101.5 The Point re-imaging?

[MsMusicRadio]

Is 101.5 The Point the only "80s and More" station to last anywhere? Surprising that they haven't broadened things out a bit more to Adult Hits.

WPOI is the last Cox 80's rock station. As for other stations that carry it, I know of only WSGA-FM in Savannah, GA which flipped from Adult Hits to 80's a year or two ago as basically a complete rip-off (logo and all!) from "The Point" stations.

I wouldn't be suprised if there are a couple of other "80's and More" stations in some smaller markets where it could be a local hit.

Radio-X

What exactly is WMXB these days? WKLR?

 

[billalm]

It's still in Houston:
http://1069thepoint.com

As far as The Point changing? It's been 80's and MORE for a while now. The "MORE" part allows them to totally play 90's and beyond. Even though it has a very short playlist, it's targeted directly at 30+ females. Mix on the other hand is a mess. Listen to it and tell me they're not all over the road. I fully agree with just about everything Partimer says. Every market is different. And the bottom line is The Point does well enough to sell to the demo it's targeting. End of story.

 

[MsMusicRadio]

so we don't get "Dick plays whatever he wants"

 

[DToTheJ]

As for other stations that carry it, I know of only WSGA-FM in Savannah, GA which flipped from Adult Hits to 80's a year or two ago as basically a complete rip-off (logo and all!) from "The Point" stations.

The since-defunct Beasley-run WPTP-FM in Philadelphia was a "Point" station after many years as FM talker WWDB-FM.

 

[radiodork]

I heard U2's "Beautiful Day" today, which was from 2000-01. Wouldn't be surprised if they stick to a 50-50 mix of 80s and 90s hits while Mix 100.7 is still all over the map with music from the past 30 years (I'll never forget hearing Scandal's "The Warrior" followed by Finger Eleven's "Paralyzed"... maybe with John Tesh mixed in there somewhere). In a market with very little risk-taking, The Point does mediocre very well.

 

[Obtuse1]

My guess is if in the unlikely event Cox decided to enter the (traditional) FM Talk game, CC would simply flip the ailing 98 Rock to a WFLA simulcast (if this isn't in the works already), making the Cox effort a non-starter.

CC could then transition 970 to a part-time simulcast, loading up the AM side with second tier syndie talkers to protect the FM flagship (preventing talk competition by tying up the programming).

Cox might have an outside shot with Hot Talk (ala Orlando's "Real Radio"), anchored with BTLS, but IMHO this would be a better replacement for "The Bone".

The Point exists for the female demos (to balance the male-heavy Eagle/97X/Bone). As long as it bills OK in the target demo, and is cheap to run, it'll soldier on as is. I wouldn't expect an Eagle-like ratings surge though.

 

[jmtillery]

It's still in Houston:
http://1069thepoint.com

...the bottom line is The Point does well enough... End of story.

That one line said it ALL regarding what is wrong with broadcasting, radio and most of America today. Never mind thriving for excellence. "Just leave at alone. It's fine the way it is. Don't expect me to have to do any actual work. My god that is totally unAmerican." It might be a good suggesstion for those who consider Good Enough is Good Enough to read Tom Peters book "In Search of Excellence" written in 1986 and learn the valuable lessons of what ultimately happens when one becomes complacent as well as appreciating the rewards for those who actually are In Search of Excellence.

 

[quadman102]

Well said Mark, agree with you 100%.

 

[Frank Ferreri]

It's still in Houston:
http://1069thepoint.com

...the bottom line is The Point does well enough... End of story.

That one line said it ALL regarding what is wrong with broadcasting, radio and most of America today. Never mind thriving for excellence. "Just leave at alone. It's fine the way it is. Don't expect me to have to do any actual work. My god that is totally unAmerican." It might be a good suggesstion for those who consider Good Enough is Good Enough to read Tom Peters book "In Search of Excellence" written in 1986 and learn the valuable lessons of what ultimately happens when one becomes complacent as well as appreciating the rewards for those who actually are In Search of Excellence.

GOOD is the enemy of GREAT

 

[jmtillery]

There are certainly advantages and disadvantages to the business model you described regarding Cox Radio. You used WDBO Orlando as the anomaly to the Cox Radio rule.

In addition to heritage WDBO Orlando, WOKV Jacksonville also falls into the heritage news-talk category under the Cox Radio umbrella. I would say that WOKV could also be considered an anomaly according to the Cox business model you outlined.

WOKV was operating on 5,000 watt AM 600 when Cox acquired it, but spent a rather small forturne moving it to the 50kw AM 690 frequency. For one thing the 50,000 watt transmitter was replaced along with a complete station move from Orange Park to Lennox Avenue in Jacksonville. Cox already owned the building, but there were some equipment upgrades in addition to the transmitter replacement - not to mention the general operational expenses associated with operating a 50kw news-talk AM station. It still cost plenty to operate WOKV today, but the billing makes up for it - same as with WDBO Orlando.

As aggressive as they were with WOKV, the Tampa strategy was the polar opposite. Cox owned what was 620 WSUN, one of the best AM signals in Florida (or just about anywhere, for that matter). They carried a "Hot Talk" format that included Ron & Ron and Neil Rogers. What I've heard is that for the mostly female sales staff that was comfortable selling WWRM and Coast 107.3 (is my time frame right on those FMs?... I think WWRM had moved to 94.9 from 107.3, and that's why Ron and Ron were on AM rather than YNF...), this was just so far out of the box that they couldn't generate revenue despite the fact that there was a small but fiercely loyal core of listeners.

I remember well when Cox first owned WSUN-AM 620, and I thought they had a decent news-talk format.

As with any format, it is imperative that the sales staff is properly trained to sell each respective format to select advertisers. This means the sales staff fully understands the format, the target demo, buying trends, and which advertisers are the best fit, and why, for each particular format. It sounds as though the reason for the WSUN news-talk failure was not due to low ratings, but rather lack of sales staff training to properly sell the format and its target demo.

You also make a good point regarding WBWL-AM 600. Again, what you described, same as with WSUN, is a lack of proper sales staff training. I agree that "The Ball" had an awesome format and produced decent ratings. The problem is proper sales training so the sales staff understands what they are selling, to whom they are selling and how to sell it.

To summarize, it makes no difference whatsoever how big the signal may be, whether it's AM or FM, nor how great of a product or format a station has if no one sells it. And you can't very sell what you don't have, meaning an inferior signal and/or poor programming. Sales, programming and promotions all work together as one can not be successful without the other.

 

[Parttimer]

As with any format, it is imperative that the sales staff is properly trained to sell each respective format to select advertisers. This means the sales staff fully understands the format, the target demo, buying trends, and which advertisers are the best fit, and why, for each particular format. It sounds as though the reason for the WSUN news-talk failure was not due to low ratings, but rather lack of sales staff training to properly sell the format and its target demo.

It was much simpler (and worse than lack of training) in 620's case.... the sales staff didn't LIKE what was on 620, so they had a hard time going out to sell it. Bad management 101. By contrast, when Real Radio 101 in Orlando picked up Howard Stern a friend of mine who sold there said they brought in a consultant to talk to the sales staff and tell them what sort of response to expect from advertisers and how to deal with it (ehich they did siccessfully).

I worked at a station in Pittsburgh where the owners realized that the sales staff was listening to anything but their own station while they were out in the car all day, because they just wanted to listen to what they liked. Management gave them a "product knowledge quiz" one day and one of the questions was "who is on our station on the weekends?" Only one salesperson got a a single name right (mine), and it wasn't because she listened, it was because we had both worked at another station previously and she saw me in the hallway.

 

[gamefreak]

The best thing Cox can do with WPOI The Point is flip it to News-Talk on FM. If implemented correctly with the right blend of local and national talk with heavy local news, Cox can own the Tampa Bay News-Talk market, beating out WFLA within a reasonable amount of time. We did it in another Florida market when we flipped an underperforming FM to News-Talk on FM; beating the heritage AM News-Talker in the market. Everyone thought we were nutts doing it, but the ratings (going from no showing to 2nd ranked persons 12+ in the market of 37 stations) and the ad revenues (billing less than $400k annually to $3.4 million annually in a $16 million annual radio ad market - A $3 million annual ad revenue gain) proved we were right on target.

Yes, Turn off the Stereo Header and pull off a "Progressive Talk" Format. Start playing Ed Shultz, Thom Hartman and Randi Rhodes. 101-5 The Revolution! should be the name. Cox could dominate the talk format by doing that. Then Reimage 107.3 as a Variety Hits Station. . Especially if they add good Local Talking Heads. Like Clear Channel did with KPOJ in Portland, Or. But of course thats not safe for Cox Radio.