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6 or 7 new AAR affiliates?
- Thread starter robbbc
- Start date
A
Al Johnson
Guest
Yawn!
They've announced new affiliates before which did not materialize. They even actually posted call letters on their website when they were just pitching stations. This is just a stray comment floated by the late-nite host they carry from San Diego. Atlantic City has been mentioned as one of the markets.
A thread on the NJ board speculates the station most likely to flip is the former WTKU-AM. The station has been simulcasting WTKU-FM's Oldies format and is not reported on its own in the Arbitron ratings. It has changed call letters to WTAA (Talk Air America??) and is owned by the same company which owns WWRL, New York where Air America leases time. The station operates on 1490 with a power of 400 (that's four with TWO zeros) watts.
This is starting to sound like the new gang of idiots didn't learn anything from the dumb moves of the previous gang of idiots. They are still trying to sign up any flea bite station to use as a repeater to boost their market count. No audience. No coverage area. But six or seven more markets. In a few months, the summer or fall ratings will come out, these stations will sit at the bottom of ratings and give more ammunition to those who say lib-talk can't work. On weak sticks in small markets, it sure can't.
WTAA is owned by Access 1, a black-owned broadcasting company. Its 1940's porch-light signal does OK only in the mostly-black AC inner city areas. Setting aside the fact that lib-talk gets a mostly White audience (which this station does not reach), there are the political correctness issues (again) of a black broadcaster opting out of serving the black community.
Meanwhile, Air America is paying big bucks to Lionel who is bombing and even their staunchest supporters are castigating Air America on the liberal blogs and message boards.
The Green's should have just let it die.
They've announced new affiliates before which did not materialize. They even actually posted call letters on their website when they were just pitching stations. This is just a stray comment floated by the late-nite host they carry from San Diego. Atlantic City has been mentioned as one of the markets.
A thread on the NJ board speculates the station most likely to flip is the former WTKU-AM. The station has been simulcasting WTKU-FM's Oldies format and is not reported on its own in the Arbitron ratings. It has changed call letters to WTAA (Talk Air America??) and is owned by the same company which owns WWRL, New York where Air America leases time. The station operates on 1490 with a power of 400 (that's four with TWO zeros) watts.
This is starting to sound like the new gang of idiots didn't learn anything from the dumb moves of the previous gang of idiots. They are still trying to sign up any flea bite station to use as a repeater to boost their market count. No audience. No coverage area. But six or seven more markets. In a few months, the summer or fall ratings will come out, these stations will sit at the bottom of ratings and give more ammunition to those who say lib-talk can't work. On weak sticks in small markets, it sure can't.
WTAA is owned by Access 1, a black-owned broadcasting company. Its 1940's porch-light signal does OK only in the mostly-black AC inner city areas. Setting aside the fact that lib-talk gets a mostly White audience (which this station does not reach), there are the political correctness issues (again) of a black broadcaster opting out of serving the black community.
Meanwhile, Air America is paying big bucks to Lionel who is bombing and even their staunchest supporters are castigating Air America on the liberal blogs and message boards.
The Green's should have just let it die.
R
Radio_Realist
Guest
To truly be a network "affiliate", does a station actually have to carry a significant portion of a network's feed, or is carrying just one show on a time delay enough to count as an "affiliate"?
A
Al Johnson
Guest
Most syndicators don't try to present themselves as "networks." Those that do include (off the top of my head) turnkey friendly distributors like Air America, ESPN Radio, Fox Radio Sports, Salem Talk Network, and of course the providers of hourly newscasts (ABC Radio, CBS Radio, CNN Radio, Fox Radio). I'm sure I've left some out. TRN includes "network" in their name but they seem to deal with stations on an a la carte basis. And some individual hosts, notably Rush, like to call themselves a network.
It does not seem to take much for any of the above to list a station as an affiliate. The syndicators and individual hosts will list somebody as an "affiliate" if they only clear one show and that's a weekend "best of" repeat. The news networks list stations as affiliates who never carry any of the news broadcasts and don't even do their own newscasts using network sound bites, just as long as they run the spots.
It does not seem to take much for any of the above to list a station as an affiliate. The syndicators and individual hosts will list somebody as an "affiliate" if they only clear one show and that's a weekend "best of" repeat. The news networks list stations as affiliates who never carry any of the news broadcasts and don't even do their own newscasts using network sound bites, just as long as they run the spots.
barooosk said:
Sports networks, particularly ESPN, also use this approach. So even if the only thing a station runs is, say, Dan Patrick, they are still an ESPN affiliate.
A
Al Johnson
Guest
FightingIrish said:
Thank you for confirming what I stated above.
Al Johnson said:
:
I love how that broken record of "Air America's going under" continues to get played, three years later.well into the company's third year of existence.
Let's see how The Greens do with their new ownership of Air America. If they program it well and it bills well, it'll thrive.
R
Radio_Realist
Guest
I love how that broken record of "Air America's going under" continues to get played, three years later.well into the company's third year of existence.
I'm reminded of the scene in Citizen Kane where someone points out to Kane that one of his favorite enterprises is losing money every year. He agrees that it is losing money, and that at the rate it continues to lose money, he'll be broke in something like 50 years. OK, I haven't seen the movie in almost 20 years, so I don't remember every detail and exact word of dialogue, but the point is clear. Any venture operated by someone with deep pockets who enjoys running the venture can remain in operation for as long as the deep pocketed owner (or owners) don't mind spending the money to keep it going.
Any enterprise can keep chugging along if it is the hobby of someone with enough money to keep it chugging along because the he enjoys it. There's nothing wrong with rich people pursuing their hobbies. But there is something wrong with failing to recognize that the enterprise in question is little more than some rich person's vanity operation. Air America is about as much a "success" as any other vanity press operation.
I'm reminded of the scene in Citizen Kane where someone points out to Kane that one of his favorite enterprises is losing money every year. He agrees that it is losing money, and that at the rate it continues to lose money, he'll be broke in something like 50 years. OK, I haven't seen the movie in almost 20 years, so I don't remember every detail and exact word of dialogue, but the point is clear. Any venture operated by someone with deep pockets who enjoys running the venture can remain in operation for as long as the deep pocketed owner (or owners) don't mind spending the money to keep it going.
Any enterprise can keep chugging along if it is the hobby of someone with enough money to keep it chugging along because the he enjoys it. There's nothing wrong with rich people pursuing their hobbies. But there is something wrong with failing to recognize that the enterprise in question is little more than some rich person's vanity operation. Air America is about as much a "success" as any other vanity press operation.
A
Al Johnson
Guest
Radio_Realist said:
Yup. Some keep saying radio programming decisions are just about money. Sometimes. Sometimes decisions are about ego. This is not limited to Greens and Goldbergs, or even to liberals. Every market has seen its share of conservative station owners or managers who put their political agenda ahead of their business sense.
Well, of course. The operative word is "if." They changed sales reps but I don't see much difference in the spot load. They dropped Seder and added Lionel, p___ing off their biggest fans and adding to their payroll but not making any kind of dent in Stephanie Miller's successful track record. And they've put a grab-bag of their weekend shows and failed hosts on in the evening against Mike Malloy (a guy they dumped). They are investing resources in trying to fight Miller and Schultz and doing nothing to build up programming options in dayparts in which lib talk stations need them the most.
Kane (and Hearst) had money because he knew how to produce newspapers that made money. Kane did not lose money so much as sacrifice the opportunity to make even more money in order to gratify his ego. The Greens are not making money in radio; let's see how much of their real estate profits they can afford for ego gratification.
Having a radio "network" for a hobby is like having a mistress. It's not the initial expense you have to worry about, it's the upkeep.
Meanwhile, while the Greens play at radio they keep giving people who see radio as a business more reasons to avoid the liberal talk format. The sooner Air America gets out of the way, the sooner people like Jones, P1, and WYD can give the format some business credibility.
AJ...while WTAA may only run 400 watts (a concession to the FCC to move it to a much more efficient antenna with a sister station), it is anything but a flea signal.
The transmitter/antenna is located along the Atlantic City Expressway in a saltwater marsh. The saltwater is THE strongest ground conductivity ANYWHERE. That signal can be heard from Long Beach Island NY, coastal NJ, Delaware, Maryland and to Eastrern Shore Virginia. Also 200 miles offshore with a city grade signal. The coverage map on Radio-Locator is good, but does it no justice in real world listening conditions.
I think the format will succeed in the Garden State.
The transmitter/antenna is located along the Atlantic City Expressway in a saltwater marsh. The saltwater is THE strongest ground conductivity ANYWHERE. That signal can be heard from Long Beach Island NY, coastal NJ, Delaware, Maryland and to Eastrern Shore Virginia. Also 200 miles offshore with a city grade signal. The coverage map on Radio-Locator is good, but does it no justice in real world listening conditions.
I think the format will succeed in the Garden State.
C
callofthewild
Guest
Re: 6 or 7 new AAR affiliates? Radio but they need better looking talent
Its radio but they need people that look better, not people that look like they got out of a 65 VW bus. AAR needs an Ann Coulter type....people go to the web or tv and see what they look like nowdays....
Its radio but they need people that look better, not people that look like they got out of a 65 VW bus. AAR needs an Ann Coulter type....people go to the web or tv and see what they look like nowdays....
As the guy who used to keep track of this...
WTAA does well enough in Atlantic City. But it's throwing those 400 watts directly along the coast, missing stuff the other directly past Pleasantville. Oh, and into the ocean, too, another of those stations which bathes the fishes in RF to gain coverage near the coast.
As far as the looks thing goes...it's radio, folks. Steph's looks basically get her more male listener website hits and a possible Face For A Billboard that many other hosts may not have, but that's about it.
WTAA does well enough in Atlantic City. But it's throwing those 400 watts directly along the coast, missing stuff the other directly past Pleasantville. Oh, and into the ocean, too, another of those stations which bathes the fishes in RF to gain coverage near the coast.
As far as the looks thing goes...it's radio, folks. Steph's looks basically get her more male listener website hits and a possible Face For A Billboard that many other hosts may not have, but that's about it.
D
doc9464
Guest
Irish, a question for you or Baroosk or Ohio Media watch,
any weight to a NovaM purchase / lease of WRNI in Providence (currently simulcasting WBUR 90.9 Boston - NPR). I hate to get a hope up but the situation in Providence is intolerable with the craptastic radio choices...so any hope of liberal radio gives me a small smile....thanks if any info
any weight to a NovaM purchase / lease of WRNI in Providence (currently simulcasting WBUR 90.9 Boston - NPR). I hate to get a hope up but the situation in Providence is intolerable with the craptastic radio choices...so any hope of liberal radio gives me a small smile....thanks if any info
doc9464 said:
I have heard nothing about this.
WRNI was recently sold to a company called Rhode Island Public Radio. It was formerly owned by Boston U.
Boston U. also owns WXNI (1230) in Westerly, and are selling it seperately, since RIPR doesn't need it. Who they are selling to is unknown at this time. I haven't heard of any potential buyers thus far.
Here's some more info in WXNI:
http://thephoenix.com/notfornothing/PermaLink,guid,75a902b6-81eb-432e-af3a-d8e84d77af6b.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WRNI
Not much of a Providence station, though. WXNI's signal doesn't really look like it touches the market.
http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/info?call=WXNI&service=AM
At this point, I don't think WRNI-AM is for sale, though they have recently purchased an FM to go with it.
Hate to burst your bubble, but with the sale of 1290 WRNI to Rhode Island Public Radio, the station is now in LOCAL hands for the first time in about 10 years, and it's highly unlikely that the people who have worked so hard to finally have a locally controlled NPR station will give that up.
HOWEVER......If the AAR/Liberal talk folks want to get on the air in Providence badly enough, there DOES happen to be ONE SILIENT STATION in the market at present, 990am, WALE,
Be warned, however, that WALE is sort of a radio version of a Bob Villa "This Old House" project. The dump needs one hell of a lot of tender loving care and elbow grease......and MONEY......just about everything from transmitter to tower repair or replacement to ground system replacement to studio equipment...you get the idea...to get back on the air.
They would also have to do something about getting a more practical, workable signal and pattern in place. Although licensed for 50,000 watts daytime (5,000 nights)...the vast majority of that gets narrowly beamed into Providence...down Narragansett Bay...and then...into the Atlantic Ocean.
I doubt that many cod, haddock, or folks in Bermuda care a feather or a fig about domestic American politics...LOL...
A
ABQTom
Guest
Al Johnson said:
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