iHM is getting ready to do what Entercom or Cumulus should've done YEARS ago...

[Kent]

Cumulus could (and IMHO should) have killed that deal during their bankruptcy.

It was a three year deal, or so I was told. It may have been extended for another three years, but, if that had been the case, that deal expired about the same time Cumulus was exiting bankruptcy. The latest Cumulus/iHeart deal never included exclusivity, and Cumulus added its stations to TuneIn not quite three months after exiting bankruptcy. That seemed pretty obvious to me that it was going to happen as my local Cumulus stations previously appeared on TuneIn without logos. Those logos suddenly started popping up on the desktop site, and I could stream them from my browser but not the app. A month or two later, they started showing up on the app.

Lew never had a reputation for being a good negotiator. Of course, at the time Cumulus joined iHeart, platform exclusivity was a mandate. Univision pulled its stations off TuneIn, too (and rejoined TuneIn around 2014-15 when it did a new deal with iHeart). Shortly after Univision and Cumulus joined iHeart, WGN, Cox, Emmis, Salem and Beasley joined, too, and all of them had deals with TuneIn. They stayed on both platforms.

 

[A_b_m_90]

So is 96Rock on HD2 or HD3?
Imagine eliminating Power and see the numbers rise with AOR on 96.1 FM...
Is the Breeze hype dead?

 

[Kidd Casio]

Picking some pedantic nits and providing a little ATL radio history...the first AOR station in ATL was WPLO-FM Progressive 103.3 when GSU students were programming the station in the late 60s and early 70s, in the days before WRAS 88.5. This was when the FCC wasn't letting Plough or anyone else simulcast their AM side on FM. Plough generally put their WPLO-AM country station on 103.3 when the FCC let them.

Also WZGC was playing an AOR/Top 40 mix in the days after Glen Karen Associates sold WGKA-FM to General Cinema, before WKLS flipped from BM/EZ to AOR in 1974, and before going full Top 40 as Z-93.

But, yeah, 96 Rock is generally "recognized" as Atlanta's first AOR station.

Incidentally, Joe Kelly also did V/O for 92.9 WZNS Dillon, SC (now WEGX and owned by iHeart), which in the early 90s was an AOR station with the moniker "Z-93". It was odd hearing the voice of 96 Rock do bumpers in the name of their Atlanta competitor at the time.

You can hear WZNS 92.9 Z-93 from way back in 1989 in this Youtube video “https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3PzwP_Ozy8&feature=relmfu” and then, later on in 1992 at 1:46 of this old YouTube video. “https://youtu.be/Ik50viiFI6w”

 

[jabba17]

Glen Karen Associates sold 92.9 to General Cinema in 1972. WGKA-FM was classical. Here is a playlist for the pre-Z-93 WZGC

Broadcasting Yearbook states that WKLS had moved from BM/EZ to MOR before flipping to 96 Rock.

 

[101tm]

I’m shocked this thread has gone on for so long, but here we are

tl;dr - neither 94.9 nor 96.1 are flipping formats any time soon.

 

[Kidd Casio]

I’m shocked this thread has gone on for so long, but here we are

tl;dr - neither 94.9 nor 96.1 are flipping formats any time soon.

When you start to hear stunting of Christmas music playing on the frequency you shall know a format flip is about to happen. Lots of changes happening in the background. One example of this is now y’all can stream iHeart Media owned stations on Tunein as well as other independently owned broadcaster stations that were exclusive on the iHeart Radio app. More music and talk is coming soon… Fasten your seat belts.

 

[A_b_m_90]

You have to wonder if All Digital stations will be the future.
Just have one or two djs and all music.

 

[WCDukenfield]

There's a hell of a lot more brand recognition with 96Rock than Peach.

 

[secondchoice]

You have to wonder if All Digital stations will be the future.
Just have one or two djs and all music.

The low cost of entry could make streaming stations attractive to corporations and national advertising accounts assuming the stream can have an effective cost per point. The local advertisers sooner or later will expect some results for their spend. Even if you have 100,000 listeners (steamers) 24 7, unless they are “local” they are unsellable except for national accounts. You have to deliver in a specific area and demographic to get results for the local accounts. It’s kind of like the old AM “skywave” at night: cool to listen too several states away but not that profitable unless you have a lot of per inquiry like the old WLAC. One possible advantage is the ability to insert difference commercials based on the location downloader's device.


IMHO: If someone can voice track effectively (making it sound live and local)or actually be live, and have entertainers not card readers you might make some money. If a listener wants a “jukebox” Pandora tried it. It didn’t end well for the shareholders.

 

[TheBigA]

The low cost of entry could make streaming stations attractive to corporations and national advertising accounts assuming the stream can have an effective cost per point.

The downside is there is no real motivation to listen, as the content is available anywhere. Corporations and national accounts want to motivate people to buy their products, not listen to an online stream.

 

[BarryATL]

I saw a billboard for 96 Rock on Marietta Blvd last week.

 

[Mitch Brewer]

Pictures, BarryATL?

 

[BarryATL]

Pictures, BarryATL?

I was late and could not drive back to take a pic. Sorry. I was so shocked that I did not think of cameras.

 

[Mitch Brewer]

That's too bad, I'd like to see it. Big question, was it upside down like the license plates we used to put on the front of our cars? I have a 96 Rock T-shirt that I bought a few years ago from a company that still makes them. It gets comments occasionally. Usually from middle aged folks like me who like to remember the "Good old days".

 

[101tm]

Why is no one speculating that 101.5 or 99.7 will flip?

They get the same (or in 997’s case, slightly better) ratings than 94.9 and 96.1 which are successfully but OP insists IHeart is going to blow up one of their two most successful stations in a cluster that’s needed what these stations are getting for a while. LOL

(not to mention 105.3, 105,7, 96.7, 100.5)…..

 

[acheron1982]

I don’t think cumulus is as aggressive with changes like iheart.

 

[acheron1982]

Think about it - 100.5 has been some form of rock since 2006 and I have trouble remembering a time it ever got above 3 shares and mostly hangs around 1.8 to 2.2.

 

[101tm]

They did the overhaul of 101.5 with from Kicks to 101-Five, and the Q100 refresh to Q99-7, but they haven't done anything major outside of the translators. ATL does seem to be a low performing cluster for them though, outside of Q...and most of that success is probably from The Bert Show.

(my post was mainly sarcasm that 94.9 and 96.1 aren't going to change formats, lol)

 

[Kidd Casio]

The low cost of entry could make streaming stations attractive to corporations and national advertising accounts assuming the stream can have an effective cost per point. The local advertisers sooner or later will expect some results for their spend. Even if you have 100,000 listeners (steamers) 24 7, unless they are “local” they are unsellable except for national accounts. You have to deliver in a specific area and demographic to get results for the local accounts. It’s kind of like the old AM “skywave” at night: cool to listen too several states away but not that profitable unless you have a lot of per inquiry like the old WLAC. One possible advantage is the ability to insert difference commercials based on the location downloader's device.


IMHO: If someone can voice track effectively (making it sound live and local)or actually be live, and have entertainers not card readers you might make some money. If a listener wants a “jukebox” Pandora tried it. It didn’t end well for the shareholders.

Jason Pullman presently does this from the KPLX-FM “99.5 The Wolf” studios for around four stations owned by Cumulus, including WKHX-FM “New Country 101.FIVE” in Atlanta, GA radio market.

Also, and update “Delilah Show” has been signed to a contract with a media companies frequency/station in the Atlanta, GA broadcast mark. More details to come.

 

[RadioDoogie]

Jason Pullman presently does this from the KPLX-FM “99.5 The Wolf” studios for around four stations owned by Cumulus, including WKHX-FM “New Country 101.FIVE” in Atlanta, GA radio market.

Also, and update “Delilah Show” has been signed to a contract with a media companies frequency/station in the Atlanta, GA broadcast mark. More details to come.

That would indicate a station in Atlanta would be flipping to AC or soft AC. Delilah tends to stick with iHeart stations like AT40 and Seacrest do. So that would narrow down the possibilities of who will flip.