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Pensacola/Fort Walton What's up with WMEZ?

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Since Hot 94.1 came on the air of January 1 of last year, it hasn't produced fantastic results. Is it the signal or is it just cheaply run and not intentionally supposed to be a successful station? Any thoughts on Cumulus' strategy with this? I do not think it is a well-sounding station and their audio levels seem to be higher than Z96. Just my observation.

If Hot 94.1 doesn't end up working out, what would be a good alternative?
 
Doesn't Cumulus already have WBLX and WDLT in Mobile, plus WRRX in Pensacola? It seems they're only competing with themselves if that's the case, so maybe the lack of promotion and traction is part of some grand plan to siphon up the few urban listeners that they didn't already own. I suppose the lack of comments on this in the month since it's been posted shows how little even radio nerds like us care, lol.
 
I always wondered why Cumulus gave up on AC on WMEZ? Those call letters date back to "EZ" listening station WMEZ that played beautiful music. It made the transition first to Soft AC, then Mainstream AC. The AC music ended on January 1 last year, when the station flipped to its current format.

Other nearby markets have successful AC stations:

--New Orleans, WLMG, Audacy, #3

--Mobile, WMXC, iHeart, #6

--Biloxi, WMJY, iHeart, #2
 
tomservo said:
Doesn't Cumulus already have WBLX and WDLT in Mobile, plus WRRX in Pensacola? It seems they're only competing with themselves if that's the case, so maybe the lack of promotion and traction is part of some grand plan to siphon up the few urban listeners that they didn't already own. I suppose the lack of comments on this in the month since it's been posted shows how little even radio nerds like us care, lol.
Click to expand...
Add to that IHeart'S 107.3
 
Gregg. said:
I always wondered why Cumulus gave up on AC on WMEZ? Those call letters date back to "EZ" listening station WMEZ that played beautiful music. It made the transition first to Soft AC, then Mainstream AC. The AC music ended on January 1 last year, when the station flipped to its current format.

Other nearby markets have successful AC stations:

--New Orleans, WLMG, Audacy, #3

--Mobile, WMXC, iHeart, #6

--Biloxi, WMJY, iHeart, #2
Click to expand...

Keep in mind (and I did visit Mobile once in 2005) that, in terms of FM, the vast majority of the Pensacola FMs can be received as locals in Mobile and the vast majority of Mobile's FMs can be received as locals in Pensacola. And that includes WMXC-FM's reception in Pensacola and WMEZ's reception in Mobile. My best guess therefore is that Cumulus decided that it couldn't, for whatever reason, compete withIHeart's WMXC so it flipped WMEZ's format.
 
Generally speaking iHeart runs solid AC stations. But I just think that WMEZ (will they ever change their call letters?) will never really compete. I never liked Cumulus to begin with; they messed up WABD when K-Love bought WABB back in 2012. It's too bad Kiss FM on 107.3 never worked out.
 
ted chittenden said:
Keep in mind (and I did visit Mobile once in 2005) that, in terms of FM, the vast majority of the Pensacola FMs can be received as locals in Mobile and the vast majority of Mobile's FMs can be received as locals in Pensacola. And that includes WMXC-FM's reception in Pensacola and WMEZ's reception in Mobile. My best guess therefore is that Cumulus decided that it couldn't, for whatever reason, compete withIHeart's WMXC so it flipped WMEZ's format.
Click to expand...

Some of the Mobile and Pensacola FM's even share the same towers. Having said that, most people in Pensacola listen to the Pensacola stations, and most people in Mobile listen to the Mobile stations. Few, if any, Pensacola stations sell in Mobile, and the same can be said for the Mobile stations in Pensacola.

The numbers weren't good at WMEZ before it flipped to Top-40, though ABM is correct that they haven't improved since the flip. I don't have an explanation for it, but the numbers at WMEZ as a soft rock station had been lousy for a long time. Even the Christmas bump rarely helped it much. I doubt that WMXC had much to do it as it never put up great numbers in Pensacola either, but WMEZ might have been sustainable longer if those one or two shares were in its column.
 
Kent said:
Some of the Mobile and Pensacola FM's even share the same towers. Having said that, most people in Pensacola listen to the Pensacola stations, and most people in Mobile listen to the Mobile stations. Few, if any, Pensacola stations sell in Mobile, and the same can be said for the Mobile stations in Pensacola.

The numbers weren't good at WMEZ before it flipped to Top-40, though ABM is correct that they haven't improved since the flip. I don't have an explanation for it, but the numbers at WMEZ as a soft rock station had been lousy for a long time. Even the Christmas bump rarely helped it much. I doubt that WMXC had much to do it as it never put up great numbers in Pensacola either, but WMEZ might have been sustainable longer if those one or two shares were in its column.
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Your comments about Pensacola residents not listening to Mobile-licensed radio stations and vice versa and the comment about how the licensed stations do not try to purchase advertisements in the other's market has me scratching my head and wondering why. I mean I can see the issue with the AM stations--none of them cross into the other's market (well, I can only speak for Pensacola crossing into Mobile because Mobile is the place I visited) so it really wouldn't make sense for Mobile-licensed AMs to seek advertisers in Pensacola and vice versa. But FM? That sounds crazy to me, especially when radio advertising buys all over the U.S. are going down. Unless I'm missing something very important (and I could well be since I only visited Mobile once back in 2005), I think that whichever corporate radio owner, whether it be in Mobile or Pensacola, decides to utilize both markets for selling advertising time could do very well for itself.
 
ted chittenden said:
Your comments about Pensacola residents not listening to Mobile-licensed radio stations and vice versa and the comment about how the licensed stations do not try to purchase advertisements in the other's market has me scratching my head and wondering why.
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Radio has never been bought regionally. Remember, radio is the cheap medium. Businesses in Pensacola don't want to pay extra to reach Mobile listeners who are unlikely to patronize them. Mobile businesses feel the same toward reaching the Pensacola audience. The handful of companies that operate in both and want or need to reach both buy TV, where Mobile and Pensacola are the same market, or make multiple radio buys. That's always the way it has been done, and radio markets have traditionally always been smaller than TV markets. If those habits change, it's not going to be radio operators changing them. They've tried that numerous times before, and it has never worked.

ted chittenden said:
But FM? That sounds crazy to me, especially when radio advertising buys all over the U.S. are going down.
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Selling Pensacola and Mobile as one radio market would result in price increases. Raising prices is not going to make more radio buys.

ted chittenden said:
Unless I'm missing something very important (and I could well be since I only visited Mobile once back in 2005), I think that whichever corporate radio owner, whether it be in Mobile or Pensacola, decides to utilize both markets for selling advertising time could do very well for itself.
Click to expand...

I think I've explained three important factors you're missing: 1) Mobile and Pensacola listeners don't listen to the other market's stations enough to make reaching out to the other worthwhile. Your audience can tell if you're talking to it, and Pensacola listeners know Mobile stations aren't talking to them and vice-versa. 2) Radio is not bought regionally and never has been. Some of that might go back to AM stations not covering both markets, but old habits die hard. 3) Utilizing both markets for sales would result in an increase in prices that wouldn't be sustainable for the businesses in each market that use radio. Remember, if the radio operators and media buyers wanted the two markets combined, they could get that. Nielsen provides a service to them and wants to make sure they get what they want.

Something you might find ironic is that iHeart's stations in both markets are now operated out of Mobile. It might still have a sales office or a handful of remote sales staff in Pensacola, but the old iHeart studios in Pensacola are now church offices.
 


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