As is standards 920 WMNI... But the big story is 103.9 will be dropping its classic hits format, and will soon sport new calls of WMNI-FM. They've already registered a slew of domain names.
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103.9 Flipping To "Columbus Newsradio"
- Thread starter DToTheJ
- Start date
Very interesting. Now how will they do it ... local, national or a mix? If it's going to be all-news, I hope they do it right for a market of this size. Will there be much talk with it?
Classic hits are my preferred format, but it's good to see one of the stations going away. That market is just too crowded.
Classic hits are my preferred format, but it's good to see one of the stations going away. That market is just too crowded.
Considering how few people NABCO already have in the building.. [Classic Hits 103.9 and Standards WMNI are mostly satellite) I will be surprised to see how this sounds (if they do indeed flip and haven't registered all those domains to fool someone else) -- and if they do flip. I will be kinda surprised to see NABCO do something other than rock!
schmave said:
Yes, too much classic hits, but it's kind of sad to lose the only station that would play, say, classic album cuts that wen't beyond the 20 or so that Q-FM hammers over and over. They were also the only commercial station to play "graffiti oldies" like garage bands (e.g., Gloria). WNKO sometimes scratches the surface on such music, but barely. All that said, TDA had become more mainstreamed lately anyway. And the less-common stuff really has more of a chance on a well-programmed local station -- maybe a classic-leaning AAA -- as opposed to a weak Class A taking 90% of their programming from satellite.
Speaking of NKO, it's too bad that we won't get to see if they appear to benefit since they are no longer reported in the Arbitron public numbers.
Maybe 103.9/920 expects that all-news has more of a chance of gaining traction in a big election year. And of course they are looking at TVN still having no FM presence. If they are really planning mostly News, that's nice in concept, but on a shoestring budget, an AM and a weak FM, I have my doubts they can pull it off. And if they actually want to go largely Talk instead, well, they've tried that and we saw where it went. Wonder if they have Huckabee lined up? And Dial Global, their syndicator up until now, has several talkers available.
Is it possible this is all a smokescreen and they'll actually switch to something else? Nah, that never happens in Columbus, and the fact that MNI is involved makes that less likely, as well. Which reminds me -- it's also a shame to lose Adult Standards, and the only remaining Columbus music AM (I'm not including Marysville)...not that I ever really listened.
Given the state of the industry, economy and market size, this is my guess: If the rumors are correct, the format will actually be more "talk" than news. They will pick up some of the talkers not currently cleared in the market and hire one or two (tops) news-readers who can work from home, on a contract basis.
Something is defiantly up over at NORTH AMERICAN BROADCASTING COMPANY, INC and I wouldn't
be surprised if they coax BC out of retirement.
Thanks again to The Ohio Media Watch for this FCC search tool. Via the FCC calls search site:
A request for WMNI-FM dated 06/07/2012 has been filed
by NORTH AMERICAN BROADCASTING COMPANY, INC..
Our records contain the following address(es) for above requester(s):
REQUESTED CALL SIGN WMNI-FM
LICENSEE/PERMITTEE NORTH AMERICAN BROADCASTING COMPANY, INC.
MAILING ADDRESS 1458 DUBLIN ROAD
CONTINUED ADDRESS
CITY COLUMBUS STATE OH ZIP 43215-
be surprised if they coax BC out of retirement.
Thanks again to The Ohio Media Watch for this FCC search tool. Via the FCC calls search site:
A request for WMNI-FM dated 06/07/2012 has been filed
by NORTH AMERICAN BROADCASTING COMPANY, INC..
Our records contain the following address(es) for above requester(s):
REQUESTED CALL SIGN WMNI-FM
LICENSEE/PERMITTEE NORTH AMERICAN BROADCASTING COMPANY, INC.
MAILING ADDRESS 1458 DUBLIN ROAD
CONTINUED ADDRESS
CITY COLUMBUS STATE OH ZIP 43215-
Al Timiter said:
Didn't they try talk on 103.9 already? Why not something unique to the market? If it is true, I wish them luck... but with a rimshot FM and weak/directional AM, I don't see them getting too far.
EJM said:
You think they will go to this network during the day?
http://www.americasradionewsnetwork.com/
Anyone have any idea when the FCC will grant(if ever) NABCO their tower upgrade for 103.9?
The Informal Objections to the the 103.9 tower upgrade are still being looked over by the FCC.
http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws...cation_id=1480024&File_number=BPH-20101004ACN
xiradiodotcom said:
Because Columbus is a great test market city -- except when it comes to testing new and innovative music formats on the radio. During the eight years that I spent shopping my own ideas around (before WCRS came into being), I focused my efforts on outfits like NABCO that always seemed to have one or two stations firmly lodged in the lower tiers of the ratings, as I figured that sooner or later someone somewhere would be desperate enough to want to try and get out of the cellar by giving me and my format a chance. But nothing ever came of these attempts; as it turned out, all of these companies were just as conservative in their thinking as their much more successful competitors. "Yesterday's Top Secrets" had never been tried before in any other market, and so without any kind of proven track record to back it up, no one here was willing to take a chance on it. None of the companies wanted to risk giving it a shot and then failing and becoming the laughingstock of the local radio community. Which they all already were anyways.
Just curious, for exactly how long was 103.9 a talk station? And what were its ratings during that period? Guess people must have pretty short memories out there on Riverside Drive. Oh well, take heart, WMNI listeners -- if you'd like to still be able to hear the Everly Brothers, Ricky Nelson, Nat King Cole, Lesley Gore, Frank Sinatra, Al Hirt, Connie Francis, Del Shannon, and the Shangri-Las on your radio, just tune into my show sometime. Or dig into its archives.
I can't remember how long they did Talk FM 103.9 but it wasn't that log... funny thing is they had tried "Classic Hits" as 103.9 TED FM .. then they went to talk.. then flipped back to a Classic Hits format... Seems like their going in "cycles" .. guess if news talk fails it's back to Classic Hits ... NABCO doesn't seem willing to try anything other than Talk or Rock on their properties...
I still say blow up The Blitz for a CHR Format and give WNCI some competition! -- Sadly they won't put money into it... I listened to "Classic Hits 103.9" today for the first time in awhile to get a feel for it and while the music mix wasn't bad.. their automation was soo sloppy.. 2 of the breaks I heard they came back from local spots (early) causing the end of a network filler spot to air ... and another break there was dead air between a traffic report and rejoin of the satellite feed.
I still say blow up The Blitz for a CHR Format and give WNCI some competition! -- Sadly they won't put money into it... I listened to "Classic Hits 103.9" today for the first time in awhile to get a feel for it and while the music mix wasn't bad.. their automation was soo sloppy.. 2 of the breaks I heard they came back from local spots (early) causing the end of a network filler spot to air ... and another break there was dead air between a traffic report and rejoin of the satellite feed.
...yes, plenty of mostly "talk" stations use "news" somewhere in their branding. And most of them offer little more than rip and read from contract players working from somewhere else. The "news" moniker must test well and if you say it enough, perhaps, it is perceived to be so. It's all marketing.
Having said that, the ARNN is also a distinct possibility. But is there a market where that service really competes?
A "News" or "News-Talk" format may be an easier sell than what they're running now on 103.9 and 920.
Having said that, the ARNN is also a distinct possibility. But is there a market where that service really competes?
A "News" or "News-Talk" format may be an easier sell than what they're running now on 103.9 and 920.
D
del_griffith
Guest
I guess I'm surprised Artie hasn't shaken what's going on out of North American. He's usually pretty good about sending questions and getting answers.
It seems like they could make more of an impact in all of Central Ohio if they flipped 99.7 to this format and went all out - but that most likely will not happen.
EJM said:
Assuming the format flip occurs as expected, Classic Hits will have lasted about two and a half years. TED-FM lasted just over 3 years. So the life expectancy for formats at 103.9 now seems to have settled in at 2.5-3 years.
Wonder if Nabco's 99.7 will finally get a clue that Active Rock has become dead-end for them, regardless of tweaks? I kind of doubt it.
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