App for WANB to move

[bloggerr]

Looks like Bob Stevens of WKHB/WKFB has been paying the consulting engineers to come up with something... and it looks like they came up with a good one! He has two apps filed with the FCC this week, one to move his Cumberland, MD FM station (102.9 WROG) to Chambersburg, PA as a Class A. This opens up a move of WANB 103.1 from Waynesburg to Mt Pleasant, and upgrade from a Class A to a Class B1! The proposed new TX site for 103.1 looks like it would be on the ridge overlooking Uniontown, and would barely cover Mt Pleasant with a city grade signal. Still, this station will reach ALOT more people, and probably triple its stick value. This is alot easier now that a change of city of license is considered to be a "minor change" by the FCC folks.

 

[lash]

And two more towns lose their radio stations so Bob can say "Hey I'm Calib Michaels on Pittsburghs blah blah blah." Truly stupid, but now it shows why he bought these stations. It had nothing to do with communities they serve.

 

[Boss Radio]

Exactly. What is the point of moves like this? You're never going to be a "Pittsburgh" station. So you abandon the local community and you'll never have enough juice to interest the agencies who are buying Pittsburgh.

 

[bloggerr]

The days of "serving your community" ended years ago... to today's owner, it's all about business... if Stevens can make more money, or certainly be worth more money, as a Class B1 "licensed" to Mt. Pleasant, he'll do it, and the FCC won't stand in his or anyone else's way anymore

 

[Parttimer]

Well, running brokered snake-oil shows isn't much of a community service anyway, so it's not like Waynesburg would be losing something anyone cares about.

Local stations like the Butler Am-AM-FM combo do local radio right. This is just about money. If I read between the lines correctly, 620 and 770 have been on the block for YEARS now. A Florida-based broker has had a website listing for "Pittsburgh area, 2AMs, low dial position, great positive cash flow, $4M" for probably 4 to 5 years now.

I think we may be past the window where AMs are worth anything near that amount.

By the same token, as good as that 620 daytime signal is now, I'd be interested to see what it could do with real programming (and I don't mean oldies either).

 

[Radio_Realist]

The days of "serving your community" ended years ago...

The days of little-bitty towns being self-contained communities also ended years ago.

Local stations like the Butler Am-AM-FM combo do local radio right.

Butler is a city in its own right. Granted, it's small compared to Pittsburgh, but it still has a downtown, it still has some industry, and a significant number of people can live and work in Butler. Waynesburg, on the other hand, is on the verge of becoming a ghost town. Butler has enought critical mass of population and economy to support local radio, Waynesburg does not.

I must agree that the three stations in Butler do local radio right. From what I've heard of them, they are well-run radio stations who follow the same principles of "good radio" that all stations seem to follow. I've listened to the oldies station in Butler while driving down I-79 from around Slippery Rock to Cranberry more than a few times. It's a very well-run oldies station, much like every well-run oldies station I've heard anywhere. It may have its studio and transmitter in a small town, but it doesn't sound "small town".

 

[lash]

Waynesburg certainly has the business and economy to support an AM and FM combo that has been there forever. Understand the AM is going to stay since its against the rules to remove all radio from a town, however this move of the FM is nothing but ego. What are gonna hear next, the Calib Michaels version of what the former WYDD should of sounded like? Because I believe that is the reason behind this move.

Why wouldn't you move the FM closer to Morgantown? Cause that is now where the ego lies.

 

[Boss Radio]

"The days of little-bitty towns being self-contained communities also ended years ago."


Most communities don't have the kind of downtown business districts they did in the pre-mall '50s, but there are still plenty of potential clients within signal range, including car dealerships, eye doctors who offer laser surgery, law firms, restaurants, beer distributors, etc. Some of them get co-op money, too. I'd rather take my chances selling locally than trying to convince agencies that I'm a "Pittsburgh station," when I'm on the absolute outer fringes of that market with no chance of showing up in Arbitron.

 

[kenhawk1160]

Waynesburg certainly has the business and economy to support an AM and FM combo that has been there forever. Understand the AM is going to stay since its against the rules to remove all radio from a town, however this move of the FM is nothing but ego. What are gonna hear next, the Calib Michaels version of what the former WYDD should of sounded like? Because I believe that is the reason behind this move.

Why wouldn't you move the FM closer to Morgantown? Cause that is now where the ego lies.

I agree with you, Chris. There is enough business to support local radio in that town. While I applaud Bob Stevens for having a crack engineer capable of finding ways to make the most of his signal, he could have had a really great local radio station for Greensburg. There's money in Greensburg...if there wasn't, Tony Renda wouldn't have bought 107.1 and John Longo would have gotten out of the business a long time ago. But moving 620 out of town and out of mind made those two men rich.

Morgantown would have been the logical place to put WANB's stick if you REALLY wanted to do a move-in. Now my question is...what's going to become of AM 1580?

 

[kenhawk1160]

I also want to thank Parttimer and Realist for their nice comments as well. We work very hard at the Butler County Radio Network to put out the best local radio product we can. We're committed to the local community because we're a part of it. Like our listeners, we live here, work here and raise our families here. It's a much different scenario if you're an absentee owner that far removed from the community of license.

Realist...when you say oldies station, did you mean AM 680 WISR? Or did you happen to listen during our Saturday night classic rock show on 97.7? We don't have an oldies station in the traditional sense. WISR is more of an adult standards-formatted station, with shades of WJAS.

 

[Radio_Realist]

Realist...when you say oldies station, did you mean AM 680 WISR?

No, I almost never tune in any AM station, they sound too crackly and thin. It was WLER. I admit I'm not tuned into the subte differences of all the different variations of radio formats that are mostly old songs. To me, as with most radio listeners, if most of the songs on a station are more than 15 years old, then it's an "oldies" station. Radio pros can argue over which variation of "oldies" they program, to those of us picking a station to listen to, it either plays some kind of new music, or some kind of old music.

Basic rule of thumb -- if the music is old, then it's an oldies station.

 

[Rodeo_Surrealist]

Once again, Realist, your command of the radio industry is fantastic.

"Allhitz 97.7" WLER is an "oldies" station?

Here are the top 9 "most requested songs" on WLER last week:

9. Into The Ocean...Blue October
8. Say It Right...Nelly Furtado
7. Welcome To The Black Parade...My Chemical Romance
6. Over It...Katherine McPhee
5. Lips Of An Angel...Hinder
4. Keep Holding On...Avril Lavigne
3. Snow...Red Hot Chili Peppers
2. If Everyone Cared...Nickelback
1. It's Not Over...Daughtry

 

[Radio_Realist]

I wasn't going by what songs got requested, I was going by what songs I heard played. The songs that I recognized were all old songs. The songs that I didn't recognize might have been new, or they might have been old songs I wasn't familiar with. It wasn't like I was intently taking notes to study for a test. Like most music format radio, it was just something I had on in the background to cut through the silence.

 

[Rodeo_Surrealist]

Maybe you heard some once-a-week oldies show or something --- but WLER is hardly an "oldies" station. AC/Top 40 would be a better description.

 

[Radio_Realist]

Maybe you heard some once-a-week oldies show or something --

Or, maybe when I was hitting the scan button near Slippery Rock I caught something other than the station from Butler. When you're driving around northwestern PA using the scan button to find music to listen to, the stations all sound pretty much the same. Of course, when you drive around Pittsburgh doing the same thing, the result is pretty much the same as well.

 

[cingram]

Mind if I jump in?

Since this move involves me, and I've known about it for a while, it's time to bring some facts to the discussion.

The service area for the proposed new WANB-FM can be seen here:

http://www.fcc.gov/ftp/Bureaus/MB/Databases/fm_tv_service_areas/maps/FM1167974.gif

This is the 57 dBu contour. You can see that it covers Waynesburg, as well as Morgantown (although I think terrain will be a factor in that city), and nudges into the southeast Pittsburgh suburbs. I don't think anyone would call this a Pittsburgh station, not even Bob, but some people here will be able to hear it.

On other matters:

1. Since WANB-AM will remain (and also has an app to upgrade), and WANB-FM will continue to cover Waynesburg, and Bob intends to continue to pursue advertisers in Greene County with both stations, I don't see "abandoning the local communiity" at all. It's a signal upgrade that will take 103.1 from covering 70,000 people to covering 700,000 people. Wouldn't you do that?

2. If WLSW, WPKL, etc. show up in the Pittsburgh ratings, so will this.

3. The Pittsburgh agencies won't give a damn. We already know that.

4. To the best of my knowledge, the stations in Waynesburg have never run "brokered" programming in any meaningful quantity. The format is country.

5. A move to Morgantown is not possible because of adjacent stations on 102.7 and 103.3, plus 103.1 Parkersburg (and again, we're going to throw 57 dBu over Morgantown anyway).

6. Mr. Lash, I know there is some bad blood between you and Mr. Stevens, but the truth is that WHJB was in pretty bad shape when Bob got it (not to mention losing its nighttime signal), and it struggled for three years, and the paid programming was probably a better move in the long run. Certainly a more profitable one. We can wish for the days when 620 was a profitable, local Greensburg station, but that was a long time ago. I wish KQV would put oldies on and hire Fred Winston back and play the old PAMS jingles again. It's a pipe dream. (Except on Saturday afternoon, when I do it on 620.)

7. I doubt Tony Renda is getting rich with 107.1. Can't speak for Mr. Longo since he sold his FM and now only has 1480. Are either of those stations showing up in the ratings? One of you guys must have Maximi$er or PD Advantage. (You don't have to tell me; I already know the answer, or can guess. Note that our 57 dBu contour will also cover Greensburg and Latrobe.)

8. There are no plans, as far as I know, for Bob to sell any of his stations. I know from personal experience that he has had offers. In fact, someone made him an offer on 103.1 right after the app was filed. The offer was declined. Yes, this will increase the stick value, but that's not really what Bob is after. He wanted an FM station that covered the area better, and it looks like he'll have one.

What we're going to have here is a pretty good suburban signal that covers huge chunks of Fayette, Greene, and Westmoreland Counties, with others thrown in for good measure, including pieces of Allegheny, Washington, and Somerset, as well as whatever the heck the West Virginia counties are. (And, of course, provides first local aural service to Mt. Pleasant.)

This should be fun. I'm looking forward to it. I'm not the only one.

Your turn, fellas.

C.

 

[lash]

Let me start with the fact that there is no blood between Mr. Michaels and I. At least not on this end. I personally truly like the guy, always have. I admire his engineering skills. I have never seen anyone better at manipulating a stations moves, its power, and knowing at the end of the day, that the stations will be stronger in the long run.

But I also know that the move of 620 was to have a station in his original hometown, and the desire to have a Pittsburgh FM of some kind, since he was fired at WYDD years and years ago.

Please understand that one of his long time employees is one of our partners here in Tennessee. I have been well educated on the goals set by Mr. Michaels.

So if there's any bad blood, its all on his end. I still say its wrong to move the Waynesburg, but I still wish him the best of luck.

More important, its good to see your name here Clarke. All of us in Tennessee wonder why you won't talk to us anymore.

 

[kenhawk1160]

Maybe you heard some once-a-week oldies show or something --

Or, maybe when I was hitting the scan button near Slippery Rock I caught something other than the station from Butler. When you're driving around northwestern PA using the scan button to find music to listen to, the stations all sound pretty much the same. Of course, when you drive around Pittsburgh doing the same thing, the result is pretty much the same as well.

You might have caught WKQL (Kool 103.3) in Brookville or WKPL (92.1 the Pickle) in New Castle. The only oldies we play on AllHitz 97.7 is during the Friday Flashback from 5-7, the Saturday Night Dance Party from 8-10, and the Rock Fabrik from 10-midnight. The rest of the time it's Adult CHR.

 

[kenhawk1160]

Mind if I jump in?

Since this move involves me, and I've known about it for a while, it's time to bring some facts to the discussion.

The service area for the proposed new WANB-FM can be seen here:

http://www.fcc.gov/ftp/Bureaus/MB/Databases/fm_tv_service_areas/maps/FM1167974.gif

This is the 57 dBu contour. You can see that it covers Waynesburg, as well as Morgantown (although I think terrain will be a factor in that city), and nudges into the southeast Pittsburgh suburbs. I don't think anyone would call this a Pittsburgh station, not even Bob, but some people here will be able to hear it.

On other matters:

1. Since WANB-AM will remain (and also has an app to upgrade), and WANB-FM will continue to cover Waynesburg, and Bob intends to continue to pursue advertisers in Greene County with both stations, I don't see "abandoning the local communiity" at all. It's a signal upgrade that will take 103.1 from covering 70,000 people to covering 700,000 people. Wouldn't you do that?

2. If WLSW, WPKL, etc. show up in the Pittsburgh ratings, so will this.

3. The Pittsburgh agencies won't give a damn. We already know that.

4. To the best of my knowledge, the stations in Waynesburg have never run "brokered" programming in any meaningful quantity. The format is country.

5. A move to Morgantown is not possible because of adjacent stations on 102.7 and 103.3, plus 103.1 Parkersburg (and again, we're going to throw 57 dBu over Morgantown anyway).

6. Mr. Lash, I know there is some bad blood between you and Mr. Stevens, but the truth is that WHJB was in pretty bad shape when Bob got it (not to mention losing its nighttime signal), and it struggled for three years, and the paid programming was probably a better move in the long run. Certainly a more profitable one. We can wish for the days when 620 was a profitable, local Greensburg station, but that was a long time ago. I wish KQV would put oldies on and hire Fred Winston back and play the old PAMS jingles again. It's a pipe dream. (Except on Saturday afternoon, when I do it on 620.)

7. I doubt Tony Renda is getting rich with 107.1. Can't speak for Mr. Longo since he sold his FM and now only has 1480. Are either of those stations showing up in the ratings? One of you guys must have Maximi$er or PD Advantage. (You don't have to tell me; I already know the answer, or can guess. Note that our 57 dBu contour will also cover Greensburg and Latrobe.)

8. There are no plans, as far as I know, for Bob to sell any of his stations. I know from personal experience that he has had offers. In fact, someone made him an offer on 103.1 right after the app was filed. The offer was declined. Yes, this will increase the stick value, but that's not really what Bob is after. He wanted an FM station that covered the area better, and it looks like he'll have one.

What we're going to have here is a pretty good suburban signal that covers huge chunks of Fayette, Greene, and Westmoreland Counties, with others thrown in for good measure, including pieces of Allegheny, Washington, and Somerset, as well as whatever the heck the West Virginia counties are. (And, of course, provides first local aural service to Mt. Pleasant.)

This should be fun. I'm looking forward to it. I'm not the only one.

Your turn, fellas.

C.

Clarke...I see that there's two apps filed for frequency changes on WANB-AM...1210 and 1180, with nighttime power authorization for 1180. What is WANB doing on 1580 now? Is it still simulcasting the FM? I know it separated for a little bit during the last of the Hennessey years and ran conservative christian programming.

As for numbers 6 and 7, with all due respect, I'm not buying that. Granted, Greensburg's downtown area isn't what it used to be, but it's still far from dead. Tony Renda would not have purchased 107.1 if he didn't feel he could make money with a Westmoreland County station. John Longo would have gotten out of the game long ago if he wasn't doing the same with WCNS. I've worked for both of these men, and they know how to sell and properly market both of their stations. They're VERY aggressive in their efforts, and quite successful at both. I don't want to speak for John, but I've been told by a very reliable source that his sale of WLCY had nothing to do with money.

I know Bob bought a station in a state of very bad disrepair when he first acquired WHJB, and he spent a great deal of money in upgrades. I was in that Brown Street studio for an interview three years after he bought it, and he made some awesome strides in comparison to what it was. I still feel that by keeping his airstaff and time-brokerages to a minimum and pushing his local sales reps harder, he could have preserved Westmoreland County's radio station AND given local service to Irwin. Is that being done now?

There's money to be made there as a full-service station.

 

[lash]

An AM station should certainly do whatever format fits their market, or has the most potential. Music, talk, sports, etc. Local is the key, and we all know that.

So WANB AM stays in Waynesburg, and plays country, and that's ok. But its not ok for 620 to be in a music format anymore. Yet, it fills in the time with oldies 40% of the day? And its certainly not ok for KQV to return to music, even though it would get higher ratings than news, returning full time oldies to Pittsburgh, much much cheaper.

And why isn't the former WBCW programmed as a Westmoreland County station?

And to answer one more thought. Moving form 70,000 to 700,000? Its not the size of your stick, its what you do with it.

So 630,000 more people have the potential to hear more crap!