Wwrl 1600 has sold to iheartmedia

[Joylovepulse967]

iHeartMedia Acquires WWRL New York For Black Information Network
https://radioinsight.com/headlines/...-wwrl-new-york-for-black-information-network/

 

[Barry]

WWRL seems to have a poor signal in much of the area. Hopefully BIN will also continue to be broadcast on WWPR HD3, as a supplement.

 

[AceBiscuits]

WWRL seems to have a poor signal in much of the area.

Source? All the contour maps make it out to be a rather good signal. Covers all of the city, and reaches well into North Jersey, Westchester, and even out into Long Island, which was where the former owners of WWRL bought a co-channel station for the express purpose of increasing the signal strength of WWRL.

 

[TheBigA]

It qualifies as a market clear, which is what BIN needs. WWRL has an agreement to run on 101.5's HD-2. Don't know if that is included.

The signal is rather narrow, which is interesting considering a previous owner bought and shut down three suburban AMs 25 years ago in order to improve the reach. The night signal is pretty limited.

 

[CTListener]

It qualifies as a market clear, which is what BIN needs. WWRL has an agreement to run on 101.5's HD-2. Don't know if that is included.

The signal is rather narrow, which is interesting considering a previous owner bought and shut down three suburban AMs 25 years ago in order to improve the reach. The night signal is pretty limited.

All 1600s are like that. Listening to that frequency at night is reminiscent of the glory days of shortwave, or a modern-day pileup on the ham bands over a rare DX signal.

 

[AMRocks]

Wouldn't it have been amazing for iHeartRadio to have purchased WABC for BIN? Maybe the network would have a chance with a major flagship station.

Personally, I give BIN 8 months to a year tops.

It's kind of boring.

 

[TheBigA]

Wouldn't it have been amazing for iHeartRadio to have purchased WABC for BIN? Maybe the network would have a chance with a major flagship station.

Once again, they're not looking for local ratings, but national reach. The purchase price for WWRL was a whole lot less than WABC.

 

[RFCCRadioAudio]

Wouldn't it have been amazing for iHeartRadio to have purchased WABC for BIN? Maybe the network would have a chance with a major flagship station.

Personally, I give BIN 8 months to a year tops.

It's kind of boring.

640 in Atlanta is their flagship. If you don't get why their flagship is in Atlanta, you must still be living in the mid to late 1960s.

 

[Jeffrey]

Any word on Mirchi radio going somewhere? Will only now be heard on rim shot WPRB 103.3 HD2 and W224CW 92.7 FM

 

[Radi0411]

It qualifies as a market clear, which is what BIN needs. WWRL has an agreement to run on 101.5's HD-2. Don't know if that is included.

WWRL has not been simulcast on 101.5's HD-2 for years which has been brought up many a time on the Philly board. Many have stated that the HD2 of WKXW has been utilized for some sort of non-audible "traffic" content as there is no audio, just a silent carrier.

As far as the former WWRL programming airing on 1600, who was really listening to it? I would be very curious. Perhaps they encoded but didn't purchase the data? Their real reach is the 92.7 in Central New Jersey with the WPRB-HD2 (co-located at the WKXW site) operating as the primary. While I am sure there was *some* value to having an NYC presence/reach, there are still plenty of South Asians to serve in the 92.7 coverage area and then some... I wonder if the plan *is* to keep operating with the HD2/92.7 combo or move in a different direction? I feel it could still sustain itself, personally speaking.

 

[MarkW]

Yet another market where this programming can air on a long forgotten about AM station and earn anywhere from a 0.0 to 0.2 share!

This whole concept is lame and is a complete waste of resources. Once early advertisers realize listener engagement is negligible, they will drop out.

 

[TheBigA]

Once early advertisers realize listener engagement is negligible, they will drop out.

I don't know about that. McDonalds and BOA are pretty committed to this concept. They know what they're buying. Nobody is fooling anyone.

The kind of "listener engagement" they're going to get won't be over the air.

 

[davideduardo]

I don't know about that. McDonalds and BOA are pretty committed to this concept. They know what they're buying. Nobody is fooling anyone.

The kind of "listener engagement" they're going to get won't be over the air.

And remember how well Spanish language stations did before DST was employed to better represent Hispanic listening. Low shares, but a market segment advertisers wanted to reach.

In a market that is 20% African American, getting a 1 share is the same as a general market station getting a 5 share. That is the perspective that minority-specific station advertisers look at now.

 

[Theater of My Mind]

Wouldn't it have been amazing for iHeartRadio to have purchased WABC for BIN?

If they had thought ahead, they could have and probably should have. They must not have been thinking about building out a black news/talk network at the time and didn't see any potential in adding another AM to the cluster, even if it was WABC with one of the best AM signals in the city and the whole country. The $12.5 million selling price for WABC, including the transmitter, tower and valuable real estate it's on in Lodi, NJ, turned out to a steal for the guy who snapped it up, but of course hindsight is always 20/20.

Personally, I give BIN 8 months to a year tops.

It's kind of boring.

I believe it will evolve and improve pretty quickly. It has the potential to gain a lot of affiliates and become both a profitable network and influential voice for its community.

 

[b-turner]

The amazing thing is, if what I have read is correct, the numerous companies kicking in dollars to get BIN going, have the network making money day one. With that, there is the opportunity for the network to 'evolve and improve'. This might be what AM radio needs to get other radio groups thinking. AM radio was dying when Rush started his brand of talk radio. It took a few years but Talk radio flourished and revived the AM band. Sure that's very optimistic thinking, but it could happen and my mind is bent toward finding ways for stuff to happen rather than ways it can fail.

 

[TheBigA]

This might be what AM radio needs to get other radio groups thinking.

Other radio groups don't have the platform that iHeart has. The reason this idea will succeed is because it's using more than just a bunch of low-rated AM stations. Other radio groups can't see beyond towers and transmitters.

 

[MarkW]

Once it's indisputably proven that BIN is a ratings calamity with almost no listener support, advertisers will smartly move their spending to other outlets geared toward reaching African American audiences.

There's no "void" being filled by BIN. Great national morning shows such as Steve Harvey and the Breakfast Club already discuss the hot topics that are of interest to African American listeners. Al Sharpton's midday radio show also airs in numerous markets with sizable African American populations.

So, any notion that examination of current events from an African American point of view wasn't previously available on the radio dial is hogwash.

The programming on BIN is absolutely tedious. Weak programming + mostly crappy AM radio signals = short shelf life, in my opinion.

 

[TheBigA]

Weak programming + mostly crappy AM radio signals = short shelf life, in my opinion.

It doesn't matter. They're cashing the checks now, and it's employing people now. It's new business and finding a new use for otherwise dead stations.

 

[JBraddock]

Other radio groups don't have the platform that iHeart has. The reason this idea will succeed is because it's using more than just a bunch of low-rated AM stations. Other radio groups can't see beyond towers and transmitters.

I believe that's true, but the interesting question remains why are they using the AM transmitters at all? There may be some kind of political 'social outreach' angle to it, but as a practical matter, very very few people are going to listen to new programming on these AM signals with no FM presence.

 

[TheBigA]

but as a practical matter, very very few people are going to listen to new programming on these AM signals with no FM presence.

Because as I've said, the goal isn't ratings but reach. They don't care how many people listen. AM gives them the reach they need. They're in 22 of the Top 25 markets. This is not an FM format. They have other branded products (top of the hour news) that they'll put on FM stations. But they make more money with music on FM.