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92.7 change imminent
- Thread starter 101tm
- Start date
You have to think this might be a bad day for someone.
If they put WFNZ on 92.7 do they move current 92.7 programming somewhere else? Maybe 107.9? That would give that format a signal capable of being more competitive with WPEG.
In that case do you do away with 107.9 programming? Do you put it on 100.9? No need to have WFNZ on the 102.5 translator if it is on 92.7 but 102.5 can't originate programming. It has to translate something. Technically it is currently translating the HD-3 of 107.9.
Going to be interesting to see how it plays out...
t123
If they put WFNZ on 92.7 do they move current 92.7 programming somewhere else? Maybe 107.9? That would give that format a signal capable of being more competitive with WPEG.
In that case do you do away with 107.9 programming? Do you put it on 100.9? No need to have WFNZ on the 102.5 translator if it is on 92.7 but 102.5 can't originate programming. It has to translate something. Technically it is currently translating the HD-3 of 107.9.
Going to be interesting to see how it plays out...
t123
When WFNZ takes over 92.7, what happens to the Urban format on there currently? That is the question. WPEG has been doing really well lately, especially in the most recent fall book. They were #1 with double digits in some of their target demos. That means that "The Block" is either moving to 107.9 to be a more serious competitor and get in on some of that action, or going away entirely because they feel they can't compete. Either are possibilities.
"Mix" started off stronger than I thought it would, but has been declining for several months. Matt and Ramona have not gained much traction in the mornings, and the PD for Mix and WFNZ recently departed for another opportunity. The only other signal where the AC might have a chance to be competitive is 100.9 because it covers the white, affluent areas of South Charlotte really well and not much else. I never thought that signal made sense for an urban format. I don't know if they would mess with Praise though, since it's been the one consistent format on that signal since 2005.
On a related note, WBAV's ratings on the UAC side will likely start to drop. They did not renew the contract of their afternoon host, Tone X, and his last day was Friday. He was top 3 in the demos and overall for most of the almost 5 years he was there. He said that it was budget related. Doesn't make sense to me because when the ratings start to drop, so will the revenue. You're not going to get somebody that you pay less to come in and get the kind of numbers that he was getting consistently.
"Mix" started off stronger than I thought it would, but has been declining for several months. Matt and Ramona have not gained much traction in the mornings, and the PD for Mix and WFNZ recently departed for another opportunity. The only other signal where the AC might have a chance to be competitive is 100.9 because it covers the white, affluent areas of South Charlotte really well and not much else. I never thought that signal made sense for an urban format. I don't know if they would mess with Praise though, since it's been the one consistent format on that signal since 2005.
On a related note, WBAV's ratings on the UAC side will likely start to drop. They did not renew the contract of their afternoon host, Tone X, and his last day was Friday. He was top 3 in the demos and overall for most of the almost 5 years he was there. He said that it was budget related. Doesn't make sense to me because when the ratings start to drop, so will the revenue. You're not going to get somebody that you pay less to come in and get the kind of numbers that he was getting consistently.
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So far the only change listed seems to be 92.7. Format listed as unknown on radio-locator.
THE BLOCK also recently added Mo Quick from HOT 107.9 Atlanta to syndicate middays. Change is coming!
I would be shocked, and hate to see Mix 107.9 go away so soon - they’re so much better than K104.7 who doesn’t really have an AC playlist.
92.7 has been an issue for Urban One since they owned the signal. It just doesn’t cover enough of the population to be successful at anything. As sports, they can turn the stereo carrier off and have a slightly better signal and they aren’t struggling to compete with Beasley, etc.
However, I can see U1 wanting to put a format that is basically what they do/specialize in on 107.9 instead of AC, such as moving The Block. That way the only “non-urban” stations are the two talk stations that can be sold/managed separately, while they have three music FM’s.
I couldn’t see Mix moving to 100.9 - gospel normally gets pretty bad demos as far as it being heavily 55+, but I would think they’d keep it as a package sell with the other FM’s, especially 105.3. I do agree the signal is not the best for an urban format.
92.7 has been an issue for Urban One since they owned the signal. It just doesn’t cover enough of the population to be successful at anything. As sports, they can turn the stereo carrier off and have a slightly better signal and they aren’t struggling to compete with Beasley, etc.
However, I can see U1 wanting to put a format that is basically what they do/specialize in on 107.9 instead of AC, such as moving The Block. That way the only “non-urban” stations are the two talk stations that can be sold/managed separately, while they have three music FM’s.
I couldn’t see Mix moving to 100.9 - gospel normally gets pretty bad demos as far as it being heavily 55+, but I would think they’d keep it as a package sell with the other FM’s, especially 105.3. I do agree the signal is not the best for an urban format.
If Radio One would combine 92.7 with 99.3 they would have a chance to be competitive. There would still be some gaps, but it would cover enough of the market.
I don't see them messing with WBT right now, though. The revenue is down, but that station is still one of the top revenue generating stations in the area.
I don't see them messing with 100.9 either. I just think that a format aimed at the soccer moms would make the most sense because of the coverage area.
I don't know what they're going to do with 102.5. That signal is too limited to really do anything.
92.7 and 99.3
I don't see them messing with WBT right now, though. The revenue is down, but that station is still one of the top revenue generating stations in the area.
I don't see them messing with 100.9 either. I just think that a format aimed at the soccer moms would make the most sense because of the coverage area.
I don't know what they're going to do with 102.5. That signal is too limited to really do anything.
92.7 and 99.3
https://www.1025theblock.com was registered a couple of weeks ago, using Urban One’s regular domain registrar looking at the WHOIS info.
Looks like WFNZ goes to a simulcast on 92.7, Block moves to 102.5.
Looks like WFNZ goes to a simulcast on 92.7, Block moves to 102.5.
So basically they're pulling the plug on The Block because they can't compete with WPEG. Got it.
The 92.7 signal will definitely help WFNZ. It'll be interesting to see how much. That may be a better use of that signal.
Sadly they never had a chance against WPEG or WBAV during their various incarnations with that signal. It’s a central signal to the market, but it just doesn’t have the coverage.
I could see Urban One revisiting taking on WPEG if Mix 107.9 doesn’t show to be a success. I can’t see the market supporting 4 urban stations (5 counting Praise), but with 107.9 they’d have a better signal than WPEG to try to shake things up.
It'll be interesting to see how much of a bump this gives WPEG.
I don't think it's an issue of the market not being able to support 4 urbans, I think it's a Radio One problem. They've never had sustained success here. Even on 105.3, they may beat 101.9 for a month or 2, but they always fall back off. They actually operated at a loss in Charlotte until 2016. They've really given up on that signal too. They're completely syndicated outside of middays and weekends.
Part of the problem is for years, they were dealing with 100.9 and 92.7 only. 100.9 I doubt is a huge revenue generator and 92.7 no matter what they try is never going to take on 97.9 or 101.9 with is going to have much of an impact. Generally, Radio One has at least one dominant or well performing station, but that was just a mess. 105.3 has been through several changes, it does alright but can't gain strong traction.
Enter 107.9, 1110, and 610 - decent properties, but nothing Radio One specializes in. It's all over the place, and WBT is struggling even more than most news talkers are right now. That was just a strange acquisition. I can see them wanting 107.9 for a strong signal urban format and just taking 1110/99.3/610 as well, but that doesn't seem to have been the plan. There was really no other operator in the market for those to go to considering how dominant Beasley and iHeart are, and they're maxed out. Small clusters like that aren't really popular with most operators these days.
If they are planning to put 'The Block' on 102.5 it will need to live somewhere else. 102.5 is a translator so it can not originate programming.
You can use an AM, FM or HD station to originate programming for a translator. Putting 'The Block' on a HD-2 or 3 would make sense.
A quick tune across the HD dial I found that 105.3 had 100.9 on the HD-2. No other sub-channels. 107.9 has WBT on the HD-2 and WFNZ on the HD-3. Replacing WFNZ with 'The Block' on 107.9's HD-3 would seem to make sense.
t123
You can use an AM, FM or HD station to originate programming for a translator. Putting 'The Block' on a HD-2 or 3 would make sense.
A quick tune across the HD dial I found that 105.3 had 100.9 on the HD-2. No other sub-channels. 107.9 has WBT on the HD-2 and WFNZ on the HD-3. Replacing WFNZ with 'The Block' on 107.9's HD-3 would seem to make sense.
t123
In about half of their markets Radio One is the only urban operator in town. Baltimore, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Columbus, Cincinnati, Raleigh. They have never been competitive in Dallas or Philadelphia. In Richmond, they do well and have a large cluster, but their Urban mainstream struggles to compete with iHeart. In Houston, they were the only game in town for a while, but iHeart has given KBXX some serious competition since they launched KQBT. In DC, Atlanta and Charlotte they’ve had brief periods of ratings success, but they never last. They always fall back off and start losing again. From a revenue perspective, they underperform in nearly all of their markets and that’s always been the case.
I definitely believe that part of it is an Urban One problem. They struggle to be competitive in most of the markets where they have direct competition. They claim to specialize in the Urban formats, but they don’t really have a track record of success to back that up.
Radio One said on their earnings call that they got the non-urban stations in Charlotte to diversify their holdings, get scale and because the revenue potential was higher than the urban format. They also said they were looking at other opportunities in other markets.
The new Charlotte properties, particularly WBT are still generating a lot of revenue, but it’s down across the board. I think it’s only a matter of time before they call it a failed experiment and move all do the stations over to some sort of urban format.
I definitely believe that part of it is an Urban One problem. They struggle to be competitive in most of the markets where they have direct competition. They claim to specialize in the Urban formats, but they don’t really have a track record of success to back that up.
Radio One said on their earnings call that they got the non-urban stations in Charlotte to diversify their holdings, get scale and because the revenue potential was higher than the urban format. They also said they were looking at other opportunities in other markets.
The new Charlotte properties, particularly WBT are still generating a lot of revenue, but it’s down across the board. I think it’s only a matter of time before they call it a failed experiment and move all do the stations over to some sort of urban format.
I don't ever think you'll see an Urban format on WBT. It would be a disaster!
It’s an AM signal. I doubt you’ll see any music format on that station, with the exception being maybe gospel.
Radio One doesn’t know how to operate a conservative talk station and they’re proving that. Don’t be so sure that they won’t pull the plug.
I can't imagine Radio One ditching talk on 1110. Yes, the demos are getting older, yes, the format has been struggling and ratings are down, but there is still more potential on that signal trying to rehabilitate WBT 1110 than flipping it.
However, I don't think that will be done by Radio One. I could see them selling it off, maybe throwing in 99.3 or one of the lower powered FM's as a simulcast (but 99.3 has simulcast potential with 92.7 IMO). The question is, though, while both Beasley and iHeart know how to do talk, I believe both are maxed out and all of their signals are good, there's nothing they would sell off to buy 1110. Another large company won't enter the market for one station. That would mean a local buyer would likely have to step in.
Radio One does well when they win by default, which says they aren't offering anything compelling to keep listeners from going to competitors. For a company that runs almost exclusively Urban stations, that's a bit concerning that they don't know what they're doing. WOSF does alright, but it's really all they have to show in Charlotte and WBAV/WPEG are still ruling. A translator on 102.5 is not going to help compete, The Block going away on 92.7 and moving to 102.5 will just give WPEG more listeners. The only ace up their sleeve really is the 107.9 signal if they think they can compete with WPEG on a better signal.
Their hip hop Hot 107.9 in Atlanta is very close to being passed by iHeart's new hip hop 105.3 The Beat on a semi-rimshot signal. The Philadelphia cluster is an embarrassment. As you said, CLTRadio, there are just better options in more of these markets than not.
However, I don't think that will be done by Radio One. I could see them selling it off, maybe throwing in 99.3 or one of the lower powered FM's as a simulcast (but 99.3 has simulcast potential with 92.7 IMO). The question is, though, while both Beasley and iHeart know how to do talk, I believe both are maxed out and all of their signals are good, there's nothing they would sell off to buy 1110. Another large company won't enter the market for one station. That would mean a local buyer would likely have to step in.
Radio One does well when they win by default, which says they aren't offering anything compelling to keep listeners from going to competitors. For a company that runs almost exclusively Urban stations, that's a bit concerning that they don't know what they're doing. WOSF does alright, but it's really all they have to show in Charlotte and WBAV/WPEG are still ruling. A translator on 102.5 is not going to help compete, The Block going away on 92.7 and moving to 102.5 will just give WPEG more listeners. The only ace up their sleeve really is the 107.9 signal if they think they can compete with WPEG on a better signal.
Their hip hop Hot 107.9 in Atlanta is very close to being passed by iHeart's new hip hop 105.3 The Beat on a semi-rimshot signal. The Philadelphia cluster is an embarrassment. As you said, CLTRadio, there are just better options in more of these markets than not.
On the other hand, they do have the letters.
Beasley and iHeart are maxed out on the FM side. They could still take the AMs if they wanted to though.
Beasley actually had the opportunity when they acquired Greater Media, but they chose to just keep the old CBS properties. I personally think they made a mistake by keeping 104.7 instead of 107.9, though. 107.9 is one of the best signals in the market, if not the best. 104.7 suffers from interference in some areas.
I personally would love to see Radio One put Al Sharpton on WBT. I know their current audience would have a fit. 😂
WOSF really struggles in the demo. Their audience skews older. They’re usually between 8th and 12th 25-54. WBAV is usually top 5. When the Urban AC was on 92.7, that station was usually 12th to 15th 25-54. Radio One really hasn’t improved their position that much here.
As a target listener of both Power 98 and The Block. I think since Power 98 is the heritage station, listeners seem to tune in more. Also, they do a lot in the community.
I moved to Charlotte when The Block debuted. There was good hype around the station for the 92.7 Drake FM stunt. The music selection for both stations is the same. My opinion, The Block issue lack of presence in the community. Also, you could mix the signal versus Power 98.
When it comes to Urban One competitiveness, I agree with the board. In my opinion, when it comes to Charlotte, you’ll notice a lack of investment when it comes to The Block. Of course, I could be wrong.
I moved to Charlotte when The Block debuted. There was good hype around the station for the 92.7 Drake FM stunt. The music selection for both stations is the same. My opinion, The Block issue lack of presence in the community. Also, you could mix the signal versus Power 98.
When it comes to Urban One competitiveness, I agree with the board. In my opinion, when it comes to Charlotte, you’ll notice a lack of investment when it comes to The Block. Of course, I could be wrong.
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