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Buffalo BIG plans for WEBR

Just looking at radio-locator, (sorry I know some folks hate the site) at the Buffalo page using the "find an unused frequency " there isn't a lot of wiggle room for any FM improvements for anybody. It might be cheaper to buy another AM with a good FM translator. Either way not going to be cheap.
 
This should help reception greatly outside of the immediate Niagara Falls area. Agree with the other posters, another station that complements their coverage gaps would go a lot further. WWWS immediately comes to mind, dial position would make it one "click" away in most cars. Could turn the NF/Lockport station into a decent full WNY coverage station like WECK. Good branding too, "1400/1440AM, 105.3/107.3 FM" kinda rolls off the tongue. Doubt Audacy is selling though.
 
This is a febel attempt from someone who wants to try to be relevant in Buffalo. They are totally sacrificing any nighttime coverage, even the daytime coverage will barely cover metro Buffalo, it's AM only, the whole project built in a radiation zone with cost over 500K, and it won't be complete, if at all, for atleast a year.

AM radio is going away, which is why my stations along with other major companies are moving to FM signals.

The whole premise with this mess is ego. They "want" to pretend they are a player in Buffalo. That's it.

Save the money, focus on local news talk in Niagara Falls, hire news and talk pros with the 500K and try to search for someone who can sell.

Thank goodness the government money and contracts help keep the other company they own afloat to fund a ridiculous project like this

Good luck trying to be relevant.
 
Could the "expanded" signal allow them to move the 105.3 translator farther south bypassing the 25 mile rule and using the AM signal coverage rules instead?
 
secondchoice said:
Could the "expanded" signal allow them to move the 105.3 translator farther south bypassing the 25 mile rule and using the AM signal coverage rules instead?
Click to expand...
A few years back when WEBR took over the 105.3 translator, there was a lot of discussion in a thread about just that. The conclusion was that it would be too difficult, near impossible to move it to Niagara Falls without causing interference.
 
Buddy's translators are coming from WZXV, they are W227BW and W235BC. He purchased them over the summer, and is in the process of swapping their tower sites and increasing power. Interestingly, WZXV turned around and used the purchase proceeds to take over 92.1 WZDV in Buffalo. Not a bad swap, 2 translators for a Class A.
 
RadioGuy1864 said:
Buddy's translators are coming from WZXV, they are W227BW and W235BC. He purchased them over the summer, and is in the process of swapping their tower sites and increasing power. Interestingly, WZXV turned around and used the purchase proceeds to take over 92.1 WZDV in Buffalo. Not a bad swap, 2 translators for a Class A.
Click to expand...
Great for them, and great for WUSW. Almost full FM metro coverage on our side
 
Buddy Shula said:
This is a febel attempt from someone who wants to try to be relevant in Buffalo. They are totally sacrificing any nighttime coverage, even the daytime coverage will barely cover metro Buffalo, it's AM only, the whole project built in a radiation zone with cost over 500K, and it won't be complete, if at all, for atleast a year.

AM radio is going away, which is why my stations along with other major companies are moving to FM signals.

The whole premise with this mess is ego. They "want" to pretend they are a player in Buffalo. That's it.

Save the money, focus on local news talk in Niagara Falls, hire news and talk pros with the 500K and try to search for someone who can sell.

Thank goodness the government money and contracts help keep the other company they own afloat to fund a ridiculous project like this

Good luck trying to be relevant.
Click to expand...
I actually want to personally apologize for my comments on this. They are inappropriate and nasty. Although the owner of WBER has taken quite a few shots at me in the past, going back to a polka show, I do respect him for attempting to this project. I had an opportunity to purchase both of his stations before he ever knew about them. I turned both down, as I saw virtually no upside, EXCEPT for Niagara County.

WLVL does a decent job for what it is. It is a Niagara County only AM station. I think the kind of local talk they are doing on this, is very appropriate. They are serving that area well, and that is why from a local standpoint, WLVL is a staple of that area, and well-respected. DIck Greene began doing it, and Bill has carried thru

WBER is a different story. It is a Niagara County AM station, with a pretty weak FM translator. However, they try to act like it is this contemporary Z100 type Buffalo station. IT's all over the place in terms of programming, positioning, air people, PD's, slogans, sales, engineering, talk radio, everything. There is ZERO consistency. Listeners could never know what to expect from that station. It's sad to me that they cannot program to the people and geography they should be targeting. Every day is a different brain-child slogan.

Just my 2 cents, if I ran them, WLVL would be local Niagara County News-based, and WBER would be Niagara County local talk based. I would simply own Niagara County, hire a nice sales team, and take it from there.

Again, my apologies to Bill and the staff. Sometimes I need to think a bit more before I write
 
Doesn't buffalo \ western NY have the
biggest AM audience in the country.

and a second inquiry,
how close is the AM band from
being a thing of the past.
I'm thinking, step one
no AM radio in new cars...
and will I see it in my lifetime ?
_ sidenote: I will plan to live for a long time.
 
Radio-Bored-Op said:
Doesn't buffalo \ western NY have the
biggest AM audience in the country.

and a second inquiry,
how close is the AM band from
being a thing of the past.
I'm thinking, step one
no AM radio in new cars...
and will I see it in my lifetime ?
_ sidenote: I will plan to live for a long time.
Click to expand...
Yes, Buffalo has the largest AM audience in the country. It still loves its AM radio, partly because Buffalo is a city that lives in the past.

Regarding the AM band, it’s a dead man walking. Even in Buffalo. While Buffalo has a very large AM audience, that audience is much older. I am scared for the AM band. I am scared for radio in general.

I can’t even find a radio outside a car anymore.

Radio distribution methods are changing dramatically. The stations that currently have “brands”already may be ok, because they can take that brand to other platforms like digital.

I said this many years ago….buying a radio station is no longer an investment that will appreciate in value. It’s a cash flow business. Take what you can now. That requires an excellent sales team.

Milk it now, and move on. It’s the reason stations are being silenced around the country.

The reason I am in good shape, and we can do well is because I know how to sell marketing. So does my staff. Plus, I do not put my eggs in the radio only basket. I have a successful ad agency, I have a billboard company, and I will have 5 FM metro frequencies via translators.

I also own several other things personally that appreciate in value.

So, I think my bases are covered. Even now, I am listening to BIG WECK on Alexa, not radio, because I don’t have one.

In summary, a traditional radio is in big trouble, but a radio local established brand is not in immediate danger
 
Informative and honest answer Mr Shula.


I often wonder if one station could change it all -
ie,: 97 Rock and going back to playing albums end to end or a true listener take over.
of all the FM 's in Buffalo,
they get it the most how to reach people
 
Radio-Bored-Op said:
Informative and honest answer Mr Shula.


I often wonder if one station could change it all -
ie,: 97 Rock and going back to playing albums end to end or a true listener take over.
of all the FM 's in Buffalo,
they get it the most how to reach people
Click to expand...
I doubt they are going to start to make new radios to put on the kitchen table, so it goes back to the brand and the audio distribution platform.

97 Rock has a fantastic brand . If the only way you could hear it was on an app only, I still think it would do pretty well, locally
 
Radio-Bored-Op said:
Informative and honest answer Mr Shula.


I often wonder if one station could change it all -
ie,: 97 Rock and going back to playing albums end to end or a true listener take over.
of all the FM 's in Buffalo,
they get it the most how to reach people
Click to expand...
worst idea ever.. people dont want tons of stiffs or 5000 songs

listeners dont realize they only want whats familair and its only radio/music nerds who want stuff like that

Why do you think thats a good idea?
 


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