Interesting how Entercom has pulled The Lake format from hits HD2 / Radio.com app for some garbage second rate alternative music that nobody listens too or cares about. The Lake had a consistent following for over 16 years with music contoured to the intellectual listener. Talk about having an IQ just north of a Labatt's beer with this crap we are subjected too today. I believe it's time to start a streaming app with a similar format rooted in it's hometown of Western New York. Thoughts?
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107.7 The Lake
- Thread starter Lake Country Radio
- Start date
The 107.7 frequency has become insignificant and for all intents and purposes, it's on life support. Entercom should run a heart monitor (ER) sound effect under the programming. It might attract some needed attention.
That format was a perfect compliment to The Lake. It sounds similar to what 104.5 The Lake is playing in Canandaigua without some of the Yacht Rock intertwined. I've been in the process for several days on website and app development... stay tuned.
I've been very interested in radio for years, following all the trends and formats as they have come and gone. There is a few people who I associate frequently with that are / were big players in the Buffalo market from the corporate level to the dj's. I was an avid listener of The Lake, perhaps it's biggest fan. I don't believe throughout the course of it's 16 year tenure that there was ever a station as powerful and unique as it was. I had a hard time with the transition to the HD format but after 10 months I was able to warm back up to it. Following that time period... the station evolved into what I knew the potential it had to be on FM with a mix of old and new genres with the new stuff eventually catching on with me.Looking fw to hearing it. Do I know you?
Last night while on this forum, I took the liberty of researching some old posts just to get a general idea what the topics of discussions were back in 2005. It's the exact same messages being repeated on here today.... Radio is a dinosaur industry and the on-air talent is what helps drive sales and Satellite radio is going to take over and ETC, ETC, ETC. It's the same message 15 years later just translated differently with Spotify and Pandora. Yes the 18-34 adult demographic has low listenership... it always has, that's nothing new. It's just less then it was before. Radio will be around forever but to the degree of how many will listen is another. It's been around for over a 100 years but just like newspapers, it has to find a way to remain proactive with future technology. It hasn't evolved like most successful corporations do. I don't agree with HD or Online radio ever taking over Frequency Modulation but it has taken a bite out of it no question.
I think if you dig a bit into specific companies, you'll see that they're all investing in various technologies, such as they are.
At the end of the day.... you can be the best salesman in the world but if you have a 1981 Chevy Citation, your not going to be climbing up to salesman of the year. The format is the most important part of radio. WLKK needs to bring back The Lake.
Which is why radio stations are combining their digital content with on-air. That is the growth area for radio companies. There is no growth on-air. The spot price isn't going up, and the number of spots per hour isn't increasing. So they have to find growth elsewhere.
Truthfully the technology that's being used in other audio services is fairly old and cumbersome as well. People continue to use radio because it's cheap and easy. It seems to work just fine. If they want to stream those stations on other devices, that option is available as well.
I'll grant you this, The Lake would do better than what is and has been on the 107.7 frequency the last few years. But what are the chances of that happening?
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Unfortunately it looks slim. Entercom would much rather run 107.7 with a low-cost alt format than actually invest in a good format.
Educational MF'erz are going to eventually acquire this frequency
The best thing Entercom could do with 107.7 is simulcast WGR. Their nighttime signal is a big figure 8 north and south. The signal is horrible east and west. 107.7 would fill in the eastern part of their audience nicely. In fact, the Pegula Sports Entertainment should insist on it, more for the Sabres who play a lot more night games than the Bills. Of course, the point becomes moot if the dashboard ends up in the hands of Radio.com and other streamers.
Realistically, 107.7 is paid for. It just needs to pay its electric bill at this point. So far, Big City talent has had a negative impact on already weak ratings. I think that they're just a placeholder until the Covid emergency eases and the station can once again be used to promote live events. Whether it remains alternative or not will be decided then.
Realistically, 107.7 is paid for. It just needs to pay its electric bill at this point. So far, Big City talent has had a negative impact on already weak ratings. I think that they're just a placeholder until the Covid emergency eases and the station can once again be used to promote live events. Whether it remains alternative or not will be decided then.
Entercom has already been burned by the WBEN simulcast. Sure, they could put WGR on 107.7. It would create no new revenue or ratings. If they want to unload all their AM signals, then it would make sense. A simulcast is a waste of electricity. They need a viable format for 107.7. Alternative is not it...
And neither is The Lake. So spin the wheel of formats one more time.
Look at the ratings history for the 107.7 signal for the past 20 years. The current Alternative format peaked at a 1.9 share. It now has a 0.8. The Lake was in the mid 3 to 4 range. Sometimes the sales department is the problem, not the programming...
You can't sell a 3 share that was mostly men when you have no other stations in the group to package them with. Especially when you're selling against a group of stations with good numbers for men (Cumulus) or good numbers across the board (WYRK). And fans of the old Lake weren't a primary audience for NTR from events.
Isn't the audience for WGR 90 percent male? The Lake played Album Rock. That audience went to concerts(Dave Matthews, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., Elvis Costello and countless others). The format had some appeal to women who don't like the macho garbage presentation on typical Classic Rock stations. Based on your criteria for sales, there is NO format that will work on WLKK...
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