1 Down, 3 to Go - 101.7, 102.5, 104.3

[Allfirdup]

I'm still trying to figure out why they are hanging onto the "101" branding until the very last minute. Presumably, all their regular listeners have figured out the 102.5 part by now...why risk losing some of them when tOSU starts classical on 101.1, forcing listeners to change their presets by force and not over time?

I agree, since you know that you are moving to 102.5 for sure and its happening soon why not make that the primary imaging even on the old 101.1 frequency. In the last PPM it looks like more than half the audience has made the change, why not help reinforce to the remainder to make the switch.

 

[xiradiodotcom]

I agree, since you know that you are moving to 102.5 for sure and its happening soon why not make that the primary imaging even on the old 101.1 frequency. In the last PPM it looks like more than half the audience has made the change, why not help reinforce to the remainder to make the switch.

And run a message loop on 101.1 directing people to 102.5. Maybe they will for a few days before the switch.

 

[gabigley1]

As noted above, an LMA is a moot point. Control is in tOSU's hands now. All they have to do, basically, is cut Roger a check, notify the FCC of consummation, and take the keys.

As for 102.5, I have not yet heard that Roger intends to buy it immediately. He can LMA it until the cows come home. WHIZ Media Group cashes those checks, and is in no hurry to force Roger to buy it outright.

You wonder, though, how much lower station prices are going to go, if at all...and it might behoove Roger to buy it outright fairly soon.

I doubt tOSU would LMA 101.1 anyway. If they did, Roger would have a LMA with a non commercial radio station. Has a commercial licensee
ever signed a LMA agreement with a non-commercial licensee?

I think Roger would at least want to have a contract to sell in hand from the WHIZ Media Group and and on file with the FCC before he would allow a consummation with tOSU. What would happen if the WHIZ Media Group jacked up the price of 102.5 so much that Roger was no longer interested
in purchasing 102.5 after he sold 101.1 to tOSU? Roger could be left without a radio station. There always the chance, although remote, the FCC wouldn't approve the sale of 102.5 to Roger at 101.1. Who says WHIZ Media Group has to have a LMA with Roger if some other group offers
WHIZ Media Group more money? I think to be safe, Roger would purchase 102.5 FM before he lets lose of the 101.1 frequency. If I'm correct,
it may be February or March at the earliest before we hear Classical music on 101.1. Besides, I hear from a reliable source the deal won't happen
until after the first of the year which leads me to believe this is the plan. Still, This is still speculation on my part.

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

Again, where have you heard that Roger intends to buy 102.5 in the near future?

You throw a lot of stuff out there that may or may not be true, or may or may not be possible.

Hell, we may never hear classical music on 101.1. An asteroid could wipe Columbus off the map, and then whatever happens to 101.1 would be secondary for anyone who's left.

I'm sorry, without better evidence, I'm not buying the intrigue you're trying to sell us.

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

OK, point by point, with a bottle of aspirin nearby:

I doubt tOSU would LMA 101.1 anyway. If they did, Roger would have a LMA with a non commercial radio station. Has a commercial licensee ever signed a LMA agreement with a non-commercial licensee?

A non-commercial operator is free to operate a commercial signal without commercials. It's only the OTHER way around that gets you into trouble - airing commercials on a non-comm signal.

I think Roger would at least want to have a contract to sell in hand from the WHIZ Media Group and and on file with the FCC before he would allow a consummation with tOSU.

The various news reports surrounding this could be wrong, but I have seen none of them indicating that Roger is looking to buy the 102.5 signal. And nothing has been filed yet. If he was immediately interested in getting the signal under his own ownership, why is he waiting?

What would happen if the WHIZ Media Group jacked up the price of 102.5 so much that Roger was no longer interested in purchasing 102.5 after he sold 101.1 to tOSU? Roger could be left without a radio station.

Jacked up the price for which buyer? Who is out there buying radio stations in 2010? EMF certainly had enough time to buy the 102.5 signal, for crying out loud. If they don't want it, who else would throw enough money at it to make it worthwhile for WHIZ Media Group?

I find it hard to see a scenario that does not end up with tOSU with 101.1, and Roger with 102.5 (either via LMA or ownership), soon.

 

[gabigley1]

Ohio Media Watch,
Your the expert on Columbus radio so you changed my mind.

Agree on most all your points. Maybe Roger has a agreed to a multi-year lease with the owner of 102.5, with an option to purchase the station.
So, maybe he is pretty safe in that case. For all we know, Roger may never purchase 102.5. Maybe he will purchase a different frequency down
the line but it just seems weird they(CD101) won't own a radio station any more after all those years owning 101.1

Doubt that tOSU would bother signing an LMA with Roger even if allowed. With the huge bureaucracy at tOSU, it's not likely the sell will happen quickly. I'm still looking at hearing Classical music on 101.1 but only after the first of the year.

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

I never claimed to be an "expert on Columbus radio". The area is a secondary market to me, and I'm not even an "expert" up here.

This has nothing to do with expertise. You were throwing out numerous points of speculation with nothing to back them up. What if Roger was abducted by aliens? What if Columbus was swallowed up by Lake Erie?

It seems pretty cut and dried from here, though I'd agree we might not see the classical format on 101.1 until after the first of January. Reason? No behind the scenes intrigue... but the fact we're going into the holidays. (Yes, clearly identified speculation on my part.)

 

[wilson1000]

What I wanto know is when 101.7 gets upgraded.

 

[gabigley1]

I agree, since you know that you are moving to 102.5 for sure and its happening soon why not make that the primary imaging even on the old 101.1 frequency. In the last PPM it looks like more than half the audience has made the change, why not help reinforce to the remainder to make the switch.

And run a message loop on 101.1 directing people to 102.5. Maybe they will for a few days before the switch.

Ran across this old Columbus Dispatch article as of October 15, 2010: http://www.allbusiness.com/humanities-social-science/visual-performing-arts-music/15197584-1.html

It mentions that of October 31, 2010, there would be a message loop on 101.1 FM directing listeners to tune their radios to 102.5 FM to continue
listening to CD101. This was even before approval of the station(CD101) to tOSU. This leads me to believe, that at least two months ago,
CD101 was expecting a smooth transition from 101.1 FM to 102.5 FM. Also, they were planning on running that message loop for at least a couple of weeks because they(back then) expected the sale to be approved by the FCC in November. That was correct because it was approved on November 17, 2010. My point, why would they(CD101) not have started the message loop last October 31 like they had planed in early October?
They must be some other unforeseen delays in the transition of CD101 at 101.1 to 102.5 because the message loop on 101.1 did not happen.

The audio is still pretty bad on 102.5, so maybe they still have a lot more technical work to be done before they can move permanently to 102.5.
Technical work that has to be done may also be delaying the move.

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

As far as "unforeseen delays"...

Oh, I give up. You win.

 

[jhc2010]

The audio is still pretty bad on 102.5, so maybe they still have a lot more technical work to be done before they can move permanently to 102.5.
Technical work that has to be done may also be delaying the move.

I disagree. 102.5 sounds fine to me.

 

[xiradiodotcom]

The audio is still pretty bad on 102.5, so maybe they still have a lot more technical work to be done before they can move permanently to 102.5.
Technical work that has to be done may also be delaying the move.

I disagree. 102.5 sounds fine to me.

Really? Maybe they fixed something today, but it has sounded hollow for a while.

 

[gabigley1]

The audio is still pretty bad on 102.5, so maybe they still have a lot more technical work to be done before they can move permanently to 102.5.
Technical work that has to be done may also be delaying the move.

I disagree. 102.5 sounds fine to me.

Really? Maybe they fixed something today, but it has sounded hollow for a while.

Agree with xiradiodotcom about the hollow sounding audio for the last few months. That said, a top notch audio engineer told me this about
people's expectations on hearing good audio quality:

"Audio quality is a very subjective subject!! No two pair of ears hear
things the same way."

Still, some people don't like the audio quality on 102.5. Note this post from priorityred, via the columbusunderground.com site, from a 4 months ago:

http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/whats-the-deal-with-cd101/page/4

Posted 4 months ago
priorityred
"I gave this a few weeks and it hasn't improved. 102.5 sounds all muddy and low end like it's being broadcast from the bottom of a hamper of laundry. The same signal on 101.1 is perhaps a tad too compressed, but at least it has treble.

"I am not listening to 102.5. I'll stick with 101.1 until they quit or fix it.
And if 102.5 ends up sounding the same as it does now when 101.1 goes away, well, that's what cd players are for."
Posted 4 months ago

A lot of up complained about the bad WVKO-AM audio quality on this board when WVKO-AM 1580 was progressive talk under Gary Richards
acouple of years ago.
That station is now LMAed by a Catholic group and now noboby complains about poor audio on WVKO-AM anymore. The audio on 102.5 will
eventually sound better, at least lets hope so.