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Buffalo WGR to Simulcast on 107.7

B

Buddy Shula

Hot off the presses. 107.7 is dumping country and expanding the reach and adding FM for WGR. Honestly, this is what they should have been doing as that signal covers Rochester. There goes my format change to sports :)

Update - Bills NOT on WGR this coming season.
 
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Buddy Shula said:
Hot off the presses. 107.7 is dumping country and expanding the reach and adding FM for WGR. Honestly, this is what they should have been doing as that signal covers Rochester.
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I’m not in western NY, but it seems the WLKK signal is a marginal rimshot for both Buffalo and Rochester. It does add another listening option, but I would think a large part of the audience will stay with 550.

Call change to WGR-FM on the way?
TheBigA said:
This leaves Houston without an FM simulcast for sports.
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Don’t forget Audacy’s KIFM 1320 in Sacramento. But this will certainly increase the speculation of such a move to FM in Houston. Now if we can avoid getting another thread shut down on the Houston board…😱😖
 
Buddy Shula said:
Hot off the presses. 107.7 is dumping country and expanding the reach and adding FM for WGR. Honestly, this is what they should have been doing as that signal covers Rochester. There goes my format change to sports :)

Update - Bills NOT on WGR this coming season.
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If WGR is losing the Bills, then this seems like a pre-emptive strike...

Townsquare cluster Director of Content Bob Barnett has posted here in the past questioning about flipping to Sports. Bills on 92.9 with or without a flip to Sports would be a huge boost for that station.
 
lanceventa said:
Townsquare cluster Director of Content Bob Barnett has posted here in the past questioning about flipping to Sports. Bills on 92.9 with or without a flip to Sports would be a huge boost for that station.
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Interesting idea. I can't think of any other Townsquare station that does sports or has an NFL franchise. He wouldn't have to flip WBUF to 24/7 sports. Just do what a lot of iHeart rock stations already do. However, I'd expect the Bills to make a return to WGRF.

As of now, 107.7 is still country. Will they do the flip in time for Westwood One's coverage of the Super Bowl on Sunday?
 
TheBigA said:
Interesting idea. I can't think of any other Townsquare station that does sports or has an NFL franchise. He wouldn't have to flip WBUF to 24/7 sports. Just do what a lot of iHeart rock stations already do.

As of now, 107.7 is still country. Will they do the flip in time for Westwood One's coverage of the Super Bowl on Sunday?
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Townsquare recently flipped stations in multiple Michigan markets to simulcasts of Audacy's 97.1 The Ticket Detroit. They also have Sports stations in many other markets including Bangor, Grand Junction, among others. But Buffalo is the only market they're in that has a big 4 pro-sports franchise as it is so cannot compare what they do elsewhere.
 
WLKK along with it's 104.7 translator covers the Buffalo market very well. The AM simulcast can cover the few areas that don't get a decent FM signal, and there's always the Audacy app for everyone.
 
Gasman471 said:
Bills/Sabres are leaving WGR. Could Pegula be buying WNED FM given the license change request?
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TheBigA said:
Just posted:

radioinsight.com

Buffalo Bills To Depart WGR As They Take Production In-House

The NFL's Buffalo Bills have announced the end of their fourteen year broadcast partnership with Audacy Sports 550 WGR Buffalo
radioinsight.com radioinsight.com
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Personally, I don't see Pegs buying WNED-FM.

BTW, the Bills just posted the news to their social media feeds...and you can imagine how people are taking it....
 
Pegula sports properties will bring program sales and production in-house at own facilities and build a new group of affiliates before next season. Starting Monday, Feb. 9, One Bills Live will be distributed in-house. Pete Guelli, Bills President of Business Operations indicated that current affiliate agreements will be allowed to expire at the end of the contracts.

According to an announcement on the Bills website, in-house distribution will enable the Bills to expand their network of station affiliates across New York State, Southern Ontario, and additional regions throughout the country. Current affiliates may or may not be part of the distribution network. There's no mention of 107.7.

Read more here:

Buffalo Bills to produce and distribute radio broadcasts for all games in 2026
 
I can see Townsquare flipping WBUF to Sports, possibly with Good Karma running operations there.

I could also see WNED being sold to Good Karma.

I agree with Buddy that 107.7 should've been simulcasting 550 all along.
 
MarkW said:
I can see Townsquare flipping WBUF to Sports, possibly with Good Karma running operations there.

I could also see WNED being sold to Good Karma.

I agree with Buddy that 107.7 should've been simulcasting 550 all along.
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JMO: It would STUPID for Townsquare to flip WBUF to sports, considering that WGR will be on both AM & FM. Also, why are we presuming GKB is going to buy WNED? The only thing they're doing is helping the Bills(and, presumably, the Sabres)build out a content distribution plan and set up a new affiliate network.
 
ckg279 said:
The only thing they're doing is helping the Bills(and, presumably, the Sabres)build out a content distribution plan and set up a new affiliate network.
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Don't you think they'd want an affiliate in the home city? As I said, they don't have to own it. Just have access to it. That's how affiliates work.
 
Wow, first they fire their head coach, now they're firing their flagship radio station ;)

Can't help but wonder if the Bills would have actually made it to the super bowl and actually won it, if either of these things would have happened.

I could picture this scenario on February 9.

WGR Radio: Congratulations Bills, you won the Super Bowl. Were so proud and honored to be the flagship station of the super bowl champions.

Bills: You're fired.
 
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MarkW said:
I can see Townsquare flipping WBUF to Sports, possibly with Good Karma running operations there.

I could also see WNED being sold to Good Karma.

I agree with Buddy that 107.7 should've been simulcasting 550 all along.
Click to expand...

I advocated for that long ago. Considering WGR's nighttime pattern, 107.7 not only fills in the broadcast area, it expands it greatly into the Finger Lakes region.
 
What this deal between the Bills and GKB confirms is that GKB has built a solid business model, that appears to attract more revenue than the traditional broadcast model. Because what seems to have happened here is that Audacy attempted to renew their deal, and was outbid by GKB. Either that or the GKB proposal involved a lot more media content and revenue opportunities than traditional broadcast radio. There seems to be a lot of that going on right now.

It also appears that a decision has not been made who will be the Bills broadcast affiliate in Buffalo. It may still be WGR. Otherwise it would have been announced today.
 


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