Rebel 100 - Sounds Great, Less Successful!
A little lesson in history about WLRQ - Lie Rock 100 vs. Rebel 100!
When Rebel came on in late summer 1986 they chose to dump the soft rock format that was a ratings success with a 2.7 12+ and 5th in the sought after 25-49 demo in less than 12-15 months after it was launched following market research by Jon Colman and Richard Harker. It was sellable, ranking 7th in billing in Nashville. For a 3000 watt station in a sea of eleven 100,000 watt flamethrowers, quite an accomplishment. Despite as many know, a signal that couldn't penetrate a brick in some parts on Nashville.
Yes it was vanilla, bland and boring! But from a business perspective it was successful. Internally, there were things going on that the New York investors discovered, such a cooked books, that indicated the stations were making money. They weren't. That included the Knoxville and Birmingham cluster. NOT! Bring in the lawyers and let's start battling! There was alleged fraud, breach of contracts, action and counteraction and so much more.
The owners chose to sell and walk away from a small group and cut their losses even though the group had promise. Enter - the REBS crew.
The Nashville and Birmingham FM's were continuing to grow in the ratings.
At the launch, Lite 100 had to be moved after a STL was changed at the Music Row studios, only to discover a high rise building directly in the path of the signal to the Brentwood tower. The old crappy STL actually masked the problem and as soon as a brand new Mosley went in, instant static in the signal. There was no turning back. Couldn't put the old weak STL back in.
Then came the quick as lighting (sic) move to the Brentwood facility, done in a matter of hours after the furniture was pre-assembled. The station was switched over and off the air maybe 3 hours tops in the middle of the night. It all worked and was nice but no frills. It functioned.
The signal was now clean although a radio and billboard campaign was already underway and when people tuned in they found music a station playing music
a group of people said they wanted (according to the research ) and that there was a market for. People who wanted something softer than WLAC-FM. And it worked!
Now enter REBS! They came in as many new owners do (and we all know how the advertising community loved outsiders coming with a new format and then looking for local advertising dollars from an out of state absentee owner(s); REBS wanted to have it their way. No Problem. But it was a shoot from the hip, NO RESEARCH, play what feels good format, and there is a place for that, BUT they dumped something that was making money and was growing. They did no research or anything and just knocked out some cash flow for NO cash flow. And this was 23 years ago. My radio hasn't changed much in some ways has it?
The small but loyal audience (similar to the WKDA alternative before the music goes mainstream and ends up on the top stations with high powered signals). The NICHE boutique station vs. the WALMART business model. Low powered stations have to be specialized or SENSATIONAL and are vulnerable to getting ripped up by a superpower if the market reacts overwhelmingly to what they hear.
Same time to some extent with 96KOS (WKOS) out of Murfreesboro in the early 80's. Mark Damon in the morning, Dick Shannon midday’s, Jon "Rock and Roll Anthony" in the afternoon, Trucking Tom nights, and Libby St. John overnights. Come on strong and gave Y-107 and Kicks 104 a run for a while. But then the owners decided they wanted to blow it up.
Hey, they own the thing. They can do what they want. So what if it works. Sound familiar?
So, there's a bit of history of what really happened in part.
Take it from an insider!
Lesson here: Once you own it (or the bank owns it) you CAN do what you want. But if it's wrong, you WON'T be doing it for long!
Maybe Bain and Lee investors will have their day with the Clear Channel empire too! Yes, empires do fall. Not to mention other giants in the consolidated radio giants game.
