Nothing like the Variety Classic Hits with 90s lean this market is lacking greatly, Earth FM & Awesome (99.5) were 2 great options for that, went kaput. 102.5 isn't quite the same or filling that void with its Mostly 80s playlist, But maybe something like WSTR (Atlanta) or Magic 92.5 (XHRM) in San Diego would be nice.
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Agree, I’d just be happy to have an AC again but apparently nobody sees any benefit in the format. There’s not one station in the market doing anything close to it. Before anyone mentions The Lake, it’s not a typical variety hits station like the one in Charlotte or Columbia. It’s more like watered down classic rocker that occasionally plays Prince or Madonna. IMO iHeart is using it to keep WROQ from outperforming one of the country stations, as we’ve seen them get 6+ shares before. It’s not exactly doing great, either.
Side note, I wonder if 99.5 is cutting in to 98.1. They started sliding once 99.5’s numbers started inching up.
Some potential flippers I can see in the market are 98.1 (or one of 107.3's HD channels move there) freeing up a new station on 98.5 or 99.5. I dont think X would do "better" @ 98.1 but officially Summit is Running "3" urban signals in this market, (98.1, 99.5 & 107.3) and the only Full power ones (vs The Block on Translator signals) which is unbelievable and IMO surely one of them is unnecessary. 104.9 as well, but they haven't put much (lame) effort into that since it was Rock both @ 96.7 (Buzzard) and again as "Man Up." ... 98.9 still seems very out of place, but if they are happy with their niche audience (as Audacy) while they own other well programmed Classic / AC stations in adjacent markets (ATL, GSO) then so be it...and yet Greenville is a fast growing area of the country, but what a neglected market this has become...
BTW speaking of Urban stations, 105.3 R&B (WOSF) is my preferred choice for that here, and their playlist has been interesting & attractive lately (and recently #1 in CLT) vs the GSP Urban stations which don't seem to have that same appeal. Their signal barely makes it into Spartanburg now, with that Greer translator being so close, the signal easily cuts out just west of town.
BTW speaking of Urban stations, 105.3 R&B (WOSF) is my preferred choice for that here, and their playlist has been interesting & attractive lately (and recently #1 in CLT) vs the GSP Urban stations which don't seem to have that same appeal. Their signal barely makes it into Spartanburg now, with that Greer translator being so close, the signal easily cuts out just west of town.
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WOSF used to reach into Greenville before that Greer translator signed on. Very annoying intererence. But you can still get WBAV-101.9. Also translators now interfere with Charlotte signals on 102.9 and 107.9, blocking clear car reception in Greenville. But you can still pull them in if you carefully aim a decent stationary antenna at your house in areas such as Mauldin, Simsonville, Fountain Inn, Travelers Rest. But car reception is problematic unless you are stationary at a sweet spot in a parking lot.
But in Spartanburg more of the Charlotte signals come in decently, where I primarily listen to 107.9 or 102.9. From Greenville, I sometimes tune in 102.5 but I prefer the Charlotte Lake music mix better.
Definitely missing Magic 98.9/106.3, Awesome 99.5 and Earth FM. Audacy totally destroyed and solld off the Magic format, with the channel change and then the end of what had historically been WSPA-FM. Quite sad actually, the end of Magic/WSPA and Earth FM.
Something I think about often is what if Audacy had left Magic on 98.9, and then the requirement to divest 106.3 (with the WORD programming) happened. Would they have still blown up Magic at 98.9? Or possibly 93.3 instead? Something tells me 93.3 bills well and is propped up in that department by the Rise Guys. I’d be curious to see their ratings without TRG. The numbers have been in a decline for the past couple of years, and Magic was almost beating it on the much lesser 106.3 early this year. I don’t think Audacy WANTED to lose the Magic brand and format, but they didn’t have anywhere else to put it where it would have justified blowing up one of their other stations, telling me they must have billed less than the sister stations.
Other than WFBC and MAYBE WSSL, what’s just crazy is there is no station aiming for 25-54 females primarily. We have multiple urban stations, rock stations, and sports talk stations. With WMYI’s rock emphasis, an AC on 104.9 would inflict little damage IMO, but I know 104.9 is under sports contracts that can’t easily be broken and it may bill well. IHeart has adult contemporary and “traditional” variety hits or classic hits stations in several markets, so an AC on 104.9 and rock based variety hits on 102.5 would be fine IMO.
The only other option for AC I see is Summit. X98.5 doesn’t do great (that 98.3 translator in Spartanburg hurts their signal more on that side of the market) and Summit likes formats and stations that can break new music, and they do a lot of contests. Plus, X has been around over a decade so I can’t help but think they’re satisfied with it. 99.5 is the wildcard. It breaks new music as well, but it hasn’t done very well at all until its decent crawl, never does contests, and seems like it may be cutting in to 98.1. If Summit were to try to launch an AC, I think it’d be on 99.5.
When Awesome 99.5 flipped, the market was over saturated with gold based stations. Had the timing been different and Earth FM flipped while they were still on the air, they’d probably still be on. Especially if they had known Magic would be going away. It was just really unfortunate timing, but I can see Summits reasoning at the time.
Other than WFBC and MAYBE WSSL, what’s just crazy is there is no station aiming for 25-54 females primarily. We have multiple urban stations, rock stations, and sports talk stations. With WMYI’s rock emphasis, an AC on 104.9 would inflict little damage IMO, but I know 104.9 is under sports contracts that can’t easily be broken and it may bill well. IHeart has adult contemporary and “traditional” variety hits or classic hits stations in several markets, so an AC on 104.9 and rock based variety hits on 102.5 would be fine IMO.
The only other option for AC I see is Summit. X98.5 doesn’t do great (that 98.3 translator in Spartanburg hurts their signal more on that side of the market) and Summit likes formats and stations that can break new music, and they do a lot of contests. Plus, X has been around over a decade so I can’t help but think they’re satisfied with it. 99.5 is the wildcard. It breaks new music as well, but it hasn’t done very well at all until its decent crawl, never does contests, and seems like it may be cutting in to 98.1. If Summit were to try to launch an AC, I think it’d be on 99.5.
When Awesome 99.5 flipped, the market was over saturated with gold based stations. Had the timing been different and Earth FM flipped while they were still on the air, they’d probably still be on. Especially if they had known Magic would be going away. It was just really unfortunate timing, but I can see Summits reasoning at the time.
The Rise Guys are yet another example of a radio morning show that sounds outdated and past its prime. While the crew are fun personalities and nowhere as bad as something thing like Ace & TJ, the show feel stuck in the mid to late 00’s from my recent experiences. The jokes and stories sounded like they came from a South Park and/or Family Guy episode from 2006.
That said, like you mentioned the show still does well with billing to get by not mention the show is also syndicated out in stations in New Orleans and Chattanooga at the moment so it’s probably here to stay for awhile even if The Planet is getting by with middle of the road to mediocre numbers these days.
I agree. Actually, TRG were pulled from New Orleans. Audacy found a local show to replace it. So now it’s just Greenville and Chattanooga.
TRG have the same problem as Hawk and Tom. Just exhausted. How much can they do that keeps the show from becoming stale? I view 93.3 and 93.7 as stale because of their morning shows, 93.7 especially. Hawk and Tom need to do what Ace and TJ are finally doing in Charlotte and move to the classic hits station…or move somewhere that better suits them. I always thought Hawk and Tom would have been a good fit for Magic. Much of the demo that grew up listening to them are now in the AC demo. Maybe it doesn’t matter as much now that CHR is leaning a bit older.
Something to ponder - it’s no secret John Boy Isley has mentioned retirement is on his mind and will likely come sooner rather than later. TRG slide over to WROQ as a replacement? It could work if they reformatted the show and grew up a bit. Another thing hurting Planet is they’re going after a narrow demo. Classic rock is getting massive numbers with younger demos in certain markets. Active rock not so much. So we may just be seeing a decline in the type of rock 93.3 is offering.
Are the ratings for the morning shows published online anywhere or just the ones you linked for the stations as a whole?
Nice to see how well EMF is doing. Talk about destroying stations. Even if you like what they do, there's what, 15 religious stations in the market? More? It's downright ridiculous. X-98.5 is about all I listen to now, as the Planet has, IMHO, horrible audio processing. It sounds like total amateur hour.
The site I go to is still saying WSPA-FM is AC, although the 12-plus numbers are way down.
I know EMF doesn't care about ratings, rather donations, but ratings do seem like they could provide some kind of insight in to potential donations. WLFJ absolutely owns the CCM market with 40 years of being very locally involved and I can't believe they're going to lose many listeners to EMF. It is interesting to see Air 1 does consistently better on 103.3 than 95.5 (even though both stations carry the same programming, they don't count as one since EMF considers them separate stations vs. a simulcast and they are fed/identified individually).
WSPA-FM is probably going to wobble down for a while. I would imagine 106.3's radical flip to a different language cleansed most of the AC audience out pretty quickly, but I doubt 106.3 is getting a 1.5 12+ out of the gate as a Spanish station in this market. I don't know how the tabulations work well enough to understand what could be going on. The ex-Salem stations were still getting 1-2 shares for a while after EMF took them over, but they seemed to stabilize where they are now after a few months which seems more accurate.
Stations as a whole. There are indicators that TRG seem to do well enough for 93.3, I don't know if Audacy would have put it on the air in other markets (even though NOLA is no longer) if it were flopping in its home market. They also do local endorsements as well.
Looking at the 95.5 and 103.3 differences in numbers is because the population count in the 103.3 signal range is higher. Plus Air One pushes 95.5 as an Anderson signal and 103.3 for Greenville and Spartanburg. Also religious/catholic/ccm stations have multiple formats. There are those that feature music and those that feature talk or preaching. Most religious stations focus on Christians but some also on Catholics. Two Rock stations or two country stations is okay but two Christian AC is too much. Two modern worship formats is too much. two preaching stations are too much. God is big God and if he controlled more signals the world would be better.
Would be nice to have one station with as much of a music focus as K-Love which plays the BBN style music like on 91.1.
I support all age groups having and Christian alternative to the style they prefer whether its tradional hymns, southern gospel, urban gospel, hip hop r&B, CHR, Light Rock, modern rock, Hard Rock, adult r&B, country. The thing is that Christian AC is the format that gets the most listener financial support and audience. Most rely on listener donations since the number of commercial Christian AC stations slowly dwindle. Black gospel can bring in a large audience in many places but cant get advertiser support due to most of listening is over 50. In Atlanta a puny 3kw from the nw brings in almost as many listeners and the Fish does. It format is subsidized by hot and magic, if it was on a 100kw stick just imagine the audience but it cant get the advertisers to substain it. Atlanta has more black people than any market in the country except NYC. The dial is loaded with stations targeting the community which makes sense. Shame Greenville lost their Gospel FM with K Love buying 94.5, they had to put a listener supported non com on 96.9 but Salem could of moved Gospel to the hd of WROQ like they did with the spanish language station.
I like the Preaching Format (Variety / schedule) on 88.3 / 96.9, which is almost a 100 % simulcast with a half second delay on one frequency. I think there's a bit more commercials on Truth Network and not just PSAs, but its similar to and reminds me of The Bridge in NJ / NY (WRDR / WJUX), as well as K-Wave (KWVE 107.9 / 1110) near Los Angeles, both of which have tight schedules, and there's less PSAs / sponsors between programs on The Bridge, which also has translators serving into NYC on 95.1 W236CH (Midtown) & 103.1 W276AQ (Northern Jersey / Bronx).
88.3 has with a clear / decent signal to the east as far as Gastonia NC, so its also complementary to the Charlotte signals for Truth Network as well, on 960 AM (WCRU) with translators on 105.7 (Uptown Charlotte) & 98.5 (Huntersville area). It is nearly a 100% with simulcast for them as well between 88.3 & 960 AM (with a few seconds delay).
Besides the 96.9 sale, Was 88.3 also sold, or is a sale pending to Truth Network / Delmarva for that signal as well, or is it still owned / retained by EMF? I guess Truth Network is leasing from EMF (94.5 - HD- 3) but it would make sense if 88.3 was also added to / Delmarva ownership / fully transferred just like 96.9 was.
88.3 has with a clear / decent signal to the east as far as Gastonia NC, so its also complementary to the Charlotte signals for Truth Network as well, on 960 AM (WCRU) with translators on 105.7 (Uptown Charlotte) & 98.5 (Huntersville area). It is nearly a 100% with simulcast for them as well between 88.3 & 960 AM (with a few seconds delay).
Besides the 96.9 sale, Was 88.3 also sold, or is a sale pending to Truth Network / Delmarva for that signal as well, or is it still owned / retained by EMF? I guess Truth Network is leasing from EMF (94.5 - HD- 3) but it would make sense if 88.3 was also added to / Delmarva ownership / fully transferred just like 96.9 was.
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So, 96.9 (Greenville) & 88.3 (Spartanburg) do complement each other very well, even into the adjacent Charlotte area. But now K-Love (on 94.5) has a weak spot near Gastonia NC, on its coverage border with 91.9 in SE Charlotte, where local 91.7 WSGE can easily overpower in Gaston County & Suburbs West of Charlotte, especially west of the CLT Airport.
I've picked up 94.5 in Concord (that's when it was beautiful music). What is the problem with it west of Charlotte?
Sounds like a rare case...
For me, 94.5 from Greenville is listenable into NC but gets weaker into Gastonia and worse beyond that into west Charlotte... Adjacent signal interference from 94.7 (W234BY) Limits 94.5 east beyond Gaston County, and even worse, Charlotte (Mecklenburg) is further restricted from the Northeast by Greensboro's 94.5 (WPTI), lately prevents Greenville's WKVP from reaching anywhere north of Uptown CLT.
94.1 (WWLV) is also better going north (Sugar Creek @ 85 near IKEA / 485) but that hasn't been a great signal for me in CLT itself, but surprisingly 94.1 was better to the west into Gaston County, Compared to 91.9's limited signal which drops off quickly to the northwest.
** Speaking of that, has anyone noticed the Greenville K-Love station lately Identifies & Announces "Charlotte" in their Top of Hour intro Jingle, shortly after listing Station ID? It obviously should be saying "Greenville." Also, they used to mention 106.7 Atlanta with station ID when they first signed on, but now ID only mentions Charlotte 91.9 / 94.1
91.9 is usually a blank & empty channel here in Gaffney, but there was a weak signal playing Classic Christian Music, checked and it sure was WHRT from Cokesbury / Greenwood (perhaps via tropo). Unusual that Charlotte's K-Love WRCM almost never reaches here either...Similar as well with 90.3 WRBK.
For me, 94.5 from Greenville is listenable into NC but gets weaker into Gastonia and worse beyond that into west Charlotte... Adjacent signal interference from 94.7 (W234BY) Limits 94.5 east beyond Gaston County, and even worse, Charlotte (Mecklenburg) is further restricted from the Northeast by Greensboro's 94.5 (WPTI), lately prevents Greenville's WKVP from reaching anywhere north of Uptown CLT.
94.1 (WWLV) is also better going north (Sugar Creek @ 85 near IKEA / 485) but that hasn't been a great signal for me in CLT itself, but surprisingly 94.1 was better to the west into Gaston County, Compared to 91.9's limited signal which drops off quickly to the northwest.
** Speaking of that, has anyone noticed the Greenville K-Love station lately Identifies & Announces "Charlotte" in their Top of Hour intro Jingle, shortly after listing Station ID? It obviously should be saying "Greenville." Also, they used to mention 106.7 Atlanta with station ID when they first signed on, but now ID only mentions Charlotte 91.9 / 94.1
91.9 is usually a blank & empty channel here in Gaffney, but there was a weak signal playing Classic Christian Music, checked and it sure was WHRT from Cokesbury / Greenwood (perhaps via tropo). Unusual that Charlotte's K-Love WRCM almost never reaches here either...Similar as well with 90.3 WRBK.
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100% agree with your signal observations. Yes, the "Charlotte" jingle on 94.5 is really weird. EMF has a generic TOH jingle they could use that seems more fitting if they haven't gotten around to cutting one for GSP yet, it's just weird. That's the jingle used on WRCM. WWLV uses "Piedmont Triad" at the end of its TOH jingle. I also got a clear signal in Hickory over the weekend on 94.5 from GSP, and it can be heard in parts of Charlotte, but it's definitely not a signal you'd want to tune in to and drive around listening to. From my experience, the HD for 94.1 WWLV starts to lock around Ikea Blvd at 85. Right past Kannapolis, any hope of getting 94.5 WKVG is gone as WPTI starts to come in. Of all of the upstate signals, 93.3 The Planet throws the best signal over the Charlotte metro and north.
Not that there's one available, and there would be somewhere for it to be moved, but a translator between Gaffney and west Charlotte would probably cover the gap between 94.1, 91.9, and 94.5. Not advocating for more translators, just saying from a signal standpoint...
No paperwork has been filed with the FCC for WLXK. I'd assume like WKVG-HD3, EMF is just going to cash checks on a regular basis from Delmarva.
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