Another Entercom Talker Moving To FM?

[JustPastBuffalo]

Taylor On Radio reports (March 24, 2011)

Entercom’s also blowing up soft AC KUDL. Is 98.1 going talk?
The tweet from KUDL came right after the launch of sister “99.7 The Point” - "Starting Monday, you will no longer be able to hear KUDL on 98.1. Tune your radio now to the All New 99.7 The Point." Entercom confirms a shift by saying that it will be simulcasting the new Point on both 99.7 and KUDL’s frequency of 98.1, next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. That’s obviously to create as much sampling for the Point as possible.

But what happens to KUDL after that? Its morning personality Tanna Guthrie’s slated to be part of the Point, along with Kelly Urich.

Clearly Entercom’s got a major change in mind, and the early betting is about talk. Would 98.1 turn into an FM simulcast for Entercom’s talk KMBZ (980?) Or “61 Sports” KCSP (610)? The local prognosticators have a week to figure it out. Interestingly, KMBZ is down in 13th place, but it's the top-ranked AM station in this FM-disposed market. But it’s showing an upswing since the Holiday book – 2.7-3.3-3.6. Maybe Entercom’s ready to give it a ride on the FM band at 98.1.

 

[ThePickleReport]

Jim, Who do you think would benefit more to be on FM in Buffalo; WGR or WBEN?

 

[SirRoxalot]

Why not split the difference? WBEN - with the much larger audience - in the daytime. Extend the reach of WGR and the Sabres at night.

 

[JustPastBuffalo]

Jim, Who do you think would benefit more to be on FM in Buffalo; WGR or WBEN?

The sarcastic media vet in me would blurt out "I'm sure the brilliant minds at Entercom have the definitive answer to that" (but being the well measured professional that I am, I'd never say that.) The real world listener in me would say Rox makes a valid point, but it doesn't seem workable. If I sat behind the desk and was paid to make the call, it would be WBEN. The real difficult question is, "what FM would you flip?" There are only three FMs in the Entercom cluster, two of which I wouldn't tamper with and the third leaving me to speculate if it can carry the weight of the WBEN legacy. That's the conundrum wrapped inside the riddle, which is why the situation will likely stay the way it is for a while, although can you imagine what would happen if Entercom made a bid for the Bills? Didn't the Falcons just move the PBP of their games to a Hot AC in Atlanta?

 

[yugoidar]

It's official this afternoon! The station that KUDL will be simulcasting is KMBZ ranked 13th in the market.

As far as Entercom/Buffalo...

Jim, I'm guessing that the third FM you allude to is The Lake (Brilliant, huh?). I certainly don't think the Lake is capable of carrying the legacy of WBEN. A couple of points to consider - WBEN, although more than likely top heavy in the upper demos, is far from 13th in the market. Is there really anything to be gained by putting their programming on FM? It's not likely to bring them many more listeners; especially when you look at the numbers various formats on the frequency have attained over the past 25 years.

Now down the road a few years, who knows? With possible erosion in WBEN's numbers in the future and other unforeseen changes in the market, the day may come when a move to one of the other Entercom FM signals might make sense.

Today, I agree with you - I think it's apt to stay the way it is for awhile.

 

[Element9]

Well ain't that a coincidence. KMBZ AM is on 980 and the FM is on 98.1.

 

[Bob1370]

One thing that's been learned from the Clear Channel "Rush Radio" experiment with FM talkers, is that moving from AM to FM doesn't budge the needle downward signiificantly when it comes to average listener age. It's a pointless waste of another full market signal in a cluster which could be bringing extra billing by selling to other demos. It's not something you do unless your AM signal has significant problems reaching your market's growth areas. WBEN has no significant gaps in its market coverage, so a simulcast or move to FM seems pointless.

If they want to change their demo profile, the obvious answer is to program with hosts and views that younger demos connect with. But they're doing OK financially with what they have, so the urgency to make drastic changes just isn't there.

 

[TheBigA]

Guys, guys, guys.

KMBZ is 5K. WBEN and WGR are each 50K. What have we been saying every time this subject is brought up?

Low power AMs are dead. High power AMs still have life. Although Buffalo can only handle two. They should trade KB to another market for an FM.

My quickie analysis is that neither of these stations are getting great numbers. KUDL must have gone holiday music in December based on their AQH. Then they went back to a 2 share. And KMBZ is tied with it. This is not the situation Entercom has in Buffalo. In Buffalo, they have two Top 5 stations with AM talk. Not the case in KC. They have determined it's more efficient to take the content on KMBZ and run it on two frequencies. They're spending a lot on live and local news and talk. Might as well draw on two revenue sources: AM & FM. The other option is cut costs at KMBZ. Who votes for that?

Kansas City is a market that's clearly more FM oriented. KMBZ is the highest rated AM and it's 13th 12+. The programming is solid, lots of live & local news talk, but it's underperforming. Clearly the signal is the only thing I see that's holding it back. Very unlike the situation they have in Buffalo.

Buffalo is like Chicago, Detroit, and NYC. They still get good numbers with AM talk. No need to blow it up yet. The minute WBEN falls out of the Top 10, then it's worth talking about. Until then, status quo.

 

[Mike Sheridan]

Guys, guys, guys.

KMBZ is 5K. WBEN and WGR are each 50K. What have we been saying every time this subject is brought up?

Nope WBEN and WGR are each 5K, although they are good 5K's with decent coverage.

I think it's a crime that one company ended up with all the decent Buffalo AM's.

 

[SirRoxalot]

I'd amend Mike's statement to read good daytime coverage. WGR's nighttime coverage tucks in pretty tight east and west. Now, west is over Lake Erie, so that doesn't matter, but the eastern suburbs have expanded dramatically as urban sprawl has affected the area. Coverage is spotty, even in the car, where you have a much better AM receiver than in most home stereo systems.

I don't understand why Entercom hasn't already put a simulcast of the Sabres games on The Lake. It would fill in the WGR pattern nicely, and pump up the numbers on that moribund facility. Sabres games would be infinitely more listenable on The Lake in many areas, and it's not like their morning show is going to attract regular 'GR listeners, so you don't have to worry about losing that audience. Seem like a win-win to me.

 

[TheBigA]

Nope WBEN and WGR are each 5K, although they are good 5K's with decent coverage.

I stand corrected. Still, they get great ratings, which wasn't KMBZ's situation.

 

[yugoidar]

Wow! Has hell frozen over?

 

[JustPastBuffalo]

Wow! Has hell frozen over?

Considering that Element9 and Rox didn't jump into the fray with A, it's worth a check.

 

[SirRoxalot]

Hey, Mr. Sheridan already corrected "Mr. Buffalo". No need to pile on. Anybody want to bet that he checked radio-locator.com before he admitted his mistake - while implying that it didn't matter?

 

[TheBigA]

while implying that it didn't matter?

"Implying?" I thought I very directly said it didn't matter. Comparing the two markets, Buffalo is very different from Kansas City in many ways. As I said, Kansas City has no AMs in the Top 10. So why blow up an FM when you're already getting good numbers on AM. As someone else said, if better demos are the goal, the programming has to change first. That's the key point why Entercom won't make an immediate change in Buffalo. As for my 50K comment, it's hard to find a low power AM in the Top 10 in a major city. But you guys always say Buffalo is different. So there you go.

 

[Bob1370]

The KMBZ situation is different from anything in Buffalo. KMBZ has a much weaker signal especially to the east of KC proper when it goes to nighttime/pre-sunrise DA, and putting it on FM extends the range to cover the entire market 24/7.

In Buffalo, WBEN's null at night is largely out over Lake Erie and misses little of the market's populated area...WBEN catches substantially the whole market 24/7. It might do itself good by bumping power up to 10 kW DA-N (which they could probably accomplish with minimal tweaking) but that would essentially enhance signal quality WITHIN the market area, especially toward Batavia.

 

[SirRoxalot]

Apparently 'BEN and 'GR signals are good enough that they haven't moved their programming over to 'KB's 50KW. And since when is 5KW on the lower end of the dial considered to be a "low power" AM in the NE?

 

[TheBigA]

Apparently 'BEN and 'GR signals are good enough that they haven't moved their programming over to 'KB's 50KW.

Good point, and nothing they do at KB moves the meters.

And since when is 5KW on the lower end of the dial considered to be a "low power" AM in the NE?

Ask the folks at WMCA NYC. But WSYR is an example of what you mean. Maybe WPRO? Not many others doing well.

 

[JustPastBuffalo]

I've driven through Kansas City. In some ways it's similar to Buffalo. Old housing stock in some sections of the city, especially along I-70. Decent, down-to-earth folks. Interesting that KMBZ runs 5 kw, DA-N on 980. From Radio-Locator's map (admittedly not precise), it looks like a decent signal day and night. That it's not putting up big numbers may have to do with the level of competition or the quality of programming on the station. So the question is, will moving to FM put WMBZ in the Top 5 Persons 25-54. Seems like a tall order and not at all an "automatic."

 

[Savage]

We had this discussion before but: you'd be surprised how little difference 10kw would make on 930 vs. 5kw. Few listeners would notice the increase. Entercom would definitely notice the doubling of the transmitter electric bill, though.