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WCMT AM (Martin, TN)
- Thread starter AMFMKYTN
- Start date
Obviously they can afford it.. translators arent super cheap to build .. theyre obviously doing ok financially.
WCMT owns all of the translators they're on and i know theyre on existing tower locaitons already.. ones at one of their studio locations and another is at the site for their other stations
I heard 92.7 W224DR GReenfield up here in Wyoming this past summer
Audio:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1N7CdYekERtTGdYiiMLaAFCxGG7izdcfa/view?usp=sharing
They bought up at least some of WAY-FM's former translators in the n.w. TN area. I agree with the rest of you that it is highly unnecessary, but it is no expense out of my pocket. Not sure why WAY-FM exited n.w. TN.
I hadn't thought about the fact that none are located in West TN. There are only eight WAY-FM stations in TN: Two are in Chattanooga with the others in Clarksvile, Cleveland, Columbia, Cookeville, Hendersonville and Nashville. Just outside West TN is one on 106.1 in Murray, KY which is a translator of Clarksville.
who says its unnecessary.. and how do you make that judgement call?
The translators serve areas the am signal doesnt get to at night
Have you ever actually LISTENED to that station?
I rest my case.
You may not like the station and I may be in agreement with your opinion, however it appears a station that can support not only their AM but all those translators obviously is doing something right. Plainly put they ave to have the listeners to produce results and they have to be out there on the street selling the time. Even if they're a religious or non-comm, it is about having enough listeners that will donate and/or give Underwriters a reason to keep buying underwriting.
WAY-FM had translators in Dyersburg and Union City and construction permits for translators in Jackson and Martin, and they sold all of them off to Thunderbolt except for the one in Jackson that was sold to Forever. I think the main reason was because of the dominance of K-LOVE and Air 1 in the West TN area. But I agree that they're mostly useless.
More recently WAY-FM has had 2 more CPs in Jackson, but one was sold to American Family Radio and is another unnecessary translator. They have one more CP that is still open and I pray that they will finally put it on instead of selling it off.
G
Groove1670
Guest
I know the folks at WCMT AM. It bills extremely well. It is family operated. The cost of running a translator is nominal. The translators are placed to cover all the listening area with a stong signal. In conclusion: it is and was a smart business move.
Explain.. youre making claims, but providing zero evidence
WCMT couldn't even sell adtime during Larry King's late-night radio talk show 30 years ago, and that was when it was simulcast over WCMT-FM, which has a far better signal than all those flea-power translators combined. I suspect that FM listeners were seeking out music, so they just flipped the dial, while AM listeners had already gone to bed.
Their current late-night and overnight programming is just the same syndicated talk shows that you can hear over 10,000 other stations. Big deal. Nothing local.
WAY-FM (before they sold to Thunderbolt) eventually had just one translator serving both Martin and Union City, and yet Tinkle thinks that he needs one for each? Make that two for Martin.
The last time that I was down there in west TN, they had small signs at each city entrance promoting the frequency for that town. Not sure if those signs are still there or not.I just wanna know how you market 5 different frequencies in five different towns and not make it look like a mess of numbers.
When I was working for UPS I would occasionally go through Greenfield and Dresden and the signs were still there as of last year.
To me a network like this would make more sense for a music format, but even that would still be overkill.
It's hard to sell overnights in a big city...in fact it's not unusual to not even try.
You complain of syndicated programming that is 'nothing special' but this is what many stations do all over the nation. Some attain some decent ratings even with B-team talk shows. I'm puzzled what you think a small station is to do that everyone else either doesn't do.
All I can say is it seems to be working or the whole group of translators and the AM it simulcasts would close their doors.
A music format? Maybe that would be a good idea but as a former post pointed out, they bill a nice chunk of change and are therefore successful at this point.
You complain of syndicated programming that is 'nothing special' but this is what many stations do all over the nation. Some attain some decent ratings even with B-team talk shows. I'm puzzled what you think a small station is to do that everyone else either doesn't do.
All I can say is it seems to be working or the whole group of translators and the AM it simulcasts would close their doors.
A music format? Maybe that would be a good idea but as a former post pointed out, they bill a nice chunk of change and are therefore successful at this point.
What do you propose they run overnight and how do they sell it? Sales overnight in a small town is hard if not impossible. I've worked for even bigger more successful stations and we sold very little late night.
youre clearly not thinking from the point of view of a programmer or owner.. and likely, not even someone whos ever worked in radio. in the overnights.. its how can we keep costs down and not lose any money.
You have quanitified the problem, not quantify a solution?
news talk is generally one of the most popular formats in the country and done right, can be a huge biller/money maker
I've worked overnights for years, and if anything, the problem is on management's end. They ALWAYS seem to think that they have more listeners than they actually do. Weekend overnights are REALLY dead.
It isn't for me to figure out the solution for them. Overnights, particularly on AM radio, are a joke. They know it, you know it, and I know it.
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