WFDF is no longer Super

[ckg279]

This has some echoes of what Rogers did to Toronto's CKIS/92.5 in their first go-round as a top 40 station. (Explanation for those unaware: Rogers announced that they were going to buy the station(then known as CISS)in February 1999. They took control via an LMA, and on February 5th in the evening, flipped it to CHR and repositioned it to Power 92(later changed to Kiss 92 FM). The staff, as the story goes, was invited to a nice restaurant...and then found out that they had all been laid off; Mike Richards noted in a YouTube video recounting the incident that the staff got their notices in one of the dining rooms.)

Anyway, Radio Insight(which I'll likely have to rely in for news now that AllAccess.com is paring down operations)has the story...

WFDF Drops All Staffers Ahead Of Sports Flip - RadioInsight

 

[Loverofradio]

Why do owners flip stations when the talent gives them money to do shows?

 

[MarkW]

I think much of the "talent" (i.e. journalists and past elected officials) were given airtime for free. The hope was to use the local fame (infamy?) of these folks to sell paid advertising.

910 had only a very small roster of advertisers.

The weekly cume once upon a time was about 30,000. I thought the owner in an interview with one of the local papers was quoted as saying that number had recently plummeted to about 2,200. That's a very poor result for a 50 kW AM station in a market of nearly 4 million potential listeners.

I am surprised the mostly urban talk format lasted as long as it did.

 

[Loverofradio]

I think much of the "talent" (i.e. journalists and past elected officials) were given airtime for free. The hope was to use the local fame (infamy?) of these folks to sell paid advertising.

910 had only a very small roster of advertisers.

The weekly cume once upon a time was about 30,000. I thought the owner in an interview with one of the local papers was quoted as saying that number had recently plummeted to about 2,200. That's a very poor result for a 50 kW AM station in a market of nearly 4 million potential listeners.

I am surprised the mostly urban talk format lasted as long as it did.

Radio stations give people free airtime that isn’t early, early Sunday morning?

 

[MarkW]

This one did. It was a very unusual strategy, no doubt.

The thinking was to have talk hosts willing to go on the air for free as opposed to paid hosts. If they attracted advertising, they'd get a portion of those proceeds.

I'm surprised the station hasn't gone 24/7 brokered ethnic programming, but even that business has begun to fade locally. Some of the folks who used to purchase airtime on AM radio locally now buy time on 102.3 FM in Windsor.

 

[Loverofradio]

I‘m googling other stations in the country that’ll let me work free of charge and making airchecks

 

[speer360]

WFDF Makes Move To Conservative Talk

Two weeks after dropping its Black Talk format, Adell Radio Group will flip "910 AM Superstation" WFDF Farmington Hills/Detroit to

radioinsight.com

"Two weeks after dropping its Black Talk format, Adell Radio Group will flip “910 AM Superstation” WFDF Farmington Hills/Detroit to Conservative Talk."

 

[ckg279]

WFDF Makes Move To Conservative Talk

Two weeks after dropping its Black Talk format, Adell Radio Group will flip "910 AM Superstation" WFDF Farmington Hills/Detroit to

radioinsight.com

"Two weeks after dropping its Black Talk format, Adell Radio Group will flip “910 AM Superstation” WFDF Farmington Hills/Detroit to Conservative Talk."

Yeah. EXACTLY what the Motor City needs....ANOTHER conservative talk station. (Commence eye roll.)

 

[Kelly A]

So instead of being 'super 910', is it now 'meh 910'?

 

[MarkW]

The new programming is a major improvement over the old programming, even though the Trump butt kissing is over the top. It will probably not even fetch top 18 numbers in A25 to 54, but bear in mind the old format was at a 0.0 share. There are likely some local advertisers who will support the station simply because they like the political viewpoints that are espoused.