And the stations could respond by saying "No, we make our money from advertisers. We could be playing musically arranged gopher farts and if it got ratings they'd still by ads."
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99.1
- Thread starter Yabadabado1
- Start date
In this case, they have decided not to play music at all and instead air sports.
On WARF’s player in the iHeart website, it now states “All Bets Are On For Akron.” The Fox Sports 1350 logo still says Cleveland.
I doubt many in the general public know about 1350 in general. With 92.3 and 850, Cleveland’s sports radio is well covered.
1350 is similar to WNCO-AM 1340 in Ashland, on air to clear Fox Sports for iHeart. 1340 does carry live sports from Ashland High School, Ashland University and simulcasts Guardians with WMAN-AM/FM. Still likely not bringing in much on a local level.
I doubt many in the general public know about 1350 in general. With 92.3 and 850, Cleveland’s sports radio is well covered.
1350 is similar to WNCO-AM 1340 in Ashland, on air to clear Fox Sports for iHeart. 1340 does carry live sports from Ashland High School, Ashland University and simulcasts Guardians with WMAN-AM/FM. Still likely not bringing in much on a local level.
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And I think the end result will be, IF stations are forced to "pay to play" will be nothing but sports, news, talk......anything non-music over the airways.
To be honest, I doubt anyone in Akron is even aware that WARF exists even if they did "move" it back. At least the station being audible in Akron and Kent would help.
They are what @DrAkbar loving refers to as "Sports Parking Lots". 1350 operated in the shadows of WKDD ever since WSLR became WTOU with satellite R&B. 1340 was satellite standards for the longest time prior to going with spoken word.
"1350 operated in the shadows of WKDD ever since WSLR became WTOU "
I remember when WSLR made the Cleveland Top 10 ratings.
I remember when WSLR made the Cleveland Top 10 ratings.
Indeed, back when AM was king. Traditional WADC became WSLR in 1965 after being bought by the folks at American Greetings in Cleveland and was the first full-time country music station north of the Mason-Dixon line.
"Whistler" 1350, with staffers like Ken Spec and morning legend "Jaybird" Drennan, had a traditional southern country format, with a hymn of the hour and brokered religious shows in the evenings.
WSLR was successful in Akron and a factor up in Cleveland where there was no real competition. Even into the 1970s, WSLR dusted off Cleveland FM stations who tried country, WCJW 104.1, WELW 107.9 and the first incarnation at WNCR 99.5.
But when Malrite made the surprising switch of flagship WHK to country in 1974, sans hymns and preachers, they knocked WSLR back to Akron.
At home, WSLR continued to do OK up until Jaybird's retirement. In 1993, WQMX-FM went country, sealing their fate, and WSLR dropped the format and the cool call sign in 1994.
"Whistler" 1350, with staffers like Ken Spec and morning legend "Jaybird" Drennan, had a traditional southern country format, with a hymn of the hour and brokered religious shows in the evenings.
WSLR was successful in Akron and a factor up in Cleveland where there was no real competition. Even into the 1970s, WSLR dusted off Cleveland FM stations who tried country, WCJW 104.1, WELW 107.9 and the first incarnation at WNCR 99.5.
But when Malrite made the surprising switch of flagship WHK to country in 1974, sans hymns and preachers, they knocked WSLR back to Akron.
At home, WSLR continued to do OK up until Jaybird's retirement. In 1993, WQMX-FM went country, sealing their fate, and WSLR dropped the format and the cool call sign in 1994.
And the legendary WSLR call letters now reside on a low power FM [27 watts!] in Sarasota, Florida.
And if you scroll down to the bottom of their homepage, it says "Cleveland's Fox Sports 1350 - The Gambler".
At the end of the day, WARF's purpose is to serve as a flanker for WTAM, basically like WWGK 1540 "KNR2" did for WKNR for many years.
Just look at multiple markets in Ohio north of Columbus with iHeart clusters - Cleveland, Toledo, Youngstown, and Mid Ohio (Mansfield/Ashland) - you have a standard issue news-talker with some combo of Beck, Clay/Buck, Hannity and C2C AM, flanked by a Fox Sports/Gambler outlet.
And WWGK is dead because, in the long run, Good Karma could not sustain a small high-band AM no one could listen to outside of Cleveland's Fairfax neighborhood and had been invisible to the general public since 1979 with nothing but WKNR ad spillover. And they operate WKNR with a "sales over ratings" mindset that should have kept 1540 alive into the present day. That didn't happen.
Cleveland, however, becomes the first of those markets that duplicates the same exact syndicated Fox Sports Radio content on two different in-market stations (WARF, again, being an Akron station) for 22 hours out of a 24-hour day. WARF barely airs any VSiN content at all. It's the attack of the 0.0 ratings clones.
I cannot fathom how WTAM and WMMS will have enough advertising spillover to sustain either format. Especially when 99.1 is doing extended promos for iHeart's podcast library during spot breaks. It's unsustainable and smacks of poor management in the Cleveland cluster.
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iheart must like what Keith Kennedy is doing because he hasn't lost his job yet.
Isn't poor Keith, like, half of iHeart Cleveland now? I know he's on live in the mornings on 98.1, plus he does all of the ad reads, plus he's got a voicetrack set on 105.7, plus isn't he a high-ranking admin for the cluster?
Unless iHeartRadio decides to license out one of the syndicated morning shows to replace him and Tony, I think Keith is going to have a job for a while.
Unless iHeartRadio decides to license out one of the syndicated morning shows to replace him and Tony, I think Keith is going to have a job for a while.
The deal has been made official between iHeart and Rock Entertainment. The Charge stay on Real 106.1.
radioinsight.com
I am puzzled by the "select Rock Entertainment Sports Network programming will also simulcast on 99.1". I assume that means play-by-play? RESN's non-play-by-play programming is produced elsewhere or by third parties.
iHeartCleveland To Expand Rock Entertainment Group Sports Pact
Rock Entertainment Group has entered into an agreement with iHeartMedia Cleveland to carry all of their franchises across iHeart's stations.
radioinsight.com
Probably on a game by game basis, depending on conflicts and airtimes.
That's what I'm figuring. Likely simulcasts of high school sports and possibly the Lake Erie Crushers (which are owned by a former Dan Gilbert associate and telecast on RESN).
The other shoe has finally dropped and WARF will be airing VSIN for 20 hours a day, fully removing the format duplication between it and 99.1.
radioinsight.com
VSiN Announces Programming Expansions In Cleveland, Charleston & Springfield
VSiN has announce that its programming is getting expanded coverage in three markets. In Cleveland, iHeartMedia's "1350 The Gambler" WARF
radioinsight.com
WARF needs to give up on sports. 99.1 is also now a waste with sports. The Fan and WKNR are obviously doing a better job at sports talk.
Effectively WARF is being brokered out by both VSiN and Kent State. No one will listen — and few listen to sports gambling radio to begin with — but it's shockingly very profitable.
And WTAM has sports talk in the evening.
Isn't the Fan and WKNR Browns talk about 90% of the time?