Does this mean that both Alt 107 listeners will now switch to The Edge?
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Alt Buffalo Flips To Country 107.7/104.7 The Wolf
- Thread starter bobgoodbob
- Start date
Well, imagine that. A format flip just ahead of a holiday weekend. Five thousand songs in a row. Kinda like old times.
Only a matter time before the next shoe falls.
Funny, the wolf howl sound effect (ahh-ooooo) sounds like some drunk in the parking lot of Howdy's on a Saturday night, but it's Country, so it kinda works.
Now the question, will Audacy support this format with aggressive promotion, or let it exist on life support? WYRK remains the heritage Country station, with their legacy Taste Of Buffalo country concert back on schedule this summer.
How much of an impact will this format impact Audacy's Rochester market Country legacy, WBEE?
Only a matter time before the next shoe falls.
Funny, the wolf howl sound effect (ahh-ooooo) sounds like some drunk in the parking lot of Howdy's on a Saturday night, but it's Country, so it kinda works.
Now the question, will Audacy support this format with aggressive promotion, or let it exist on life support? WYRK remains the heritage Country station, with their legacy Taste Of Buffalo country concert back on schedule this summer.
How much of an impact will this format impact Audacy's Rochester market Country legacy, WBEE?
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I thought they already did.
So pretty much the "Radio Guys" thought promoting country which has already seen a decline with WYRK dropping to #3 in the ratings would be a smart decision. Good Luck. This station is worthless. Best to sell it for $400,000 and take the $13,000,000 they wasted on it back in the early 2000's and spend it more wisely like trying to find a less annoying 3-7 host on WBEN.
Make them an offer. What do you have to lose?
David Field won't sell it. Buddy is next in line to purchase it as they're on a first name basis. Plus he has the financial backing. If I could make a purchase, I'd put together a real format with real DJ's who know music in order to make it work. Already have the communication filings completed in order to proceed.
WUWU 2.0 ... make sure you do a transmitter takeover promotion, too.
How does someone like David Field maintain his authority as CEO over Audacy when they make such ludicrous and schizophrenic radio decisions. Format changes, mergers, company rebranding, etc. There is no clear path here within the decision making. As George Carlin said, "results like these do not belong on the resume of a supreme being, this is the kind of shit you would expect from an office temp with a bad attitude."
There's a board of directors, many of which are CBS people, and then there are stockholders.
It's not a one-man band, which you appear to be.
Some years back, Entercom launched a Country format called The Wolf in San Francisco. They spent a lot of money on a marketing blitz. The format bombed.
This is another recycled format from a company with no new ideas. Entercom changed the company name, but the playbook hasn't. Since flipping The Lake format to the WBEN simulcast, this signal has been irrelevant. The ratings history bears that out...
I wonder if Buddy Shula and David Field put together an LMA where Shula handles the sales effort for the new country effort.
Remember, Buddy had good success as a Sales Rep while at WNUC. More than likely he could put more money on the books for Audacy than their current sales staff. It could be a win-win for both companies. Buddy?
Remember, Buddy had good success as a Sales Rep while at WNUC. More than likely he could put more money on the books for Audacy than their current sales staff. It could be a win-win for both companies. Buddy?
Rubbish. There is no evidence that the 107.7 signal is a "better match" for Country. You said the same thing about Alternative being a better combo with KISS and STAR.
You are a numbers guy. The Lake got better results than anything that's followed it. Corporate strategy may be about groups of stations. That doesn't mean this particular station will get listeners. It won't. Alternative failed and so will The Wolf. It won't "fragment" anything. (Again, see WBUF trying to fragment 97 Rock). No effect...
A signal coverage is quantifiable; the success of a format is unpredictable.
Actually, I am a programming person who uses numbers as a tool.
If The Wolf can peel a share or so from a competitor's station, it improves the ranking of the other stations in their own group. The signal is not big enough for a win of any kind, but it it rearranges the rankers in the market, it also rearranges the revenue.
... in a market that has very little country appeal and heritage. To start, the market is over 60% ethnic, and less than 40% non-Hispanic white. In the area where that FM covered, the potential country audience was even smaller.
How many new formats have been created in the 60 years since Todd Storz created Top 40? True new format are often a decade apart, and even then they are as likely to be variations of an existing format, not a new one.
Seems to me that Wethersfield and its environs have a lot more cow country folks than hipsters. Since the station is identifying as Buffalo I doubt that Rochesterians will find listening compelling. WYRK is showing weakness. Audacy is taking a weak station in a direction that might attract a demographic that they feel is more saleable than the failed Alt approach and may nick a high-ranked competitor. The country format has matured enough that some listeners will value choice between modern country and classic country in the same way that there are different audiences for modern rock and classic rock.
Whether Audacy will invest in the format to do it and promote it in a way that makes it attractive to listeners is the question. To me, their choice makes more sense that trying to wedge their way into the already fragmented rock arena.
Whether Audacy will invest in the format to do it and promote it in a way that makes it attractive to listeners is the question. To me, their choice makes more sense that trying to wedge their way into the already fragmented rock arena.
The reason why they didn't turn 107.7 into a country station 8 years ago was due to Entercom Rochester's WBEE New Country format would've been in direct competition with the 107.7 frequency due to it's clear presence in the Rochester area.
OK, let the fun begin.......
First off, I had been telling ETM to do this for 20 years. I had worked at WYRK on-air
for tens years during Country's rise, with the great Ken Johnson and Kitty Bocock as my leaders. Music like....George Strait, Randy Travis, Clint Black, Brooks and Dunn, Alan Jackson, etc. I also worked on air, and in sales at WNUC for 5 years beginning in 1994.
If the plan is to go after WYRK playing the same music with an inferior signal, it won't go that well. That being said, WYRK should not take this for granted. 1077 will now be the #2 country station in the market. WXRL is not country as they play everything but country. All hat, no cattle.
This new station will not soar to the top of the ratings, however, it may shave a few points from WYRK. What it will do is make way more money than it does now, which is about zero.
Also, let me dispel the theory that the reason this wasn't done before is because of Rochester. That is not even close to the reason. I know what the reason was, and it was not that.
If the station was mine, it would be live, it would be locally programmed, and there would be a more classic country feel....Judds, George Strait, Alan Jackson, Reba, etc.
I would not rep 1077, as I already own a station, and I have an ad agency, which would be a conflict. If I could buy the station, I would in a second. Who knows, that may happen someday.
I had an email exchange with David Field about two weeks ago. He knows my interest in that station, and possibly another ETM station, however, he said that they are not selling stations in any market right now, but if they sell in Buffalo, he would let me know. David is a good guy, he really is. I have a lot of respect for him, but they are trying to navigate tricky waters as I am.
ETM ( I refuse to call it Audacy, as i keep forgetting the name) Buffalo has a few sellers that come from WYRK. They should do great with this.
So, I hope they give this the outside promotion it deserves, I think they will do better in the ratings, but they will never even come close to WYRK...... they will increase local direct revenue. Country is a SIMPLE sell, and advertisers have always wanted a choice other than WYRK. When ETM turned ALT, I begged them to do country, I even guaranteed a million dollars in net revenue i could bring! If revenue goes way up,they make take it live to a certain extent. My guess is that they won't.
The bottom line is that they made the right choice, finally, for that frequency.... but playing the exact playlist as WYRK won't get them as far as they could go. WYRK listeners were not looking for an alternative country station. Advertisers are.
Also remember, most people who like the newer country, hate the older country, and visa-versa. So what age group still listens to the radio? I think you know.
I am kinda sad I am not there selling it, or on air. It would have been fun.
First off, I had been telling ETM to do this for 20 years. I had worked at WYRK on-air
for tens years during Country's rise, with the great Ken Johnson and Kitty Bocock as my leaders. Music like....George Strait, Randy Travis, Clint Black, Brooks and Dunn, Alan Jackson, etc. I also worked on air, and in sales at WNUC for 5 years beginning in 1994.
If the plan is to go after WYRK playing the same music with an inferior signal, it won't go that well. That being said, WYRK should not take this for granted. 1077 will now be the #2 country station in the market. WXRL is not country as they play everything but country. All hat, no cattle.
This new station will not soar to the top of the ratings, however, it may shave a few points from WYRK. What it will do is make way more money than it does now, which is about zero.
Also, let me dispel the theory that the reason this wasn't done before is because of Rochester. That is not even close to the reason. I know what the reason was, and it was not that.
If the station was mine, it would be live, it would be locally programmed, and there would be a more classic country feel....Judds, George Strait, Alan Jackson, Reba, etc.
I would not rep 1077, as I already own a station, and I have an ad agency, which would be a conflict. If I could buy the station, I would in a second. Who knows, that may happen someday.
I had an email exchange with David Field about two weeks ago. He knows my interest in that station, and possibly another ETM station, however, he said that they are not selling stations in any market right now, but if they sell in Buffalo, he would let me know. David is a good guy, he really is. I have a lot of respect for him, but they are trying to navigate tricky waters as I am.
ETM ( I refuse to call it Audacy, as i keep forgetting the name) Buffalo has a few sellers that come from WYRK. They should do great with this.
So, I hope they give this the outside promotion it deserves, I think they will do better in the ratings, but they will never even come close to WYRK...... they will increase local direct revenue. Country is a SIMPLE sell, and advertisers have always wanted a choice other than WYRK. When ETM turned ALT, I begged them to do country, I even guaranteed a million dollars in net revenue i could bring! If revenue goes way up,they make take it live to a certain extent. My guess is that they won't.
The bottom line is that they made the right choice, finally, for that frequency.... but playing the exact playlist as WYRK won't get them as far as they could go. WYRK listeners were not looking for an alternative country station. Advertisers are.
Also remember, most people who like the newer country, hate the older country, and visa-versa. So what age group still listens to the radio? I think you know.
I am kinda sad I am not there selling it, or on air. It would have been fun.
Isn't that exactly what WNUC did?
Not at all. WNUC played much newer country at the time than YRK did. By the way, NUC did not do bad. At one point they had a 100k cume, and personally, I made a lot of money there. It simply was not programmed well, like a great station should be. They let the wrong people control things they should of not been in control of.
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