I wonder if the owner of 63 Big WAYS would be willing to take it over?
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1110 New Format
- Thread starter amos1001
- Start date
without a tower site? not a chance
which, how are they actually
(especially for it being my closest station in distance)610 (or any of the other AM stations in the Charlotte area) could explode and no one would notice! Heck, would anyone even care???
Or F.M. for that matter!
Just those who grew up during the glory days of 61 Big WAYS.
Praise is still going to continue on the 102.5 translator and 105.3 HD2.
The strategy is clear now. Move the cash cow to 107.9 and future proof it, move Praise to 102.5 which is cheaper to operate and still covers your core audience, and sell off 100.9, 99.3, 1110 and 610 to the highest bidder to generate some cash. I was skeptical, but I think it makes sense now that it’s all out there.
I hope they make a bid for 97.3 if the relocation is approved. They could bring Mix back or try another format.
WBT was on 1110 for 103 years, and it’s still continuing on 107.9. Don’t understand all the emotion about 1110 going away. AM radio is dead.
I hope they make a bid for 97.3 if the relocation is approved. They could bring Mix back or try another format.
WBT was on 1110 for 103 years, and it’s still continuing on 107.9. Don’t understand all the emotion about 1110 going away. AM radio is dead.
I posted some of this earlier in this thread, but I think the tea leaves were there from the beginning. It was clear the move to 107.9 was to increase the reach/audience of the talk station, and allow them to command higher ad prices for political ads for the upcoming election cycle from the wider geographic area it would reach.
At the same time they've been slowly eliminating all syndicated programming since Limbaugh passed away, and converting it to completely local based shows to save $$. Yes, I understand some of those syndicated shows don't charge a license fee but even under a barter agreement they were surrendering ad time, and thus ad $$ versus local programming where they control 100% of advertising slots.
The idea of launching another talk radio station with national shows made zero sense to me from the start. It would've been competing with themselves, and they risked listeners defecting back to the inferior AM station or stream to hear those programs which would've defeated their purpose of moving them to the FM signal and commanding more ad $$.
At the same time they've been slowly eliminating all syndicated programming since Limbaugh passed away, and converting it to completely local based shows to save $$. Yes, I understand some of those syndicated shows don't charge a license fee but even under a barter agreement they were surrendering ad time, and thus ad $$ versus local programming where they control 100% of advertising slots.
The idea of launching another talk radio station with national shows made zero sense to me from the start. It would've been competing with themselves, and they risked listeners defecting back to the inferior AM station or stream to hear those programs which would've defeated their purpose of moving them to the FM signal and commanding more ad $$.
This is 100% true and I thought about it from the very beginning. Especially about not competing with yourself. I too noticed the move to more local programming. I just wish it wasn't all politics all the time.
People living here prior to 1980 knew about WBT. Even then it was a well promoted station with entertaining public outreach. How many people today know about WBT be it AM or FM? With 90-100 people a day moving to the Charlotte area it would be a good idea if WBT made people think of WBT when they think of Charlotte.
The not so logical side of me says there are a large number of 100KW FM's in the southeast, they're very common. Class 1A and 1B's aren't that common, that alone makes them special. There is also a sense of history that applies here with WBT-AM starting at the birth of broadcasting as we know it.
There is something maybe a few may not know, something nerdy. You can listen to AM radio with a simple circuit that uses no electricity. All it takes is a long wire antenna, earth ground, a diode and a high impedance earphone. You can't do that wth FM.
My wish for 1110 AM would be that it be turned non commercial listener supported.
In the interest of not beating the horse any further this will be my last comment on the subject.
With what tower site? Rebuilding 3 towers and getting new land would be EXTREMELY cost prohibitive.
And you think the public would support the cost? Youd go broke and off the air in 6 months
It will be interesting to see if some new broadcast entity purchases the license for 1110 and continues broadcasting. Of course they would apparently have to relocate the towers and the transmitter if the property is being sold for real estate development. But if 1110 stays on the air under new owners, then technically a new format could occur. So Radio One wasn't necessarily lying. Everything was just delayed due to real estate issues and legal matters. The lawyers and realtors have to do their job first before any future broadcast changes may occur. And while all this is going on, it makes sense that Radio One would determine that the simulcast of 1110 and 107.9 would no longer be beneficial.
And while we await the answer regarding the fate of 1110, the next big question is what is going to happen to Mix? Will Mix Charlotte continue as a streaming platform and HD subchannel option? They seem to have kept the WLNK call letters for a reason. Still wait and see I guess.
And while we await the answer regarding the fate of 1110, the next big question is what is going to happen to Mix? Will Mix Charlotte continue as a streaming platform and HD subchannel option? They seem to have kept the WLNK call letters for a reason. Still wait and see I guess.
A majority of those people are now dead. The deceased are a terrible audience for radio.
Radio stations are not museums. They have to be relevant to media consumers in 2026 and beyond.
Which is of no relevance to anyone except the most hard core radio geeks.
Recipe for certain failure, even with a 50kw signal.
I think even when the AM band in the US is completely dead in 10-15 years, there will still be some people imagining it's viable.
They were lying. Period. Don’t fall for their spin.
IF they sold it, youre looking at buying or leasing new land, diplexing or building a new tower... thats probably $250,000 besides the purchase of the license.. and anything beyond one tower would be too expensive.. so you're looking at 50kw day and maybe 1kw night.. then people would kvetch the signal got neutered and is too small.
What would make the most financial sense in terms of keeping 1110 alive is sell it to another operator whos financially healthy and already has an AM Stick they can diplex it with and downgrade it to like 20kw day 1kw night
But that doesnt mean its practical.. just means when it comes to $$ thats the least expensive option
The only option there would be Bible Broadcasting. They have a three tower directional AM site for 930. They already have 730 diplexed on one of the towers.
With the Radio Rd site going away I am not sure there is really another viable AM site. Remember not only do you need a tower but you also need room for a ground system. For one tower you are more than likely looking at needing 6 acres or so.
you could do 1 tower on less than 6 acres.. way less, even at 1110 i think.
maybe BBN could buy it, diplex it and do a spanish on 930 and english on 1110?
Agreed. These were clearly business decisions. Mix and Block weren’t profitable enough, which is why they went away. I was told that the Mix talent has been informed that they’ll be paid until the deal closes, then they’re SOL.