprised just like PLJ, WNBM might be the next to go, and I have no idea what they are going to do with WABC.
 
I wonder is EMF using their own transmitter when they sign on tonight or also the same transmitter a top of ESB with the same processing?
 
Perhaps, after 'PLJ signs off at 7 pm, there will be a few hours of silence while EMF makes the adjustments to hook up their satellite receiving equipment to the existing transmitter, and then return to the air around midnight. Just a guess.
 
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Barry said:
Perhaps, after 'PLJ signs off at 7 pm, there will be a few hours of silence while EMF makes the adjustments to hook up their satellite receiving equipment to the existing transmitter, and then return to the air around midnight. Just a guess.
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More likely is that EMF will run their programming through the WPLJ studios until they get their gear settled at Empire (or wherever).
 
I think they don't simply sign off their transmitter after 7pm while EMF prepares to set up their equipment liking their programming to the transmitter.
 
This has maybe already been discussed but...why would Cumulus not try to unload WNBM before WPLJ? I am assuming that PLJ was more profitable? I mean, that's just an assumption and you know what they say about that.
 
IN every other situation I'm familiar with, a button was pushed and K-Love was on the air immediately. I expect that at 7pm, Charlie Van Dyke's voice will be on the air introducing the new K-Love


CurtisNEPA said:
I think they don't simply sign off their transmitter after 7pm while EMF prepares to set up their equipment liking their programming to the transmitter.
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gr8oldies said:
IN every other situation I'm familiar with, a button was pushed and K-Love was on the air immediately. I expect that at 7pm, Charlie Van Dyke's voice will be on the air introducing the new K-Love


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I guess it depends on what kind of deal was worked out in advance. I suppose if the seller doesn't let the buyer have any sort of access at all until the moment the deal closes, it could get a little tricky. I'd assume the deal doesn't actually close at 7pm Eastern on the last day of the month. The 5 hours before midnight might be the window for EMF to do whatever tech stuff they gotta do to get up and running.
 
Miguelito said:
This has maybe already been discussed but...why would Cumulus not try to unload WNBM before WPLJ? I am assuming that PLJ was more profitable? I mean, that's just an assumption and you know what they say about that.
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Simply because EMF wanted the full-market signal and they could afford to buy it. Cumulus was a willing seller and EMF was a well-financed buyer. Simple business.
 
EMF is scheduled to begin programming on 5 other stations at midnight. Their engineering staff may be stretched rather thin in getting the work done needed to switch in their equipment. That may account for at least part of a possible five hour gap between WPLJ's signoff, and its resumption of programming, as a K-Love affiliate.
 
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Barry said:
EMF is scheduled to begin programming on 5 other stations at midnight. Their engineering staff may be stretched rather thin in getting the work done needed to switch in their equipment. That may account for at least part of a possible five hour gap between WPLJ's signoff, and its resumption of programming, as a K-Love affiliate.
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If this is like many of the other switches, the K-Love feed is already running into the board at the station and it will be potted up at the appropriate time. Then work can be concluded to make things permanent using EMF's infrastructure.
Or, since this has been in the works for months, the technical work could already be done and it's just a matter of switching the input to the transmitter.

I highly doubt that there will be 5 hours of dead air while engineers scramble.
 
luperm said:
If this is like many of the other switches, the K-Love feed is already running into the board at the station and it will be potted up at the appropriate time. Then work can be concluded to make things permanent using EMF's infrastructure.
Or, since this has been in the works for months, the technical work could already be done and it's just a matter of switching the input to the transmitter.

I highly doubt that there will be 5 hours of dead air while engineers scramble.
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Should be seamless with the start of the TOH ID if it's what I have heard on 90% of the change overs in the last year. Not sure why there would be a major delay, if any.
 
I don't know why the speculation of there being five hours of nothing while equipment is set up. When The Loop in Chicago bowed off of 97.9 for K-Love, they played Highway to Hell, then K-Love was potted up. I'm not even in the business and I know this. As others have said, K-Love will more than likely play through the PLJ studios until everything is set up.
 
Because folks have to attempt to create conspiracy theories. Does anyone believe Cumulus and EMF are two companies at war with each other? Quite QUITE the opposite. Think about it! EMF is saving a lot of management jobs at Cumulus. Additionally, Cumulus has been pretty decent allowing for the on air PLJ Going Away Party. Now what a jock may say is another story.
 
It was good of cumulus to allow for a weekend of goodbyes. Most stations and shows just vanish, like Rocky Allen's second run...next monday, woop, gone.


That being said.....It was hard what to make of the Final Todd and Jayde send off.

I think Monk, Annie and Jayde where probably genuine. I don't think Monk is a bad guy, just got mixed up with Todd who led him down a grumpy path. Don't know enough about Annie or Jayde to have any say on their final thoughts. but with Todd... I don't know. I find it interesting he didn't thank scott one bit. He thanked corporations more than individual people. even the crying kind of comes off a little phony. Maybe I'm just kind of jaded cause his history with scott...but it didn't come off as genuine as the other sign offs...

It'll be interesting to see where they all go next. the reason the statino went off the air is because no one was listening anymore. they didn't make an impact. it probably got more listeners in the past three days than it has in the last 5 years....
 
Hard to say about Todd. We really don't know what happened between he and Scott, and I'm sure he has some regrets about how things ended. Perhaps he did not want to explore that on the air.
 
Least said:
I don't know why the speculation of there being five hours of nothing while equipment is set up. When The Loop in Chicago bowed off of 97.9 for K-Love, they played Highway to Hell, then K-Love was potted up. I'm not even in the business and I know this. As others have said, K-Love will more than likely play through the PLJ studios until everything is set up.
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When everything is setup? It's only a satellite feed no on air studio in Manhattan I thought. So I don't know EMF also buy the actual WPLJ transmitter and peripherals at ESB? I thought normally a new owner also has its own transmitter and peripherals ready to switch to, but I don't know how that was negotiated between Cumulus and EMF.
 
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