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And the new format for WZNN is-----

An open letter:

Dear 97.3:

The continued failure of this signal is due to poor business decisions. Electing to adopt a sports format was certainly one of those, particularly when the driving force was the remote possibility of obtaining a show under contract elsewhere. However, you have continued this tradition by your latest decision, which includes the repetitive playing of a "massive library" (you must be stunting with that comment), and a truly offensive series of tag lines that attempt to perpetuate the myth of Birmingham listeners consisting of rednecks, white socks, and blue ribbon beer. We are anxiously awaiting the results of your "advertising sales" so we can determine what business entity would be foolish enough to become associated with this disaster.

While we wish you the best of luck, we heartily recommend your consideration of market research to assist you in better understanding the market and the advertising community. Further, we suggest you consider includng the required station identification, apparently not provided since July 3. In addition, perhaps you can retain the assistance of a qualified person to provide education on the importance of a musical flow, a pleasing format, and a professional identification. Perhaps you can hire away that great voice in the 97 fm region south of town that has also created a programming phenomenon.

When you flip the station again (and you will), we certainly hope the next choice is a better one.
 
This may be totally off the wall, but what's the possibility that this is a stopgap format put in place just long enough to see if Birmingham Mountain Radio could be successful on a larger FM signal? I mean, if you're taking a station that's creating buzz and a little bit of revenue and putting it on a translator, why not give it a trial run for a few months on the translator to see if it could do the same on a larger signal? Because, let's face it, 97.3 is creating no buzz and no revenue.
 
I would say sure but BMR has Ads. I assume there are no ads on 97.3. I would not say that is maximizing the portfolio.
 
whitfm said:
This may be totally off the wall, but what's the possibility that this is a stopgap format put in place just long enough to see if Birmingham Mountain Radio could be successful on a larger FM signal? I mean, if you're taking a station that's creating buzz and a little bit of revenue and putting it on a translator, why not give it a trial run for a few months on the translator to see if it could do the same on a larger signal? Because, let's face it, 97.3 is creating no buzz and no revenue.
Click to expand...
I had considered that, too...that maybe all this hoopla with the "y'all" format was just going on long enough to move BMR to 97.3, but if that's the case...why wouldn't Summit Media just put the AAA format on 97.3 from the outset...not to mention the confusion that would be created from the signal being on 107.3 then on 97.3? There's already some listener misunderstanding regarding the BMR listing on TuneIn since the station is listed as "WZNN HD2" at 97.3. In fact, one of their listeners brought that to BMR's attention on the station Facebook page...that BMR was "incorrectly listed" on TuneIn (at 97.3) rather than where most listeners are probably looking for the station on the app at 107.3. Even the BMR people responding to the post seemed oblivious to the fact that the translator is actually being rebroadcast from WZNN HD2, and accordingly, that is why it's listed on TuneIn as such.

Speaking of Facebook...I am finding people on my friend's list commenting about The "new format" at 97.3. Many of them still believe that this ridiculous, repetitive format is the "real thing" and is, in fact, permanent. I've mentioned to them that isn't the case (and why that is), but they totally disregard what I tell them. Makes me wonder if Summit Media is doing this stunting just a little too well...

As far as the domains registered thus far by Summit Media...these seem plausible to me...but who knows if they will use any of them.

Lite...AC or soft AC
Easy...Traditional Soft AC/Soft Oldies/Vocal EZ
Mix....AC, but more than likely hot AC
Old School/Skool....Urban oldies
Oldies...self-explanatory
Rock....classic rock or some version of rock
Relax....not likely to be used but Traditional Soft AC/Soft oldies/Vocal EZ
Jewel..I have no idea....anybody's guess...but I seriously doubt that's the one 97.3 will wind up with.
Dove....this one is the most perplexing of all, given Cox no longer owns WZNN. Why was this one even registered??

I did note that the "Easy" and "Oldies" names were the only two of the ones mentioned above where Summit Media registered all the top level domains (.com, .net, .org, .info)..the other names had only one or two TLDs registered. Of course, that might have been due to the fact that those particular domains were already registered elsewhere, but could jt be that one of those two names, Easy and Oldies, is the one Summit is planning on using for 97.3, since those are the only two where all the TLDs were registered?

There also appears to be some sort of rumor going around, as crazy as it sounds,that all these shenanigans for a format change is nothing but a ruse for WZNN to return with a sports format. My daughter came home from church a few days ago and someone there (an adult) told her that the sports format was coming back to 97.3 in some form. I doubt that's the case, but if it were...it'd be the "stunt of all stunts"...the format change that was to come...but never came. lol
 
awww...we all know nothing is permanent in radio. It's like the weather. If you don't like it today, just wait, it'll change....
 
Today the station amended the tagline to include the identification and a disclaimer about the Paula Deen reference. Who would like to submit a bill for consulting services?

Perhaps this is another stunt. After all, the team is not known for integrity. You can't teach an old dog new tricks, ya'll. ;D
 
I don't think it is a stunt anymore....Although I have heard no commercials but have heard Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby" followed by Hank Sr.'s "Hey Good Lookin'" at around the same time every day, I kinda feel this odd selection of music is the intended format... at least, for a while.

-Travis
 
Say what you will about Fuzion 100 but you'll never know precisely what song will be next, although the hourly "clock" is rather easy to figure out. Hey! It could be con-fuse-znn 97!
 
Almost two weeks in, and still no website? No [free] social media presence? It's supposed to be 'your station', but how exactly are Birmingham-area listeners supposed to interact with the station (no mention of a call-in number)? There's a bump saying"Ya'll get to be the program director". Yes, because everyone knows who that person is and what they do.

Allow me to pose a few zero-insight conspiracy theories that are more colorful than a blanket declaration that "Summit Media is incompetent":

1. The supposed-to-be-midnight launch took place at 12:45ish because there was still internal uncertainty or disagreement about what was actually to debut at midnight--and there still is. Remember all of those domain names that were apparently registered? Possible nods to AC (hot or merely office-friendly?), rock (classic?), 60-80's oldies, urban oldies, jammin' oldies, and even a positive hits/contemporary christian outlet. I doubt that all of them were explicitly registered to misdirect competitors and radio geeks.

2. "Ya'll FM" was only supposed to be a stunt, but was forced into placeholder status because of new company woes (potential issues with the intended name a la WYDE, a licensing/contract problem with Dial Global or another company, some new programmer's availability being in question, not enough music service, the ongoing debate mentioned in #1?) Not completely out of the realm of possibility, though it is pretty flimsy.

3. "Ya'll FM" was always the intended choice, but local management got wind of the odd reaction radio/media consultants (like Lance Venta and Sean Ross) had on Twitter upon hearing about hearing about it--and now there are second thoughts about really going forward with it.


I'm just trying to imagine why this station exists the way it does right now, as I still can't believe its for the long term. What station would this be paired with for sales?
 
My money is on stunt until they get their research back (if they're actually doing research). I also think the double-stunting hurt them because they pulled AL.com into the first "launch" only to have it be another stunt. The buzz is gone on this one which defeats the purpose of the stunt.
 
If you think this is the real format I've got some ocean front property in Dothan to sell you. Bill Tanner is too smart to debut a station this way. Just wait, boys! It'll be right on when it finally hits y'all (pun intended).
 
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