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Why Does WBT AM/FM Use Fox46/WJZY WX?

A

amfmradio1

Listening to WBT 1110AM/99.3FM this afternoon, I heard Amanda Cox from Fox46/WJZY-TV broadcasting the weather forecast.

Why wouldn't WBT Radio be using their own WBT-TV Channel 3 CBS weather source?

Is it the same reason WBT Radio doesn't do weekend traffic reports?
 
amfmradio1 said:
Listening to WBT 1110AM/99.3FM this afternoon, I heard Amanda Cox from Fox46/WJZY-TV broadcasting the weather forecast.

Why wouldn't WBT Radio be using their own WBT-TV Channel 3 CBS weather source?

Is it the same reason WBT Radio doesn't do weekend traffic reports?
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WBT does not share calls or owner with TV, as the radio stations are owned by Entercom and WBTV is owned by Gray. The TV is not "WBT" but WBTV.
 
As David mentions, WBT and WBTV haven’t been co-owned for about a dozen years. Jefferson-Pilot/Lincoln Financial got out of the TV business at the end of 2007/beginning of 2008. It stayed in radio for several more years, though it sold the radio properties in Charlotte to Greater Media around the same time. Ironically, Entercom bought the JP/LFM stations a few years later and ended up buying the ex-JP/LFM radio properties after Beasley acquired Greater Media and had to spin off a few stations in Charlotte.
 
Makes me wonder how long Radio and TV will stay in the same building. Obviously if anyone moves out it will be WFNZ-WBT-WLNK. That building is too big for just radio but might be a little cramped with 3 radio stations and at one time Bob & Shari had their own studio for the syndicated show.
 
From the moment Entercom acquired WBT, WLNK, and WFNZ from Beasley, I've suspected it bought into Charlotte expecting to expand. I've heard Lingafelt has said WXRC isn't available at any price, and Radio One doesn't seem in a hurry to sell out of Charlotte. Most of the rest of the signals that might be available don't cover the market particularly well. So, I can't figure out who Entercom would've figured it would buy, but I can't imagine it got into Charlotte just to get those four stations.
 
Kent said:
From the moment Entercom acquired WBT, WLNK, and WFNZ from Beasley, I've suspected it bought into Charlotte expecting to expand. I've heard Lingafelt has said WXRC isn't available at any price, and Radio One doesn't seem in a hurry to sell out of Charlotte. Most of the rest of the signals that might be available don't cover the market particularly well. So, I can't figure out who Entercom would've figured it would buy, but I can't imagine it got into Charlotte just to get those four stations.
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Someone said it works from a regional standpoint when you consider Greensboro, NC and Greenville, SC. I don't know if that's true or not Having what really amounts to 2 AM's and a single full power FM is not a power player when going up against Beasley and iHeart.
 
Mike Sheridan said:
Someone said it works from a regional standpoint when you consider Greensboro, NC and Greenville, SC. I don't know if that's true or not Having what really amounts to 2 AM's and a single full power FM is not a power player when going up against Beasley and iHeart.
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Roddy Freeman, a very respected radio buyer at the agency level, often posts here. I think he can tell us if having several regional / adjacent markets is any help.

I know from experience that having Houston, Austin, San Antonio and Dallas clusters really did not help in that area. Each market was bought individually and separately and there was no synergy. Remember, out of market buys for major stations in big markets are mostly done through rep firms and they are not looking for hard to configure combos of different markets... it is just not their expertise.

As with everything in radio there are no firm rules, just norms (Except for taxes and the FCC, of course).
 
Mike Sheridan said:
Someone said it works from a regional standpoint when you consider Greensboro, NC and Greenville, SC. I don't know if that's true or not Having what really amounts to 2 AM's and a single full power FM is not a power player when going up against Beasley and iHeart.
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Like David, I've never heard of radio being bought regionally. Maybe there are some back office functions that could be consolidated, but I can't imagine it would be enough to save much money.

I'll say that with the concessions that I've never worked in sales nor as a media buyer. I've also never worked in Charlotte. You certainly know the market better than I do. I would think I would've heard of regional strategies in Charlotte if they were a thing, but I don't follow that market a lot.

Entercom probably isn't going hungry in Charlotte, even with WLNK on the decline. It has about the same market share as Urban One, though I can't imagine it bought into the market expecting to sit pat on that.
 
Kent said:
Like David, I've never heard of radio being bought regionally. Maybe there are some back office functions that could be consolidated, but I can't imagine it would be enough to save much money.
Click to expand...

There certainly are regional agency buys with multiple markets in a zone or state. But I've never heard of such buys looking at separate markets together... usually, each market is bought on its own merits.
 
I have worked in Charlotte but don't profess to have the answers on this one. Looking at all the Entercom clusters this one looks like the weakest which doesn't bode well for WFNZ- WBT- or WLNK.

As for how they are marketed sales wise I was in programming so I admit to having little knowledge of where the money came from! Not only that but I'm sure business models and methods are changing all the time!
 
WBT continues to have a news partnership with WJZY. They had switched from CBS News to FOX News, and FOX formerly operated WJZY. That is when the partnership began. It has continued under Nexstar, the new owners of WJZY. I have not heard any recent reports from WBTV, which is now owned by Gray and no longer co-owned with WBT. But back in the day it was always convenient for WBTV news and weather reporters to step down the hall when something was breaking and share on WBT.
 
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