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105.3 FOX NEWS ???

Yes. So it’s either WGST on FM or The Beat.

1053thebeat.com redirects to 96.7 Theat
1053foxnewsatl.com redirects to 640 WGST
 
If 105.3 flips to news, I don’t see that station putting a dent on the ratings of 95.5. 105.3 will flip within a year if they go news talk.
 
It wouldn't be to compete, it would be to clear the news/talk shows not on WSB. They're aiming to build a national platform, not compete locally.

Don't they have clearance already on AM? Or do the advertisers look at the stations in each market that closely...?

As I said on the other thread they're going to have to up their game if they want to compete with WSB, or even get a 2-3 share.
 
They're aiming to build a national platform, not compete locally.

That strategy doesn't seem to be working very well for Salem. True, their reach is dwarfed by that of iHM.

That said, I wouldn't automatically write-off an FM News/Talk effort at 105.3 FM by iHM as some seem to be doing on this thread. The company does have some successful FM news/talk outlets in the Carolinas. It would be interesting to know for how much longer WSB holds local clearance rights for Limbaugh and Hannity.

The news/talk format as a whole is seeing a ratings surge right now, and on the FM dial, I think a new entrant would be capable of drawing "good enough" ratings. In general, iHM is more adept at programming such a format than Cumulus. Even if the station only pulls numbers in the mid 1's (AQH share) in adults 25-54 ,that would be an improvement over Alt 105.7.
 
What's AM? If they equal the ratings that 106.7 got, they've won.

I get that part.

Do the buyers for the national shows care what kind of station is clearing a show in a top 25 market, whether it's a full class C FM, a class D FM translator, a class A clear channel AM, or a class D AM daytimer? I figured they would, although it makes me wonder why Clear Channel/iHM hasn't seen fit to do anything about it since they took WGST off of 105.7.
 
Do the buyers for the national shows care what kind of station is clearing a show in a top 25 market, whether it's a full class C FM, a class D FM translator, a class A clear channel AM, or a class D AM daytimer?

They don't drill that far down. They just look at the total. But the shows care, in the same way the president talks about crowd size.

Here's the thing: If this becomes a music station, they won't hire local DJs. It's just more national playlist. The difference is for talk hosts, the medium is part of the message. They wouldn't get that by playing music. So that's the decision.
 
That strategy doesn't seem to be working very well for Salem. True, their reach is dwarfed by that of iHM.

That's part of it, plus their talent base is far weaker, and their station strength is weaker. But also consider that talk is just a part of iHM. Whereas with Salem, it's a big chunk of the company. Yes they also have the Fish, and that's very successful in Atlanta. But iHM has a more balanced set of platforms, with radio and online.
 
If 105.3 flips to news, I don’t see that station putting a dent on the ratings of 95.5. 105.3 will flip within a year if they go news talk.

I can only guess that iHeart feels they have a chance to “reclaim” Rush and Hannity from Cox and make more money putting them on a coupled 680 and 105.3. I guess it would be sort of like WOR which clears Rush and company in NYC. I don’t have any knowledge of the iHeart Cox deal so I am guessing there is a way they could get the shows back. Its all about the money.
 
I can only guess that iHeart feels they have a chance to “reclaim” Rush and Hannity from Cox and make more money putting them on a coupled 680 and 105.3. I guess it would be sort of like WOR which clears Rush and company in NYC. I don’t have any knowledge of the iHeart Cox deal so I am guessing there is a way they could get the shows back. Its all about the money.

I assume this would be similar to iHeart taking AT40 away from Star 94 and giving it to Power 96-1 back in 2012.
 
If Rush left 95.5, their ratings would drop significantly, but they would still do well enough and still dominate the market with all the local news going around.
 
If Rush left 95.5, their ratings would drop significantly, but they would still do well enough and still dominate the market with all the local news going around.

This is an issue that iHeart dealt with in LA when they moved Rush from KFI to KEIB. Yes they lost some cume, because Rush has a lot of very dedicated listeners. But the station gained revenue, because they didn't have to split spots with the syndicator, and long term, they built local station identity. Those two things may be more important. There still are a lot of major advertisers that specifically give instructions not to have their spots air in or near Rush's show. That is a big issue. Hannity is really a non-factor for WSB, since it's run at night instead of live. I'm sure iHeart would rather have it air live in the market.
 
This is an issue that iHeart dealt with in LA when they moved Rush from KFI to KEIB. Yes they lost some cume, because Rush has a lot of very dedicated listeners. But the station gained revenue, because they didn't have to split spots with the syndicator, and long term, they built local station identity. Those two things may be more important. There still are a lot of major advertisers that specifically give instructions not to have their spots air in or near Rush's show. That is a big issue. Hannity is really a non-factor for WSB, since it's run at night instead of live. I'm sure iHeart would rather have it air live in the market.

I highly doubt WSB is going to lose Rush and Hannity. I think WSB probably was smart enough to negotiate a right of first refusal. When Hannity went from WABC to WOR, it was when his contract ran out. Cumulus had been paying him but could not afford to pay his full salary any longer. So Clear Channel/Premiere Networks paid most of the dollars. Not sure about Rush, who was always a Premiere product.

Years ago, WSB had purchased Dr. Laura. At that time, they expected the show to be a filler they would play at night. So they did not negotiate a right of first refusal. Then Mike Malloy, who was on WSB in middays, was fired. To have something to put in the slot immediately, WSB played Dr. Laura reruns, and they beat Rush. Of course by that time, WGST was sliding fast. And Dr. Laura helped WSB, which had been floundering for years following its market dominating ratings in the 50's through the 70's, get back to #1.

The Kimmer, who was on WGST, did a parody making fun of Dr. Laura, which he called Dr. Nora. But in the case of Dr. Laura, Clear Channel was able to steal her because WSB did not have a right of first refusal. I'd bet she was kicking and screaming all the way up Peachtree Street because her audience on WGST would be a fraction of what it was on WSB. Of course when WGST announced Dr. Laura, the Kimmer's Dr. Nora parody suddenly stopped.

By the way, The Big A is partly right: The first hour of Hannity is 3-4PM, but the last 2 are 8-10PM.
 
When Hannity went from WABC to WOR, it was when his contract ran out.

It's a bit more complicated. Hannity's contract was a joint one with ABC Radio and Premiere. Cumulus inherited the ABC half. When the contract ran out in 2013, Hannity signed completely with Premiere. Around that same time, the Rush Fluke problem happened. The CEO of Cumulus said he was dropping Rush from all of his stations. That was a problem because iHeart didn't own talk stations in those markets. So they bought WOR to solve the NY clearance problem. Ultimately Premiere managed to keep Rush on the other major market Cumulus stations.

I don't know the contract situation with WSB. Premiere has a lot of talk programming besides Rush that would benefit from being on 105.3.
 
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