You know I was going to say 2011, but I was trying to think of who the GM was at the time, and I thought it was when Charlie Wilkerson was there.
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April ratings are here
- Thread starter macattack
- Start date
in 2011, Cumulus was trying to merge with Citadel and IHeart/Clear Channel was prepare to blow up the Eagle if KSCS or The Wolf was sacrificed in the aftermath of the Cumulus/Citadel merger but instead, the merger went through and both Country music stations retained their formats and went to tweak their formats and branding in the 14 years since, meanwhile The Eagle did turn things around in late 2011 when Russ Martin moved from Mornings to back to Afternoons where he preferred to do the show at. plus in the years since, the Eagle found their grove and Russ was carrying the station until the late 2010s when his health problems started to impact his ability to be on the air in 2016 after a bad home invasion in late 2015 during the Holidays may have traumatized him and at the same time, 102.1 The Edge died, and Entercom merged with CBS Radio and took over 103.7 and flip it to Alternative Rock then you got the addition of Ben & Skin and later the Mavs radio broadcasts rights after 103.3 ESPN Radio was sold by Disney to a religious broadcast syndication network and Russ' untimely death in 2021 and that's how the Eagle met it's 2022 demise and set up the short lived 97.1 The Freak which too met it's demise in May of last year and flipped back to The Eagle.
In 2025, 97.1 is a shell of itself and lacks Russ Martin to keep it afloat and i rather move Star 102.1 branding and format to 97.1 and revive the Edge with a PD that can try to start a Alt Rock war with 103.7 or at least make 103.7 rebrand to "Rock 103.7" or something that fits all kinds of Rock without needing the heritage KVIL calls as branding, but that's just my opinion and not any ideas that should be done by those at iHeart Dallas.
Robert Douglas
Banned
Just my opinion, but I don't find a good country station in DFW unless you go to the 92.1 stations at the very edge of town, east and west. Good country in my (meaningless) opinion is 20th century only. After that, well it just doesn't come across as country. So why can a metro like San Antonio have classic county on 680, 1420, 1580, 93.3, 100.3HD2, 104.9 when DFW proper has no listenable signal at all? This makes no sense.
By the way, I was stunned last month when I was in San Antonio, to hear KKYX 680 with no compression for a change. It was awesome. I turned the treble and bass all the way up, and the mids all the way down on my car radio to find a shockingly flat CD-like sound. Of course, I can't hear much over 10Khz. It was wonderful to hear HiFi AM again in a car.
I doubt iHeart would consider this. 102.1 has been Star for almost 10 years believe it or not with 103.7 being Alt for almost 8 years (unless iHeart likes to shuffle formats like in Atlanta). If iHeart wants the Edge back on HD1 to compete with Alt, I think 97.1 would be the likely candidate (they finally have a logo with "97.1 The Edge"). Or if they wanted to bring a country/classic country format, would make sense to have it on 97.1, not 92.5 despite the "Lone Star" name. It would probably be called "The Bull" like in San Antonio. And I also don't think Audacy would blow up Alt 103.7 to go active rock unless they wanna be nice to iHeart and give alternative back to them with the Edge's return.
97-1 The Cowboy (no comment here just he preceding)
Nobody is moving a successful radio station to a different dial position. The result is a loss of what could be $1 million in lost revenue in the short term. Listeners take up to a year to find you again (if at all) and fewer listeners means cheaper commercials and lost revenue plus all the other costs such as a massive media campaign to get the word out. Sure you can talk about it on the air but you still lose up to 50% of your audience. i base this on a Houston FM moving due to a sale.
Nobody is moving a successful radio station to a different dial position. The result is a loss of what could be $1 million in lost revenue in the short term. Listeners take up to a year to find you again (if at all) and fewer listeners means cheaper commercials and lost revenue plus all the other costs such as a massive media campaign to get the word out. Sure you can talk about it on the air but you still lose up to 50% of your audience. i base this on a Houston FM moving due to a sale.
D
Deleted member 108832
Guest
I surmise that you are referencing the alternative "Buzz" moving down to 94.5 from 107.5 in Houston, back a quarter century ago. It worked great wonders for The Buzz to move to Senior Rd. and was done with a pretty slick promotion of repeatedly telling the audience they were losing the station altogether. People came out in droves to "Save The Buzz" and lit up Clear Channel's switchboard with complaints and outrage for days and days. Clear Channel never intended to drop The Buzz format. They knew it, but their listeners didn't. To generate buzz (ha!), they put the word out of its pending demise. Pretty clever way of motivating your listener base to get out there and spread the word of changes afoot, but a flat out lie, nonetheless. Word of mouth far exceeded any efforts Clear Channel could have taken just trying to tell the audience they had bought the 94.5 frequency and intended on shifting the format to the better signal. The concert Clear Channel hosted as a "switch party", featuring the Stone Temple Pilots, was jam-packed. That was one huge turnout for losing half of the audience in the move.
In Dallas, this also happened with KTXQ and The Edge at 94.5. 102.1 was fledgling in its final months in the AOR/Classic rock format. Once The Edge was moved on to 102.1, again with the catalyst of a facility sale, the station and format both flourished. How did it happen? Seemingly endless promotions. Anyone listening to The Edge on 94.5 was inundated with spots informing them of the move to Q102's frequency. Both instances, Clear Channel drilled the changes into their audience for weeks before and after the format shift to a new location.
Classic ("Real", if you prefer) Country is hot right now. There's a multitude of folks that passionately prefer the twangy sounds of the old guard, as evidenced by the many stations surrounding the both of us that focus solely on the hits of yesteryear. The new country music direction is just too intertwined with pop and rap influences for all too many traditional country listeners.
I don't actually expect Lone Star to be relocated, like I previously mentioned. I remain steadfast in the belief that anyone on N. Dallas Pkwy even mentioning an attempt at flipping 97.1 out of the rock format yet again would be met with a brick wall and walking papers, but the practice of moving an established format from one signal to another is certainly in the playbook, Bill. It can be done, it can be a successful venture, and with enough promotion of the events to come/that just occurred, losing parts of the audience can certainly be mitigated.
Moving The Edge from 94.5 to 102.1 is in no way comparable to moving KZPS' classic rock format from 92.5 to 97.1.
The relevant difference is that 102.1 is a much better signal in the market than 94.5 (which was probably the first rimshot to come into the DFW market back in the eighties when it originally came on with Z-Rock), and it was that improvement in the signal quality that made it worthwhile to invest the money in promoting the move. In contrast, there is no significant difference between the signals at 92.5 and 97.1, which means that there is also no real benefit in spending money to promote such a change -- at the end of it all, the best case scenario is that they're just back where they started, but on a different frequency.
Another factor is that the radio business was far healthier in the 90s than it is today. That means that The Edge had promotional resources and budgeting for the move that simply don't exist today.
I’d think it’s much cheaper to promote a new station now more than ever
KTXQ flipped to rhythmic oldies (“jammin’ oldies”) as “Magic 102” in Fall 1998. The rhythmic oldies format moved to 94.5 as “Magic 94.5” and evolved to urban AC.
I remember the move of the Edge to 102.1 when I lived over in East Texas. I was excited that it would be much easier to get, particularly on a skip since I wasn’t having to fight off KRUF Shreveport. The new Shreveport station I had to contend with, KDKS was more of a challenge than I expected but easier than KRUF to overcome.
Those Edge promos after they switched to 102.1 were hilarious, making jokes about mixed signals and how it was “important to have a good signal.”
If done right, it is more expensive. Not only do you need things like outdoor, but a variety... a big variety... of web resources as well as, if the demos are older, traditional cable and OTA TV.
But the economy won't allow all of that, so stations do not do what is needed. This is a reason to stick with a mediocre format rather than losing 6-12 months of revenue plus start-up expenses and promotion for the new format.
Heads need to roll at WBAP. A 0.9 share in 6+ on a massive AM signal and good Dallas County FM signal is just pathetic.
The addition of FM has done squat to help WBAP's fortunes. In fact, AQH share performance is substantially weaker now than prior to the addition of FM!
WBAP's crappy numbers make the demised 97.1 The Freak's numbers look halfway decent by comparison!
Will Cumulus try to resuscitate WBAP, or will it just allow the station to rot?
Heck, no one even cares about 570 KLIF anymore.
The addition of FM has done squat to help WBAP's fortunes. In fact, AQH share performance is substantially weaker now than prior to the addition of FM!
WBAP's crappy numbers make the demised 97.1 The Freak's numbers look halfway decent by comparison!
Will Cumulus try to resuscitate WBAP, or will it just allow the station to rot?
Heck, no one even cares about 570 KLIF anymore.
Cumulus has three stations in the Top 5, so they don't care.
Dallas/Fort Worth
Nielsen Audio PPM Monthly Ratings Dallas/Fort Worth (Market #4) Population: 7,039,700 Black: 1,254,200 – Hispanic: 2,039,600 Average Quarter Hour Share for Persons 6+, Mon-Sun 6AM-Mid All ratings are Copyright © 2005-2024 The Nielsen Company. All rights reserved. Nielsen radio audience estimates...
radioinsight.com
The fact that both WBAP and KRLD are in the toilet tells me that it's not just a Cumulus problem.
These companies think they can force conservative talk on a blue city, at a time when KERA is a Top 10 station. If I was running Cumulus, I'd start putting my overflow sports on WBAP, the way Audacy did with WCBS in NYC.
The 0.9 would be the lowest numbers in the 103 year history of WBAP.
Fort Worth's 820 is one of the best AM signals in the country. I've read that it is the best DX chance to catch in all 50 states.
WBAP used to be a 3 share radio station not that long ago. It usually was even with, or ahead of, 1080 KRLD in AQH share.Cumulus has three stations in the Top 5, so they don't care.
Dallas/Fort Worth
Nielsen Audio PPM Monthly Ratings Dallas/Fort Worth (Market #4) Population: 7,039,700 Black: 1,254,200 – Hispanic: 2,039,600 Average Quarter Hour Share for Persons 6+, Mon-Sun 6AM-Mid All ratings are Copyright © 2005-2024 The Nielsen Company. All rights reserved. Nielsen radio audience estimates...
The fact that both WBAP and KRLD are in the toilet tells me that it's not just a Cumulus problem.
These companies think they can force conservative talk on a blue city, at a time when KERA is a Top 10 station. If I was running Cumulus, I'd start putting my overflow sports on WBAP, the way Audacy did with WCBS in NYC.
Both brands have since incurred very significant AQH share erosion, with 820 / 93.3 being the more severely impacted of the two.
Dallas proper is definitely "blue" but the Metroplex at large is not.
I think the plethora of CCM stations in the market is grabbing share that in some cases would go to the conservative talk stations.
The other problem is four or five different AM stations with good to strong signals are programming conservative talk. Still, WBAP was the clear leader in the space for many, many years. Their fall from grace is absolutely stunning, especially given the recent addition of 93.3 FM.
Wasn't AM 820 at a 1.6 or 1.8 share immediately before the onset of the simulcast on 93.3?
Depending on one's politics, WBAP's .9 ratings are either sad or hilarious. Politics aside, I think the morning show
has serious problems from it's recent changes. Steve Lamb was a great sports broadcaster and was let go after nearly 4 decades.
Nicole Osay was good at news. The new traffic reporter is hard to understand. Monty was better at traffic IMO than news. When the talented Carla Marian started at WBAP about a
year ago, the staff all agreed the morning show was great, maybe the best in the nation. Yeah, Texas boosterism. But it was
pretty good. Ernie and Carla keep the show interesting, but Hal J. is past his prime, and the pace now seems slower and clumsier. I do
admire the morning staff for sounding cheerful at the ratings Titanic and hope things turn around soon. Still better than most morning s
has serious problems from it's recent changes. Steve Lamb was a great sports broadcaster and was let go after nearly 4 decades.
Nicole Osay was good at news. The new traffic reporter is hard to understand. Monty was better at traffic IMO than news. When the talented Carla Marian started at WBAP about a
year ago, the staff all agreed the morning show was great, maybe the best in the nation. Yeah, Texas boosterism. But it was
pretty good. Ernie and Carla keep the show interesting, but Hal J. is past his prime, and the pace now seems slower and clumsier. I do
admire the morning staff for sounding cheerful at the ratings Titanic and hope things turn around soon. Still better than most morning s
shows.
The 93.3 facility is not a full market signal...it largely covers the "blue" areas, so it seemed like an odd pairing not likely to add much to WBAP's numbers.
I've always found it odd over the years the limited 93.3 signal has been programmed often for audiences it largely does not cover -- two attempts at AAA, modern AC, conservative news/talk.
Fair points. I've said a number of times in recent years that Urban AC would be the best use for 93.3. The fact two Urban AC formatted stations already exist shouldn't be a big deterrent. 94.5 and 105.7 have lousy signals in much of Dallas County compared to 93.3. Taking ratings away from those two stations would be like taking candy from a baby.