104.3 in Panama City back on the air

[cceng1]

WBYW 104.3 licensed to Lynn Haven FL signed back on the air Sunday night (March 31) around 9pm....

The new station is called "Power 104" and the format is Black Gospel (I guess that's the right name for the format)

cceng

 

[Poledo]

Still think Southern Gospel would be a better choice for PCB unless one of the non-coms has that covered. I know we've got Southern over here in P'cola from the Baker and maybe one of the Milton non-coms.
Does anyone know if 104.3 will be run commercial or non-com?

 

[radioboy]

I think it will be commercial but not totally sure. I know he had some sort of ad agreements with at least 15 sponsors last week, many of them churches and ministries.

The new owner revived the Cumulus Tally gospel station's billing from around $900 a month (not a typo) to around $7k and brought listeners in - on a horrible signal AM. If anyone can make this work,
it is Jay Green. He is good at getting grassroots support from the core audience.

Even though this format is not my cup of tea, I wish him well.

 

[Poledo]

He's got the right crowd rooting for 104.3. Cumulus has done well with Black Gospel on AM in Mobile and CC has done well with the format in Montgomery on a huge FM signal. I have no doubt the right person could pre-sell Black Gospel FM in Dixie but if it can't produce ratings in less than a year it's toast. Now if this was on one of the larger signals that reaches Panama City and Dothan I wouldn't question the format choice at all.

 

[radioboy]

The Cumulus station went from zilch to 1.3.

I'm not familiar enough with the BG format to know how dependent it is on agency buys and such. WSTT in Thomasville, a 5kw AM daytimer, has been in the format since 1995 and is still rolling.

I personally like Southern Gospel and play it on Sunday mornings on the Internet. It has a relatively small, but loyal, audience.

 

[Groove1670]

WGOK does very well in Mobile. It connects with the Churches and the community. Most important it is LOCAL.

I would assume the former AM in Tally did well for the same reason. If the same is done with the FM, it will be a winner.

If costs can be kept at a minimum. The station will do good.

 

[Poledo]

I would assume the former AM in Tally did well for the same reason. If the same is done with the FM, it will be a winner.

If costs can be kept at a minimum. The station will do good.

But with a potential Black audience in Bay county of only a few thousand??? I just can't see this as the best idea. I also can't think of a better idea because even if it were southern gospel the audience would be very old.

 

[Louis_009]

WHBT-AM 1410 comes in okay during the daytime but at night (nope) Also WTAL-AM 1450 singal seem to be okay alittle better. When they used to be on low-power before I can hear both AM-1450 from Tallahassee and other one in Albany Ga. (anyway) I hope the new 104.3 do well in Panama City but I miss 104.3 The Bay (which is a good station) before it went dark.

 

[radioboy]

WHBT AM 1410 only runs with 18 watts at night. It really does not cover Tallahassee at night. The
transmitter is diplexed onto WCVC's tower on Henderson Road.

 

[Groove1670]

But with a potential Black audience in Bay county of only a few thousand???

Any inspirational format in selected markets will do good. If the former AM did a 1.2, it should be okay.

I am a 46 year old white guy, and I listen to the Bobby Jones Gospel Countdown, every once in awhile on BLX.

Even with signal issues, listeners will seek out the format when no other choices are available.

Urban, country, and inspirational have a very loyal audience. The key is to convert that into $$.

The target advertiser will be local. Agencies wont spend much on inspirational formats.

Heck, they are not spending much on smaller markets anyway. Most of the national spots you hear are 70-90% barter.

 

[Poledo]

Ok, MusicOn, you've got some respectable points. I'm just a 40 year old white guy and I see urban gospel as simply a novelty to be enjoyed live a special events. The potential audience of only a few thousand translated to just a few hundred listeners in my mind, but PCB has so many radio stations I'm sure many of them only have a couple hundred listeners.

The successful AM run by this man was in Tallahassee. This new FM is in Panama City. I don't think it's possible to compare the two markets from a very urban viewpoint. Also, if somehow this format works, OO will steal it and put it on a 100kw signal. That's just business as usual in PCB.

 

[amfmxm]

For their sake I hope they've thought this through, but the glaring difference between Tallahassee and Panama City is that the black population in PC/Bay County is tiny, by comparison. Blacks constitute 10 percent of Bay County's population, compared to 30 percent in Leon County. In sheer numbers, though, Tally/Leon has nearly 5 times as many black residents as Panama City/Bay County.

Then again, if the terms are sweet enough, maybe it doesn't matter.

 

[Rob]

Am glad to see this station back on, the urban demographics in Pensacola seems to be small yet, look at the urban stations we got here. A lot of my friends who are black do not listen to this type of music, they enjoy Journey, Stevie Wonder, etc..
some enjoy metal and hard rock, too.

(We seem to be mostly tourist here.. gee..)

-Rob