Seems as though it'll be difficult to draw any significant numbers with a translator against an established class C urban AC already entrenched in the market. But who knows? Look how well some of the FM translators are performing in Birmingham, for example "103.1 The Beat" and previously when the station was on 104.1.
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Mobile Mobile set to Vibe?
- Thread starter A_b_m_90
- Start date
Seems as though it'll be difficult to draw any significant numbers with a translator against an established class C urban AC already entrenched in the market. But who knows? Look how well some of the FM translators are performing in Birmingham, for example "103.1 The Beat" and previously when the station was on 104.1.
Urban and Urban AC are competition in the same sense that rock and AC are. I suppose one or both could've changed as I haven't heard either since 2018, but the two definitely had distinct sounds and were going after different segments of the audience at the time.
As I'm sure you know, 107.3 is also a Pensacola station while WDLT is a Mobile station. Yes, they have similar signals and even have towers in the same general area, but people generally listen to the Pensacola stations in Pensacola and the Mobile stations in Mobile.
Is that something similar to the days before the DFW-Fort Worth airport was built when Dallas listeners only tuned in Dallas stations and Ft. Worth listeners tuned in only the Ft. Worth stations even though both groups could hear the other city's stations clearly (mostly) in their own back yard. While I could see something of a necessity for that in the past (because of local news and weather carriage), it sounds odd today when most commercial radio stations eschew local news (their marketing surveys say listeners don't want to hear it) and the weather forecasts are usually prerecorded ahead of time ffor multiple stations in the group.
Keep-in-mind that Dallas and Ft. Worth started as separate markets because most listening was to AM, and only three AM signals covered both 24/7. While some stations have upgraded or otherwise changed their coverage, that's still true today; only three AM's in DFW cover the entire market around-the-clock. Pensacola and Mobile may be separate markets for the same reason. No AM's cover both with what would be considered a citygrade signal at any time of the day. No operator could make a case for the two being the same market until, at least, the early 80's.
It probably goes back to two factors. The first is that the two really are distinct advertising markets. As I mentioned above, you couldn't historically market to both because you couldn't cover both until FM became dominant in the area. Even today, almost half of Mobile commercial FM's don't put usable signals into all of Pensacola. Also, unlike Dallas and Ft. Worth, you can tell you've left Mobile when going to Pensacola (and vice-versa). The two are about twice-as-far apart edge-to-edge, and their individual metropolitan areas don't have much growth toward each other. In DFW, you have a vast set of businesses, including many, if not most, car dealerships, in the so-called "Mid-Cities." Most of those businesses simply wouldn't bother with radio if they had to make separate buys for both cities. Mobile and Pensacola have very little commerce in-between them other than the tourist areas in Perdido Key and Orange Beach. The second is that people know when people are talking to them. Even if many of the stations carry much of the same syndicated programming, the audience can tell which stations are talking to them, and those are usually the ones they prefer. Before WDLT moved to 104.1, it was on 98.3, which didn't put a listenable signal into Pensacola. Cumulus also had 106.1 doing urban AC in Pensacola. Today, 106.1 is still doing urban AC, though 104.1 totally overlaps its coverage area. The two even have, or at least had, the same syndicated programs in AM and PM drive. 106.1 remains one of the most listened to stations in Pensacola (usually in the Top-3), and virtually no one listens to 104.1 there. The reason is because people in Pensacola can tell that 106.1 is talking to them, and those same people know 104.1 is not.
Sir, I paid $5 to access your content. Thank you! 🤝
I was about to record and post sports talk 99.5 😭
I think they finna put Keith Sweat's 'Sweat Hotel' only on 99.5 because that station would been the only stations who's broadcast that
I actually don’t pay for anything. Its quite easy to know when Cumulus, iHeart and Urban One register domains. Im sure the same sources that site uses are the exact ones I use for researching purposes. Its quite easy and goes beyond a general “who is” internet search.
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No. They Kind of of give WBLX a little run though.
WBLX, and WDLT run that market for the last 30 plus year.
The Beat is a main stream jukebox. WDLT is a real UAC that has a unique southern soul vibe to it.
....so 99.5 I mobile actually planning to change format to r&b?
Hopefully 99.5 fills in more of a gap than 92.5 currently does. 92.5 is basically a watered down version of 104.1, minus the "southern soul". When it was being programmed by WZEW, it had a local flavor to it, despite some of the oddities that made it on the air (especially after 2021).
Hopefully, this is WZEW's cue to reorient 92.5 into something else that captures the local flavor of the market or truly provides something that is missing here...
Hopefully, this is WZEW's cue to reorient 92.5 into something else that captures the local flavor of the market or truly provides something that is missing here...
I'd love to see a mix Classic Soul and Oldies morphed together. Something similar to WTIX out of NOLA.
Before 92.5 adopted the canned format, it did have a lot of soul oldies on it. Some of it seemed to be the "leftovers" that wouldn't quite fit on 96.5, but some that were borderline R&B or not at all.
If there was a happy medium between 60s-90s soul, that's a good format to bring to the air here.
WTIX plays a lot of oldies, and some songs into the 1980s....their sister station (K)WMZ 104.5 is an all 80's station. Most oldies stations have morphed into classic hits and only go back to the 70s these days.
Best station in NOLA hands down. So classic and original. I think 92.5 can do something similar here. I don't see why not?
Nope. Kiss returns to Mobile on 99.5.
995kissfm.iheart.com
They really think they can unseat 97.5? And this is only a decade after THE EXACT SAME BRANDING fizzled out on 107.3.
My god, iHeart sucks. And between them and cumulus are some of the worst stations in the existence of broadcasting.
99.5 KISSFM - Mobile's Hit Music Station
99.5 KISSFM is Mobile's Hit Music Station
They really think they can unseat 97.5? And this is only a decade after THE EXACT SAME BRANDING fizzled out on 107.3.
My god, iHeart sucks. And between them and cumulus are some of the worst stations in the existence of broadcasting.
Nope. Kiss returns to Mobile on 99.5.
99.5 KISSFM - Mobile's Hit Music Station
99.5 KISSFM is Mobile's Hit Music Station
They really think they can unseat 97.5? And this is only a decade after THE EXACT SAME BRANDING fizzled out on 107.3.
My god, iHeart sucks. And between them and cumulus are some of the worst stations in the existence of broadcasting.
LOL look at the website.. didnt bother changing much except the name and logo
Maybe this is the whole Kiss to 107.3 The Beat all over again. It gets a trial run on 99.5, and could potentially kill off 96.1 The Rocket or TK101.
(Probably 96.1 since 96.5 The Crab is killing it in terms of music selection)
Then *if* Kiss goes full-power, could "The Vibe" be waiting in the wings on 99.5?
(Probably 96.1 since 96.5 The Crab is killing it in terms of music selection)
Then *if* Kiss goes full-power, could "The Vibe" be waiting in the wings on 99.5?
I don't think their intention was to unseat 97.5 but obviously take some listeners away. But who is going to really notice? Not a lot of people will know to tune into 96.1-2 if you can't get a clear 99.5 signal. I noticed this when I was in Foley and I couldn't get it. Had to tune in to WRKH HD2.Nope. Kiss returns to Mobile on 99.5.
99.5 KISSFM - Mobile's Hit Music Station
99.5 KISSFM is Mobile's Hit Music Station
They really think they can unseat 97.5? And this is only a decade after THE EXACT SAME BRANDING fizzled out on 107.3.
My god, iHeart sucks. And between them and cumulus are some of the worst stations in the existence of broadcasting.
Not sure why they went with CHR but I am not upset about it. I don't think WABD is a good sounding station. Their voice imaging is, in my opinion, loud and obnxious, compared to Z96 and other sister stations. I think Cumulus is just a god-awful managing operating stations. iHeart has good CHR stations but this isn't going to be anything special in terms of local. Matt McCoy is most likely content where he is lol
Interesting theory. Maybe 96.1 and 101.5 (they are basically the same) can become one and 96.1 can become Kiss FM. Notice that it is "Mobile's #1 Hit Music Station" so it would most likely take an iHeart station directly out of Mobile *if* they were to make a change. But I am doubtful.