AM 540 in Clarksville goes all-sports

[RMarino]

540 in the Clarksville market has switched from Christian to "Sports Radio 540 The Fan" with ESPN and Jim Rome.

 

[ccmfan]

> 540 in the Clarksville market has switched from Christian to
> "Sports Radio 540 The Fan" with ESPN and Jim Rome.
>

I'm really not surprised at this since they were carrying Salem's satellite feed which is the same as Nashville's Fish stations and the Dove stations in Dickson, Jackson, and Selmer at night and since WAY-FM has their full power station there now. I figured that this would happen sooner or later. At least they didn't go to being another dollar a holler station.<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by ccmfan on 09/14/05 04:54 PM.</FONT></P>

 

[elktonbrant]

Wasn't that frequency sports fan radio network back in the late 90's?

> > 540 in the Clarksville market has switched from Christian
> to
> > "Sports Radio 540 The Fan" with ESPN and Jim Rome.
> >
>
> I'm really not surprised at this since they were carrying
> Salem's satellite feed which is the same as Nashville's Fish
> stations and the Dove stations in Dickson, Jackson, and
> Selmer at night and since WAY-FM has their full power
> station there now. I figured that this would happen sooner
> or later. At least they didn't go to being another dollar a
> holler station.
>
<P ID="signature">______________
Until it happens, it hasn't happened.</P>

 

[Kent]

> I'm really not surprised at this since they were carrying
> Salem's satellite feed which is the same as Nashville's Fish
> stations and the Dove stations in Dickson, Jackson, and
> Selmer at night and since WAY-FM has their full power
> station there now. I figured that this would happen sooner
> or later. At least they didn't go to being another dollar a
> holler station.

As I understand, the CCM hasn't gone away. It's just moved to 1370.

 

[AirwaveSurfer]

> Wasn't that frequency sports fan radio network back in the
> late 90's?
>
Clarksville's 540 was indeed a Sports Fan affiliate back then, when it still had its longtime WDXN call letters. I can also remember when it briefly had a news/talk format between its dropping of the sports format and its transfomation into CCM station WJQI. (540's calls are now WKFN.)

Upon reading about 540's switch back to sports, two things clearly come to my mind:

1. Is WKFN close enough to Nashville that its use of the terms "SportsRadio" and "The Fan" might provoke lawsuits by WNSR and Cumulus/WNFN, respectively?

2. Speaking of WNSR, it and WKFN ought to merge to form a station that can serve nearly all of Middle Tennessee on a single frequency (either 540 or 550) and avoid the signal "shadow" of WHBQ, the 560 in Memphis. WKFN and WNSR, IMO, will both likely continue to struggle needlessly as long as they are on frequencies so close to each other and especially as long as WNSR is on the same frequency as the older WHBQ.<P ID="signature">______________
This is AirwaveSurfer, reminding you that portions of this post have been prerecorded.</P>

 

[NotSoSilentBob]

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, and no.

For one, 540 and 106.7's signals don't even come close enough to overlap, and being in a different Arbitron market, I don't think WNSR will care about the use of the term "Sports Radio"...they only trademarked that in case another Nashville station took the bait, which 106.7 did.

And any talk of a "merger" between 540 & 560 is just stoopid. I'd be willing to bet my life savings that it won't happen.





> > Wasn't that frequency sports fan radio network back in the
>
> > late 90's?
> >
> Clarksville's 540 was indeed a Sports Fan affiliate back
> then, when it still had its longtime WDXN call letters. I
> can also remember when it briefly had a news/talk format
> between its dropping of the sports format and its
> transfomation into CCM station WJQI. (540's calls are now
> WKFN.)
>
> Upon reading about 540's switch back to sports, two things
> clearly come to my mind:
>
> 1. Is WKFN close enough to Nashville that its use of the
> terms "SportsRadio" and "The Fan" might provoke lawsuits by
> WNSR and Cumulus/WNFN, respectively?
>
> 2. Speaking of WNSR, it and WKFN ought to merge to form a
> station that can serve nearly all of Middle Tennessee on a
> single frequency (either 540 or 550) and avoid the signal
> "shadow" of WHBQ, the 560 in Memphis. WKFN and WNSR, IMO,
> will both likely continue to struggle needlessly as long as
> they are on frequencies so close to each other and
> especially as long as WNSR is on the same frequency as the
> older WHBQ.
> <P ID="signature">______________
Bob
Moderator, Nashville board
Radio-Info.com--Always Tuned In

"I don't spread rumors, but I sometimes make outrageous speculations with no factual basis."</P>

 

[AirwaveSurfer]

WKFN and WNSR

> For one, 540 and 106.7's signals don't even come close
> enough to overlap, and being in a different Arbitron market,
> I don't think WNSR will care about the use of the term
> "Sports Radio"...they only trademarked that in case another
> Nashville station took the bait, which 106.7 did.
>
I hope you're right on this point, Bob. It's just that I once read that WNSR's rights to the "SportsRadio" trademark apply to the whole state of Tennessee.

> And any talk of a "merger" between 540 & 560 is just
> stoopid. I'd be willing to bet my life savings that it won't
> happen.
>
I've just thought for a long time that the FCC made a mistake in letting what is now WNSR occupy a frequency as low as 560 in an area just 200 or so miles from a co-channel heritage station like WHBQ and roughly 60 miles from an older second-adjacent-channel stick such as what is now WKFN. While WNSR has raised its daytime power significantly and moved its nighttime operation to a nondirectional tower just outside downtown Nashville, the station's daytime signal still needs a tight north-northeast/south-southeast directional pattern to protect WHBQ and, to a lesser extent, WKFN. Furthermore, WKFN and WNSR are both very weak at night, whereas a single Middle Tennessee station on 540 or 550 might have quite a bit of room for a decent nighttime signal.

Thus, while I agree that a "merger" of WKFN and WNSR is unlikely, the possible technical upside would cause such a deal to make at least some sense.<P ID="signature">______________
This is AirwaveSurfer, reminding you that portions of this post have been prerecorded.</P>

 

[kilowatt]

Trademarks are state-wide but I hear the signal in my car in Kentucky so Clarksville isn't a stretch.

How much is a cease and desist letter? Maybe a bait to see how they enforce it.

> No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, and no.
>
> For one, 540 and 106.7's signals don't even come close
> enough to overlap, and being in a different Arbitron market,
> I don't think WNSR will care about the use of the term
> "Sports Radio"...they only trademarked that in case another
> Nashville station took the bait, which 106.7 did.
>
> And any talk of a "merger" between 540 & 560 is just
> stoopid. I'd be willing to bet my life savings that it won't
> happen.
>
>
>
>
>
> > > Wasn't that frequency sports fan radio network back in
> the
> >
> > > late 90's?
> > >
> > Clarksville's 540 was indeed a Sports Fan affiliate back
> > then, when it still had its longtime WDXN call letters. I
>
> > can also remember when it briefly had a news/talk format
> > between its dropping of the sports format and its
> > transfomation into CCM station WJQI. (540's calls are now
>
> > WKFN.)
> >
> > Upon reading about 540's switch back to sports, two things
>
> > clearly come to my mind:
> >
> > 1. Is WKFN close enough to Nashville that its use of the
> > terms "SportsRadio" and "The Fan" might provoke lawsuits
> by
> > WNSR and Cumulus/WNFN, respectively?
> >
> > 2. Speaking of WNSR, it and WKFN ought to merge to form a
> > station that can serve nearly all of Middle Tennessee on a
>
> > single frequency (either 540 or 550) and avoid the signal
> > "shadow" of WHBQ, the 560 in Memphis. WKFN and WNSR, IMO,
>
> > will both likely continue to struggle needlessly as long
> as
> > they are on frequencies so close to each other and
> > especially as long as WNSR is on the same frequency as the
>
> > older WHBQ.
> >
>

 

[kilowatt]

Re: WKFN and WNSR

540 is owned by Saga of Tuckasee.

I thought Kentuckiana was bad, Tuckasee is worse! Does nayone use this rabid diseased inbred phrase? Family from Kentucky so we're talkin amongst friends here...

> > For one, 540 and 106.7's signals don't even come close
> > enough to overlap, and being in a different Arbitron
> market,
> > I don't think WNSR will care about the use of the term
> > "Sports Radio"...they only trademarked that in case
> another
> > Nashville station took the bait, which 106.7 did.
> >
> I hope you're right on this point, Bob. It's just that I
> once read that WNSR's rights to the "SportsRadio" trademark
> apply to the whole state of Tennessee.
>
> > And any talk of a "merger" between 540 & 560 is just
> > stoopid. I'd be willing to bet my life savings that it
> won't
> > happen.
> >
> I've just thought for a long time that the FCC made a
> mistake in letting what is now WNSR occupy a frequency as
> low as 560 in an area just 200 or so miles from a co-channel
> heritage station like WHBQ and roughly 60 miles from an
> older second-adjacent-channel stick such as what is now
> WKFN. While WNSR has raised its daytime power significantly
> and moved its nighttime operation to a nondirectional tower
> just outside downtown Nashville, the station's daytime
> signal still needs a tight north-northeast/south-southeast
> directional pattern to protect WHBQ and, to a lesser extent,
> WKFN. Furthermore, WKFN and WNSR are both very weak at
> night, whereas a single Middle Tennessee station on 540 or
> 550 might have quite a bit of room for a decent nighttime
> signal.
>
> Thus, while I agree that a "merger" of WKFN and WNSR is
> unlikely, the possible technical upside would cause such a
> deal to make at least some sense.
>