640AM "WFTL"?

[markmywords]

I like the flip of 640AM to Fox Sports as "Man Talk" was awful, and think it is a brilliant move to carry the NY Yankees games on weekends. Jeff DeForrest is very entertaining in AMD too.

My question is, Why do they call it "WFTL 640" when those are the calls of their sister station at 850AM? Of course the almost-undecipherable TOH ID says "WMEN Boca Raton" so just wondering what the thought process is/might be over there.

Any ideas?

 

[flaradiofan]

I like the flip of 640AM to Fox Sports as "Man Talk" was awful, and think it is a brilliant move to carry the NY Yankees games on weekends. Jeff DeForrest is very entertaining in AMD too.

My question is, Why do they call it "WFTL 640" when those are the calls of their sister station at 850AM? Of course the almost-undecipherable TOH ID says "WMEN Boca Raton" so just wondering what the thought process is/might be over there.

Any ideas?

So you are one of the five or ten listeners to 640-AM which changes formats faster than a new mother changes her baby's diapers. You are right...Mantalk was a joke.....Now Steve Lapa and his bumbling pack of idiots are adding not one sports station but two (640 and 1400 AM) in a market already served by three sports stations (560 & 790 in Miami and 760 in West Palm Beach). Give 640 about 8-12 months before you see another format change.

And I guess the idea behind using the WFTL calls on 640, 850 & 1400 is to combine their numbers under one set of calls for ratings. In the last ratings book, not one of the stations showed up in Miami/Ft. Lauderdale and in West Palm Beach WFTL showed with just over a 2 in persons 12+. Same happened in the Spring Phase I trends. Spring Phase II trends are due out in about two weeks. Any bets on where all three combined WFTL stations will rate then?

 

[max88]

wocn 1450 in miami is now espn spanish a whole lotta sports talk in south florida

 

[max88]

what format would put on the FTL signals that would work in south florida ? .It appears that all of the "winning" formats have been taken!

 

[flaradiofan]

what format would put on the FTL signals that would work in south florida ? .It appears that all of the "winning" formats have been taken!

After Mantalk on 640 and now three stations carrying the WFTL call letters (two of which are competeing against each other in the same format....sports talk), all of which collectively have gathered little or no ratings, maybe the idiots at James Crystal should try an "all dead-air....all the time" format. Its can't do any worse than what they have done the last few years. What a waste of good AM signals. And now they are on the hook for multi-millions of dollars regarding the verdict in the Jennifer Ross case. Talk about mismanagement!!!! They actually (and I can't believe I am saying this) make Clear Channel look smart.

 

[max88]

i still would like to know what viable formats are available in south florida for the WFTL stations, it is easy to blast the current management but what would you do if you had those sticks?

 

[livingfruitvirus]

i still would like to know what viable formats are available in south florida for the WFTL stations, it is easy to blast the current management but what would you do if you had those sticks?

First, they need to stop trying to aim their West Palm sticks at Miami. West Palm stations will never be Miami-FTL stations.

As for formats that work, South Florida is such an FM marketplace. I don't know how additional non-brokered AMs will help. I would suggest an all local talker, but that's too costly for someone like James Crystal.

 

[otherradioboy]

All local talk? Hmmm.... WFTL is local talk 6-9am and 1-7pm. (9 hours) Plus some shows on the weekend. WIOD is local 5a-12n. (7 hours) WJNO is only local 5:30a-9a. (3.5 hours) WINZ is only local 6-9am. (3 hours)

So, I'd say WFTL is closer to local talk than ANYONE else in the English speaking market. Look how well it's doing....

 

[Mike Sheridan]

First, they need to stop trying to aim their West Palm sticks at Miami. West Palm stations will never be Miami-FTL stations.

Hey that's the same thing I said in another thread. We get it, why don't they?

Fairbanks under Hilliard even tried to make a Miami station out of WRMF and we all know that didn't work.

 

[livingfruitvirus]

All local talk? Hmmm.... WFTL is local talk 6-9am and 1-7pm. (9 hours) Plus some shows on the weekend. WIOD is local 5a-12n. (7 hours) WJNO is only local 5:30a-9a. (3.5 hours) WINZ is only local 6-9am. (3 hours)

So, I'd say WFTL is closer to local talk than ANYONE else in the English speaking market. Look how well it's doing....

I figured they ran syndie from 4-7. I guess I haven't been up to task on that station.

I was sort of grasping at straws to come up with an answer there. Local talk isn't always #1. Take a look at Orlando. WTKS-FM is local from 6 AM to 7 PM but the mostly syndicated WDBO is the most listened to talker. Honestly I can't think of what else they could do.

First, they need to stop trying to aim their West Palm sticks at Miami. West Palm stations will never be Miami-FTL stations.

Hey that's the same thing I said in another thread. We get it, why don't they?

Fairbanks under Hilliard even tried to make a Miami station out of WRMF and we all know that didn't work.

At least an FM has a chance. Two Cocoa Beach stations were turned into Orlando stations by Gannett and have had a good ratings history there. I live in Los Angeles now, and in the past San Diego stations have attempted to serve Los Angeles. Hell, Mexican stations have tried, and still are. XEWW claims to serve Los Angeles, and even has a studio in Burbank.

A good example of a station that's done great despite covering other markets is Lakeland-Winter Haven's WPCV. It's a Class C and can be heard in Orlando, and on both coasts: Tampa and the Space Coast. It probably covers more land than any FM in Florida. However, it continues to serve its little community of Lakeland-Winter Haven, and often has a 12-14 share 12+, proving the grass isn't always greener in the bigger market next door.

 

[MiniDill]

hey guys,

new to the boards here.

640AM doesn't come in great down here in Miami where i live, but i like how its Fox sports. so now we have a few options down here besides the regular 790 and 560. 560 seems to be going downhill a bit.
I was listening to 640 saturday, heard the yankees game and then seemed like a local program too, think it was andy slater show. then they went to some fox sports radio.

anyways, just thought id pop in my two sense. nice board here, never knew it existed.

 

[livingfruitvirus]

Just in case you continue to have trouble, or 640 changes formats again someday, Fox Sports 24/7 is available on XM Radio, and ESPN Radio on both XM and Sirius.

 

[MiniDill]

cool, thanks for the info.
i have sirius and like fox, but obviously its not on there.

i'm more into local programming on the AM dial down here rather than national though. all i've heard on 640 local wise is morning show with Defo, saturday pre game yankees with the cro and then after the game andy slater. other than that it seems all national.

 

[Davie123]

??? What format would set them apart, AND make money ??? With a network of AM stations covering a big chunk of South Florida, why not Tourist Radio? The same programming could be fed to all 3 stations. Programming should include lots of local information about events, attractions, weather, and activities. Advertisers could buy infommercials or mini-programs about their businesses. This model is working successfully in a few markets where the owner knows what he is doing. It has failed in others where it wasn't structured properly. This is not the most esoteric solution to James Crystal's problem, but would fill a void in a market where thousands of tourists are driving around at any given hour.

 

[SportsDotCom]

cool, thanks for the info.
i have sirius and like fox, but obviously its not on there.

i'm more into local programming on the AM dial down here rather than national though. all i've heard on 640 local wise is morning show with Defo, saturday pre game yankees with the cro and then after the game andy slater. other than that it seems all national.

JCR Radio Alert. You said in your first post you liked 640 b/c it was Fox Sports Radio. Now, you say you're not into the national so much, but the local? I mean they have 1 local show. A guy who was a hack & a collection of writers & tv people who aren't on everyday. So, which is it? Sounds like another JCR employee trying to pollute the board w/ jargon about a station NO ONE LISTENS TOO or knows it even exists. Nice attempt at trying to be coy.
;D

 

[flaradiofan]

cool, thanks for the info.
i have sirius and like fox, but obviously its not on there.

i'm more into local programming on the AM dial down here rather than national though. all i've heard on 640 local wise is morning show with Defo, saturday pre game yankees with the cro and then after the game andy slater. other than that it seems all national.

JCR Radio Alert. You said in your first post you liked 640 b/c it was Fox Sports Radio. Now, you say you're not into the national so much, but the local? I mean they have 1 local show. A guy who was a hack & a collection of writers & tv people who aren't on everyday. So, which is it? Sounds like another JCR employee trying to pollute the board w/ jargon about a station NO ONE LISTENS TOO or knows it even exists. Nice attempt at trying to be coy.
;D

 

[flaradiofan]

cool, thanks for the info.
i have sirius and like fox, but obviously its not on there.

i'm more into local programming on the AM dial down here rather than national though. all i've heard on 640 local wise is morning show with Defo, saturday pre game yankees with the cro and then after the game andy slater. other than that it seems all national.

JCR Radio Alert. You said in your first post you liked 640 b/c it was Fox Sports Radio. Now, you say you're not into the national so much, but the local? I mean they have 1 local show. A guy who was a hack & a collection of writers & tv people who aren't on everyday. So, which is it? Sounds like another JCR employee trying to pollute the board w/ jargon about a station NO ONE LISTENS TOO or knows it even exists. Nice attempt at trying to be coy.
;D

SportsDotCom.....You are soooo right on the money. There is no question that this is one of the unfortunate souls who is trapped at James Crystal (until they are evicted for non payment of rent on their Fort Lauderdale studios) and trying to make things sound semi-good there when in fact it is a scene from "Bad Day At Black Rock". The recent Miami Herald article about how bad things are at James Crystal pretty much tells the story about the crooks who are running that place. What a waste of good AM signals (640 & 850). Plus, next week on 850 they are resurrecting the awful Dennis Miller show (which used to be on the failed and completely unlistenable"Mantalk 640") to replace Laura Ingraham in the evenings. How many times does a brick building have to fall on them until they realize they have nothing but losers? Mini Dill......wise up tothe fact that we are al wise to the fact that you are another James Crystal flunkie.....or at best one of the possibly ten people listening to 640.

 

[smedge2006]

I think piling on with another sports format is a bad move. Sports radio's high "power ratio" (revenue compared with its usually abysmal ratings) is mainly fueled by jock wannabe business owners buying the stations on emotion. Now that the economy is tanking, they're forced to look at the numbers and realize that, once you get past the first or second station in-format, NOBODY'S LISTENING!

Having said that, I am somewhat sympathetic to James Crystal's corporate plight. It can't be easy trying to survive as a small business in a world of corporates that are cutting spot rates and diluting their product more and more every day. So they work over creditors and keep people employed? Better than the corporate radio entities that have gold credit ratings but keep firing people. At least WFTL is somewhat competitive in WPB and maintains a modicum of local news/talk in So Fla.

 

[WFTL employee]

LOL You guys crack me up. Working for another radio operation (like Clear Channel) is SO much better. Yeah, that sausage factory where the board ops make $8 per hour and those are the ones with experience!

Blast the company, bitch about the programming, laugh at the article in the paper. (It's not 100% true. It doesnt tell the whole story.) Bottom line:

They pay 100% of my healthcare. They've never missed or bounced a paycheck on me. They support employees in so many ways (like continuing to pay medical for someone who no longer works there because of a serious illness) and they are pretty damn good people. In fact is, my paycheck comes at least 2 days EARLIER than it's supposed to.

Beasley can't say any of that. Cox can't say any of that. And my GOD if CC said one of those things, a lightning bolt would hit that building.

Oh, any MiniDill -- good going. And if you like Andy Slater, he also has shows a few nights a week on WKAT. You can probably hear that station better in Miami.

I'll put up with the JC "issues" over the other bulls<*t any day.

Glad I'm here and not at any of those places.

Okay, your turn to rip me apart Sportsdotcom and flaradiofan. (Do you have anything good to say about any radio company?)

 

[otherradioboy]

CC people might all be out of work soon now that The Evil Empire is going private. Stations are going to be sold all around the country. Word is at least one AM (WINZ) and one FM (take your pick) in Miami will go.

The mayhem has already started. I know someone who works there who says the GM of the cluster announced by e-mail that he is no longer in charge and has taken another post with Clear Channel.

Let the fun begin!

(Nice to hear that a small private company cares about its people.)