So, which one gets Lil Naz X and which one gets Garth Brooks?
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Alt Buffalo Flips To Country 107.7/104.7 The Wolf
- Thread starter bobgoodbob
- Start date
The Alt listeners will do what they did before, go to non-comm WBNY, DX Toronto's CFNY, or stream CIND/indie88. Of course the Edge is an option, as there was a lot of crossover on the playlist with ALT.
Frankly the writing was on the wall when they axed the local talent.
Is 107.7's HD2 still the zombie Lake? They could very easily turn it into zombie Alt (using WNYL's feed and inserting I.D's...which is of course, what they were doing on the main signal anyway). I'd expect if not Audacy, someone else will fire Alternative up on an HD2/3.
I have to give Alt Buffalo props, though. They brought some great concerts to the area, and they lasted 8 years on 107.7 (a loooong time for a format on that frequency, so they must have been doing something right at one time).
Frankly the writing was on the wall when they axed the local talent.
Is 107.7's HD2 still the zombie Lake? They could very easily turn it into zombie Alt (using WNYL's feed and inserting I.D's...which is of course, what they were doing on the main signal anyway). I'd expect if not Audacy, someone else will fire Alternative up on an HD2/3.
I have to give Alt Buffalo props, though. They brought some great concerts to the area, and they lasted 8 years on 107.7 (a loooong time for a format on that frequency, so they must have been doing something right at one time).
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BigA has posted multiple times about how the pandemic and the slow, tedious return to public events has affected stations that get significant non-traditional income (that's an industry term meaning revenue that does not come from spot advertising sales) from events.
The revenue can be from ticket sales, concession (food stands, souvenirs) and other sources.
Those events are also part of sales packages where major clients get exposure in the promos as well as on-site presence. Expmples would be "WZZZ, Gibson Ford and McDonald's present Big Name Artist in Concert at the Mytown Arena!"
To your first paragraph: They can also use the website Radio.garden to stream ANY of those stations; all three are there. (BTW, you can use that site to stream nearly ANY station ANYWHERE on the planet.
Regarding WLKK's HD2 signal: Presumably, yes.
Totally wrong. It makes all the sense in the world to invest in this station. It should not be a flanker. It should be a million dollar biller. YRK is and has been the top billing station in Buffalo for 20 years. I would totally invest in everything local for this station knowing that you are 2nd to the #1. It would pay back in spades
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The signal is enormous and covers 13 counties. I’m not sure why people keep thinking the signal is shit. It has deficiencies, but not everywhere. It covers 2 markets that have 1 million people each, and everyone in between. It’s not like you can’t get the station in Buffalo. Take a look at fccdata.org. The station reaches 95% of the DMA fine.
Just because you like Country Cow Pie tunes, doesn't mean this format will work. It's already been Country in the past with minimal success. Check back in 6 months when it still has a 1 share...
You exaggerate the potential.
The 65 dbu signal is where in diary markets 95% the at-home and at-work occurs. The station only covers the SE third of the Buffalo market MSA with that signal, and very little of the Rochester market.
It gets a little farther in cars, but in the diary markets in-car is still less than half of the AQH listening.
And where there is a better signal in a format, most listeners will not listen to the one that is hard to get or or pops in and out when driving between buildings or under bridges and the like.
This is where doing a more gold based format makes sense; listening to an inferior signal will only occur if there is no alternative. For contemporary country, there is an alternative in both Rochester and Buffalo.
It'd be nice as well as respectful of those of us who like country music not to add derogatory terms to your comments on formats you, personally, don't like.
Country is the most popular format among US radio stations. A large percentage of the population listens to the music on both radio and paid / stream service.
I personally don't care at all for alternative rock, but I don't introduce my feelings about the music into discussions of the format because, as a radio person, I don't program for myself but for listeners. Listeners make our programming format decisions for us. Our job is to try to live up to their expectations and preferences within each format.
How does Radio.garden get around the geofencing that prevents US listeners from listening to Canadian streams? Or are you assuming that everyone has a VPN and routinely tricks such websites?
That's exactly what Buddy is doing. He likes Country, so he thinks it will make millions. There is no evidence to support that will happen on 107.7.
Let's get real. Entercom has mismanaged this signal since they dropped The Lake. You have all the ratings data. It's been failure after failure. Listeners don't make the programming decisions. Stations try to find an audience. That hasn't happened on this signal in 10 years...
Buddy looks at the sales perspective, which is money, not Nielsen. The country flanker can reduce the rank position and competitiveness of the heritage country station and opens opportunity for all competitors.
I did not see where he thinks it will "make millions". I see where he thinks that there is revenue potential today... not what may have been the case 5, 10 or more years ago.
So? They seem to have made a good move now and one that matches the signal much better than any other format.
Proctor & Gamble has the highest new product success rate of any brand marketer, yet less than half of their launches succeeds. Obviously, that station with an incomplete signal, has multiple things against it. Of all the things they have done, from the terrible simulcast of AM talk, to Alt, this one seems to be the best option.
There you go Dave. Million Dollar biller potential.
The current format is always the best option--until it isn't. The press release is the same as when they launched ALT Buffalo. Again, what evidence suggests that Country suits this signal? It's already been done. They may spin the format wheel again in 2 years...
Indie88 doesn't have geofencing, and is freely available in the U.S. via the TuneIn app, so that one is no problem. CFNY's stream is a no-go without a VPN, though.
"Million dollar potential" means it can cross into the 7 figure zone. At least 11 stations in Buffalo did that prior to the pandemic year.
You said "millions" with an "s". Nobody else has said that.
ZIP Code analysis of listening generally shows country best in suburban and semi-rural areas.
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That's a question I can't answer; I'm not a super tech guy. I WILL say, however, that...just as an example...if you wanted to listen to, say, Boom 97.3 or Virgin Radio through Radio Garden, you're out of luck. In Boom's case, it's available via the Stingray Radio app-which doesn't work in the U.S.(and I've tried), nor will going to their website. Virgin, being part of Bell, is on iHeartRadio's app. CHFI is on the Radioplayer Canada app, and you can stream it on their website(as well as Radio Garden).
The signal. The signal. The signal. Please read Dave Eduardo's earlier (technical and demographic) analysis ↑ I'm familiar with this signal from the days when it was owned by the Ivy Network (WBIV) and the station employed a tuned cavity pylon antenna, horizontal polarization only. The signal has been upgraded by previous owners, including Seven Star (WUWU) and most notably Adelphia (WNSA), which poured a lot of money into the Wethersfield site. As noted by DE, the signal, even with upgrades, is lacking. It can be received in a car, but it does not adequately and easily penetrate office buildings in Buffalo or single or double story concrete and steel office parks in the suburbs, such as the Apple Tree (Mall) Office Park in Cheektowaga. It can be heard in wood frame homes in Snyder, and Tonawanda, but it's not an automatic such as WYRK, Star, the Breeze or WBLK. So yeah... the signal.
The thinking from the few radio mavens I've spoken to, with all things optimized, promotion, air talent, imaging, focused music, the Wolf can attain a 3 share as a Country format Persons 12+. As to what the Wolf might attain AQH Persons 35-54... only time will tell. As with all formats, the Wolf needs to pick off listeners from every compatible/shared format. If the Wolf can peel some P2 or P3 listeners from 97, 96.1; 104.1 and 102.5, as well as P2 and P1 listeners from 106.5, it just might succeed in getting a 3 share. But again, that 3 share isn't going to come entirely from WYRK. In fact, maybe only a share comes from WYRK.
Much will depend on who's hired as PD, and manner in which the new Country format is promoted on the street and in other media. The mavens tell me they've yet to see a TV ad, and there's no presence on Twitter or Facebook.
The thinking from the few radio mavens I've spoken to, with all things optimized, promotion, air talent, imaging, focused music, the Wolf can attain a 3 share as a Country format Persons 12+. As to what the Wolf might attain AQH Persons 35-54... only time will tell. As with all formats, the Wolf needs to pick off listeners from every compatible/shared format. If the Wolf can peel some P2 or P3 listeners from 97, 96.1; 104.1 and 102.5, as well as P2 and P1 listeners from 106.5, it just might succeed in getting a 3 share. But again, that 3 share isn't going to come entirely from WYRK. In fact, maybe only a share comes from WYRK.
Much will depend on who's hired as PD, and manner in which the new Country format is promoted on the street and in other media. The mavens tell me they've yet to see a TV ad, and there's no presence on Twitter or Facebook.
One does not need to have a monopoly of a format to get good ratings. There are places with two or even three country stations, where all of them get similar ratings. The way to do that is to DEFINE yourself. Some of that is in music selection, some of that is in presentation, and some of that is in promotion. Both companies know how to do all three. I've seen a lot of these battles, and they don't all end the same way.
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