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98.7 News Talk

C

cbsrocks

Don't worry it was just an idea since Wfla is running away with the format. But since CBS owns the station and it being a good idea there is little chance it will happen.

I know it sounds funny, but just wait we won't do it and someone else will. Then we'll say " we shoud of gone news talk.

No reason our stock sucks so bad!
 
If anything, the spoken-word format I can see 98.7 switching to is sports-talk, given previous moves by the company.
 
agreed, CBS hasn't done that anywhere, even in markets where they have an AM product that could be moved over to FM 9which is how these things go for the most part). Overhead for Smooth Jazz is very low, and that signal isn't the right one for news/talk.
 
DToTheJ said:
If anything, the spoken-word format I can see 98.7 switching to is sports-talk, given previous moves by the company.
Click to expand...
Part of that is already there. WFAN is on 94.1-HD3...for what it's worth.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!
 
Don't knock CBS. They have my favorite station, Q105, and it seems to be doing great on the PPM.
 
DToTheJ said:
Parttimer said:
Overhead for Smooth Jazz is very low...
Click to expand...

... explaining why it was "downgraded" from 94.1 to 98.7 in the first place.
Click to expand...
Simple the Jazz Format in this market can barely carry a tune! WILD gave the Beat a Beating and now wants to do the same to FLZ! There is one common goal in this market or atleast it seems to be, that goal is to wipe CC Tampa of the books! And if that means downgrading the Jazz station to less than 100k then so be it!!! I was something that has been in the works for years! Now the idea of flipping 98.7 from jazz to a news talk is a great idea too...With or with out Rush it would still blow FLA out of the water!
 
Blue Palms Media said:
... the Jazz Format in this market can barely carry a tune!
Click to expand...

Actually, I can recall Arbitron book after Arbitron book where WSJT would be a mainstay in the Top 5.

With the advent of PPM technology... not so much.

Also, a CHR is boatloads easier to sell than a heritage smooth jazz station.
 
Blue Palms Media said:
DToTheJ said:
Parttimer said:
Overhead for Smooth Jazz is very low...
Click to expand...

... explaining why it was "downgraded" from 94.1 to 98.7 in the first place.
Click to expand...
Simple the Jazz Format in this market can barely carry a tune! WILD gave the Beat a Beating and now wants to do the same to FLZ! There is one common goal in this market or atleast it seems to be, that goal is to wipe CC Tampa of the books! And if that means downgrading the Jazz station to less than 100k then so be it!!! I was something that has been in the works for years! Now the idea of flipping 98.7 from jazz to a news talk is a great idea too...With or with out Rush it would still blow FLA out of the water!
Click to expand...

Thank you, Wild 94.1 staff member, whoever you are.

Again the 98.7 signal is not big enough for a news/talk to be competitive.
 
Parttimer said:
Blue Palms Media said:
DToTheJ said:
Parttimer said:
Overhead for Smooth Jazz is very low...
Click to expand...

... explaining why it was "downgraded" from 94.1 to 98.7 in the first place.
Click to expand...
Simple the Jazz Format in this market can barely carry a tune! WILD gave the Beat a Beating and now wants to do the same to FLZ! There is one common goal in this market or atleast it seems to be, that goal is to wipe CC Tampa of the books! And if that means downgrading the Jazz station to less than 100k then so be it!!! I was something that has been in the works for years! Now the idea of flipping 98.7 from jazz to a news talk is a great idea too...With or with out Rush it would still blow FLA out of the water!
Click to expand...

Thank you, Wild 94.1 staff member, whoever you are.

Again the 98.7 signal is not big enough for a news/talk to be competitive.
Click to expand...
Sure it is. WQYK and Q-105 have competed for years with big numbers on small signals.
95.7 is no flamethrower, either.

When they could have upgraded, they elected not to. That was the problem with great numbers, there was no incentive to spend the money to upgrade a signal with a consistant top 5 rating. The ROR would not be realized.

All three of those stations are land locked, now.

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!
 
Parttimer said:
CBS hasn't done that anywhere, even in markets where they have an AM product that could be moved over to FM
Click to expand...


Check San Fransisco, where All-News KCBS-AM is also heard on an FM simulcast.

If CBS wants a competitive news-talker on FM in Tampa Bay, they'll need some first-rate programming. It's probably too expensive of a venture for them. Look at their "new" news/talk station in Los Angeles: KFWB. A nearly-all syndicated line-up of mostly third-rate shows. And they expect to compete with the likes of KFI or even second-chair KABC?

The funny thing is: They had THE premiere FM Talk station in the country in the market with KLSX. And they killed to put on CHR to compete with KISS-FM?

Why?
 
Q105 and QYK cover Tampa well.

95.7 is Urban. Urban traditionally does well on limited signals because the audience will seek out the product.

98.7 has issues in Tampa and east. If you're serious about putting something on that would compete with FLA it's probably not the best choice.
 
It's only a matter of time before Clear Channel moves WFLA-AM programming to one of the CC 100kw FMs in the market. The big question is which CC FM to "blow up" to make room for the new WFLA on FM? This is why I was suggesting Cox flipping WPOI ahead of any moves Clear Channel may want to make giving Cox a tremendous advantage if implemented correctly. Of course CBS can do the same thing if they should choose, but I'm not sure which CBS FM would be best suited for a format flip to news-talk. All of my research and data collected points to The Point as the best candidate.

My second choice for news-talk would be WHPT 102.5. The only reason that station wasn't my first choice is because, although it is a full class C FM operating with 100kw, it doesn't cover all of Tampa Bay, particularly toward the North past New Port Richey and Holiday. This is because WHPT's tower is located Southeast of the Bay just North of Sarasota. WPOI's tower is located due East of the Bay near Brandon which gives The point a much better signal over the entire MSA which makes 101.5 a more desirable frequency for the number two market format.
 
Given Cox's track record in Tampa Bay of running stations as close to jockless as possible, exactly what kind of personel would they hire to do the news?
 
Cox realizes more man-power (or, if you prefer, person-power) is required to run a news/talk outlet, not so much a jukebox, automated or otherwise. Otherwise, their Atlanta or Jacksonville news/talk stations wouldn't be flourishing as they are today.

As far as the 101.5 signal vs. 102.5: I always thought 102.5's signal was better, in that it reaches as far north as Fort Myers. (Right, Cowhead? ;D )
 
If Cox started hiring, bet these newsfolk might VT on other stations and they'd let go the people who are still live in Tampa. They would fire the live people on Magic, for instance, and have the news people VT with other names like Corey Dylan now does on 101.5 and the "X".
 
Regardless, WFLA's numbers are through the roof!!!! Look at all the FM's behind WFLA and WLFA's billing is off the chart. The first FM to go and do it right will win BIG!
 
DToTheJ said:
Cox realizes more man-power (or, if you prefer, person-power) is required to run a news/talk outlet, not so much a jukebox, automated or otherwise. Otherwise, their Atlanta or Jacksonville news/talk stations wouldn't be flourishing as they are today.

As far as the 101.5 signal vs. 102.5: I always thought 102.5's signal was better, in that it reaches as far north as Fort Myers. (Right, Cowhead? ;D )
Click to expand...

Fort Myers is South of Tampa Bay; not North. It's North Tampa Bay where 102.5 has some signal problems. WHPT is fine, for the most part, in Fort Myers.
 
cbsrocks said:
Regardless, WFLA's numbers are through the roof!!!! Look at all the FM's behind WFLA and WLFA's billing is off the chart. The first FM to go and do it right will win BIG!
Click to expand...

CBSROCKS, what you have explained is precisely the point I've been attempting to make all along. All of the negative comments I've read against a Tampa Bay FM news-talker will be tremendously outweighed by the positives realized and gained as a result of implementing a real competitive Tampa Bay FM news-talk outlet. Take the best non-top 10 FM signal, and there's where you place the market's number two format.
 
FM talk seems to work if you have the three big names (Rush, Hannity, Beck) or if you have heritage (WDBO). A start up non-CC FM talker in this market would have neither, and the two other owners are not likely to pump any salary money into it. Contrary to what some syndicators would have you believe, an FM talker with a lineup of third-tier syndication and no local heritage won't become a powerhouse. Check out "The Truth" in Denver for one such example.
 
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