L
lash
Guest
BTR purchased WURP in Pittsburgh from Inner City today. An LMA will get things started. Say good bye to Don and Mike, if you could hear them.
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I always thought that station could have been more- but they never went with it.
I was one of the few listeners- but quit listening when they took off Imus and started broadcasting more Air America.
Here's the story-
http://news.****************/cgi-bin/$rol.exe/headline_id=b9738
I was one of the few listeners- but quit listening when they took off Imus and started broadcasting more Air America.
Here's the story-
http://news.****************/cgi-bin/$rol.exe/headline_id=b9738
R
Radio_Realist
Guest
I always thought that station could have been more- but they never went with it.
I always thought that a weak signal and a distant stick pretty much dashed any hopes anyone who attempted to make that station into "more" of anything.
One has to wonder about the business wisdom of attempting to build a station dedicated to Business News on a station that only reaches the eastern portions of Allegheny County and the western portions of Westmoreland. That's not to say that the people who live and/or work in Monroeville or Murrysville aren't nice people. I just wonder how smart of a business move it is to try to start a Business News format station for just them.
I always thought that a weak signal and a distant stick pretty much dashed any hopes anyone who attempted to make that station into "more" of anything.
One has to wonder about the business wisdom of attempting to build a station dedicated to Business News on a station that only reaches the eastern portions of Allegheny County and the western portions of Westmoreland. That's not to say that the people who live and/or work in Monroeville or Murrysville aren't nice people. I just wonder how smart of a business move it is to try to start a Business News format station for just them.
Realist- Sure it had signal restrictions. So does almost every other AM you can name.
All I'm saying is The Edge didn't have to struggle the way it did.
Even the simplest of tweaks could have improved the station.
For instance, updating their commercials and promos. The commercials never changed and often were rather bland.
The promos never changed. To this day- I can re-run the Don and Mike Promo "THAT'S a name that's GOTTA stick!" in my mind.
And it really wasn't a great promo. It was rather unorganized. But it was on at every break.
And it got old real quick. But I heard it for three years.
Same with "Business in the Fast Lane"- which I wonder if it will continue on this new station (and if it does- I beg of you- NEW THEME SONG!)
And while I appriciate Woodland Hills football broadcasts- the "arduous journey" promos seemed a little campy- especially when delivered by a guy who could barely pronounce "arduous."
While Don and Mike got major promotions, other shows did not.
For instance, when they aired Don Imus- Terry Bradshaw would come on every Friday at 8:30 and the interviews were absolutely incredible. Funny, revealing- Bradshaw always opened up a lot.
You'd never know it to listen to the station's promos. Never once mentioned that arguably the city's greatest living sports hero- one who constantly ducked other local media- was a regular feature on their airwaves.
That's because G. Gordon Liddy, Tom Veykis, and Imus never had a promo.
The Young Turks, meanwhile, had plenty of promos. They boldly proclaimed they were "The Best Talk Show in the Country" on them.
I'm sorry, but if you're "The Best Talk Show in the Country" I want to know why nobody's ever heard of you.
There were just lots of things I didn't understand. Why didn't they pick up Tony Bruno since he has a Pittsburgh following and they were a Sporting News affiliate? Why did they cancel Imus for the Turks last year? Why- if they wanted to be more liberal- didn't they join Air America when the network first went on- which would have created a lot of buzz at the time? Why- when they eventually did pick up Air America- did they wait until the network was bankrupt and then split Air America's programming time with Sporting News Radio?
The guys who ran it were fine fellows and I wish them all the success in the world. I hope the Business Network paid them lots of money and they came out of their investment far ahead.
And yeah, Realist, I'll bet that even if every move they made on that station was perfect the most money they could have made from it was selling it to this Business Network.
But I'll just always wonder- what could that station have been?
All I'm saying is The Edge didn't have to struggle the way it did.
Even the simplest of tweaks could have improved the station.
For instance, updating their commercials and promos. The commercials never changed and often were rather bland.
The promos never changed. To this day- I can re-run the Don and Mike Promo "THAT'S a name that's GOTTA stick!" in my mind.
And it really wasn't a great promo. It was rather unorganized. But it was on at every break.
And it got old real quick. But I heard it for three years.
Same with "Business in the Fast Lane"- which I wonder if it will continue on this new station (and if it does- I beg of you- NEW THEME SONG!)
And while I appriciate Woodland Hills football broadcasts- the "arduous journey" promos seemed a little campy- especially when delivered by a guy who could barely pronounce "arduous."
While Don and Mike got major promotions, other shows did not.
For instance, when they aired Don Imus- Terry Bradshaw would come on every Friday at 8:30 and the interviews were absolutely incredible. Funny, revealing- Bradshaw always opened up a lot.
You'd never know it to listen to the station's promos. Never once mentioned that arguably the city's greatest living sports hero- one who constantly ducked other local media- was a regular feature on their airwaves.
That's because G. Gordon Liddy, Tom Veykis, and Imus never had a promo.
The Young Turks, meanwhile, had plenty of promos. They boldly proclaimed they were "The Best Talk Show in the Country" on them.
I'm sorry, but if you're "The Best Talk Show in the Country" I want to know why nobody's ever heard of you.
There were just lots of things I didn't understand. Why didn't they pick up Tony Bruno since he has a Pittsburgh following and they were a Sporting News affiliate? Why did they cancel Imus for the Turks last year? Why- if they wanted to be more liberal- didn't they join Air America when the network first went on- which would have created a lot of buzz at the time? Why- when they eventually did pick up Air America- did they wait until the network was bankrupt and then split Air America's programming time with Sporting News Radio?
The guys who ran it were fine fellows and I wish them all the success in the world. I hope the Business Network paid them lots of money and they came out of their investment far ahead.
And yeah, Realist, I'll bet that even if every move they made on that station was perfect the most money they could have made from it was selling it to this Business Network.
But I'll just always wonder- what could that station have been?
R
Radio_Realist
Guest
And it really wasn't a great promo. It was rather unorganized. But it was on at every break.
One small huge problem with that promo. The only people who heard it were already tuned in to the station.
And it got old real quick. But I heard it for three years.
But how many people who were located within range of that stick who might have liked the programming on that station even knew the station existed? How many potential listeners never ever heard that promo at all? How many commuters from Murrysville knew that they could tune in WURP as they passed through its signal range on their way to work? How many people who lived and worked in Monroeville or the other eastern suburbs who had the means to pick up the station even knew that the station existed?
For instance, when they aired Don Imus- Terry Bradshaw would come on every Friday at 8:30 and the interviews were absolutely incredible. Funny, revealing- Bradshaw always opened up a lot.
Had I known that they had Imus on and that Terry Bradshaw was on on Friday at 8:30, I'd have made a point of tuning in any time I found myself in range of their signal at 8:30 Friday morning. But, since the only people who knew that the station even existed were those who already listened to it, I never once even attempted to tune it in.
But I'll just always wonder- what could that station have been?
If they'd have promoted it to people who weren't' already tuned in to it, if they'd have used other media, then they could have been the local station of choice for people who lived in the greater metropolitan Monroeville area.
One other thing. I actually did tune in WURP from time to time, when I was in range of their tower. But that's because I heard about it here. No station can depend on radio enthusiasts who go out of their way to read and discuss local radio like the denizens of this forum. Had I not been a radio enthusiast, I'd have never known that WURP existed. The fact that they didn't do diddly-squat to let people other than DX'ers and other radio geeks know that they were even on the air is why they tanked. A better on-air product might have enabled them to do a little better, but nothing would have turned their fortunes around better than aggressive promotion using media other than their own airtime to reach people who didn't even know that they existed.
One small huge problem with that promo. The only people who heard it were already tuned in to the station.
And it got old real quick. But I heard it for three years.
But how many people who were located within range of that stick who might have liked the programming on that station even knew the station existed? How many potential listeners never ever heard that promo at all? How many commuters from Murrysville knew that they could tune in WURP as they passed through its signal range on their way to work? How many people who lived and worked in Monroeville or the other eastern suburbs who had the means to pick up the station even knew that the station existed?
For instance, when they aired Don Imus- Terry Bradshaw would come on every Friday at 8:30 and the interviews were absolutely incredible. Funny, revealing- Bradshaw always opened up a lot.
Had I known that they had Imus on and that Terry Bradshaw was on on Friday at 8:30, I'd have made a point of tuning in any time I found myself in range of their signal at 8:30 Friday morning. But, since the only people who knew that the station even existed were those who already listened to it, I never once even attempted to tune it in.
But I'll just always wonder- what could that station have been?
If they'd have promoted it to people who weren't' already tuned in to it, if they'd have used other media, then they could have been the local station of choice for people who lived in the greater metropolitan Monroeville area.
One other thing. I actually did tune in WURP from time to time, when I was in range of their tower. But that's because I heard about it here. No station can depend on radio enthusiasts who go out of their way to read and discuss local radio like the denizens of this forum. Had I not been a radio enthusiast, I'd have never known that WURP existed. The fact that they didn't do diddly-squat to let people other than DX'ers and other radio geeks know that they were even on the air is why they tanked. A better on-air product might have enabled them to do a little better, but nothing would have turned their fortunes around better than aggressive promotion using media other than their own airtime to reach people who didn't even know that they existed.
Realist- In the daytime I can pick it up in my home in Pittsburgh and keep the signal through south of Carnegie.
Now- nighttime is another matter!
Now- nighttime is another matter!
R
Radio_Realist
Guest
Realist- In the daytime I can pick it up in my home in Pittsburgh and keep the signal through south of Carnegie.
Is that on a regular, ordinary car radio, or some fancy DXing rig?
Is that on a regular, ordinary car radio, or some fancy DXing rig?
R
Radio_Realist
Guest
After making that last post from work, I made a point of tuning to 1550 on my commute home while I was in Mount Lebanon and Dormont. I could pick up 1550 on my stock Ford car radio, but the sound was so scratchy and full of static I couldn't listen to the station for any length of time. While tuning to 1550, my seek button foound 660, which had a good enough signal to be able to listen to the station. The station on 1590 also came in clear enough to listen to. I could pick up 1360, and it's sound was fine, even if the programming was dull. But even though I don't mind less than great sound on AM for spoken word programming, 1550 was unlistenable on West Liberty Avenue in Dormont at around 4:30 this afternoon.
It was a Koss car stereo with digital tuning and a coat hanger for an antenna.
Here's the signal range for the station-
http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WURP&service=AM&status=C&hours=D
That's not going to make KDKA quiver in their boots, but are the signals of KQV and WPTT so enormously more powerful that they should show up in the books and WURP should not?
I think we'll both agree the problem was promotion. They probably didn't have any budget for advertising, but even so, never updating the promos just made the station seem as if they didn't want me to listen to it- and as you can tell I was a loyal listener for several years until they took off Imus.
I believe if WURP is promoted right, a business radio station can draw an audience similar to what a KQV does for news.
And maybe that is for the best.
I mean consider the possible hosts!
Gabe Kaplan! Wayne Rodgers! Jim Cramer! Jack Markowicz!
They could announce the change with Bill Cameron locking himself in the studio and playing Def Leppard's "Stock 'til You Drop" for two days straight!
Here's the signal range for the station-
http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WURP&service=AM&status=C&hours=D
That's not going to make KDKA quiver in their boots, but are the signals of KQV and WPTT so enormously more powerful that they should show up in the books and WURP should not?
I think we'll both agree the problem was promotion. They probably didn't have any budget for advertising, but even so, never updating the promos just made the station seem as if they didn't want me to listen to it- and as you can tell I was a loyal listener for several years until they took off Imus.
I believe if WURP is promoted right, a business radio station can draw an audience similar to what a KQV does for news.
And maybe that is for the best.
I mean consider the possible hosts!
Gabe Kaplan! Wayne Rodgers! Jim Cramer! Jack Markowicz!
They could announce the change with Bill Cameron locking himself in the studio and playing Def Leppard's "Stock 'til You Drop" for two days straight!
R
Radio_Realist
Guest
Here's the signal range for the station-
In that case, I suspect that their transmitter and/or tower needs some maintenance work. It reminds me of the 1,000 watt Washington, PA daytimer I worked on 35+ year ago when it was brand new. My grandmother in Millvale could pick it up. Now, after what appears like years of neglect, I can't pick it up north of South Hills Village.
They probably didn't have any budget for advertising
Then they needed to get one. There are some business expenses that cannot be avoided. Without listeners, a radio station might as well not bother turning on the transmitter. And it doesn't take that much imagination to come up with barter programs to swap air-time for page space, or other synergistic programs to trade commercial air-time for advertising to reach new listeners.
I believe if WURP is promoted right, a business radio station can draw an audience similar to what a KQV does for news.
If promoted right, WURP could do far better than that.
In that case, I suspect that their transmitter and/or tower needs some maintenance work. It reminds me of the 1,000 watt Washington, PA daytimer I worked on 35+ year ago when it was brand new. My grandmother in Millvale could pick it up. Now, after what appears like years of neglect, I can't pick it up north of South Hills Village.
They probably didn't have any budget for advertising
Then they needed to get one. There are some business expenses that cannot be avoided. Without listeners, a radio station might as well not bother turning on the transmitter. And it doesn't take that much imagination to come up with barter programs to swap air-time for page space, or other synergistic programs to trade commercial air-time for advertising to reach new listeners.
I believe if WURP is promoted right, a business radio station can draw an audience similar to what a KQV does for news.
If promoted right, WURP could do far better than that.
I believe if WURP is promoted right, a business radio station can draw an audience similar to what a KQV does for news.
Negligible.
Negligible.
A few years ago someone could have talked me into trying to make a go of a little AM facility like 660 or 1550. Like many others on this board, I figured that if you just did the right programming (and of course I figured I could do it better than the people running it...actually I still think so), you'd find an audience. But with the myriad of big FM signals, satellite radio, and new car audio systems with iPod jacks, the future for crappy AM signals with no funding behind them looks pretty dim. Look, you're about to see what was B94 adopt a talk-radio format, one of the last things AM radio had going for it. There's no upside to these facilities anymore.
OK, I do not post on this page, I am way too busy running a successful stand alone AM station. I also may have originally programmed WURP. And I have something to say. The original idea behind WURP was to program the station the same as its sister station WWGE- www.edge1400.com. This 'personality talk & sports' Station in Central PA did very well. In a very small market. The difference was, we promoted the heck out of it. We do remotes every week. We also broadcast over 500 live sporting events per year including the Penguins, the Pirates, the NFL, NCAA, plus local sports. Imus, Don & Mike, Leykis, Liddy, Sporting News Radio + anything else would have worked on WURP. It needed to be promoted, it needed a sales team that understood how to sell AM radio advertising. It needed to be run by radio pros who understood how to run a successful AM, but it also needed money. It would have worked. I was lacking in money, that is the bottom line. We did not have enough money to get to the point where advertising revenue would pay the bills. With that reality, we had a tough road convincing people that would back us to cut the check. That is where I left it. Radio is also a business. How long do you run a station for the sake of running a good station? 2 years, 3? How about 8 years? How long should you run a station that doesn't make enough money to pay its bills? Keep in mind- if someone didn't believe in AM radio, WURP would be dark today. It wouldn't exist. Nor would WPTT, or KQV, or most other AM stations in the area. Good luck to Business Talk Radio, I hope you do well in the market.
http://www.pbrtv.com/
"News Hotline 3/26/2007
"Off the "Edge" - (3/26) - Inner City Broadcasting is selling Braddock-licensed "The Edge" WURP (1550) to BusinessTalkRadio.net, reports Pat Cloonan in the McKeesport Daily News. [EDIT]
[EDIT-post truncated because originating material is copyprotected. Unauthorized use of copyrighted content is in violation of Radio-Info's TOS.]
"News Hotline 3/26/2007
"Off the "Edge" - (3/26) - Inner City Broadcasting is selling Braddock-licensed "The Edge" WURP (1550) to BusinessTalkRadio.net, reports Pat Cloonan in the McKeesport Daily News. [EDIT]
[EDIT-post truncated because originating material is copyprotected. Unauthorized use of copyrighted content is in violation of Radio-Info's TOS.]
First off I want to say hello to radioamiii. If it is the person who created The Edge, please call me.
As for WURP, there are a lot of "if it only did this ... or that ..." discussions we can have about the station. For the last three years, it has been an unloved and neglected entity. When radioamiii left the picture, the remaining people (including me) were unable to find another visionary who knew and loved radio. We also quickly found the signal did not cover the entire market making it a difficult task to get ratings that would be interesting to advertisers. I would rather have WURP in the middle of a small town than on the edge of a large one.
There is not a lot of investment money for small AM stations these days. The price for WURP was too low for most investors. Given the trend in small AM radio station prices, it did not look like we would have been able to make a killing by building the station and flipping it. We kept it on the air to give the local shows a chance to grow. We never thought it would continue for three plus years this way.
We did apply to move the station to Reserve Township and increase the power. The CP has been granted. About the same time, Business Talk Radio (BTR) showed interest in the station. The radio station is not our main business so having someone else take over the station seemed like a good idea. It took about a year for this deal to close for a lot of issues having nothing to do with WURP.
Changing from Imus in the Morning to the Young Turks had nothing to do with programming. Inner City, the owner of WURP, needed to cut costs and elected to drop the board op for Imus. The Young Turks had been on the weekends and had just moved to Air America. They had listeners and most important could be automated. The Business Talk Radio folks want to restore Imus. The plan is to try to have his show back on the air around April 15. The rest of the day will be feed from one of their two radio networks.
BTR is planning on staffing the station and building a sales force. It will be run like a real radio station.
As for WURP, there are a lot of "if it only did this ... or that ..." discussions we can have about the station. For the last three years, it has been an unloved and neglected entity. When radioamiii left the picture, the remaining people (including me) were unable to find another visionary who knew and loved radio. We also quickly found the signal did not cover the entire market making it a difficult task to get ratings that would be interesting to advertisers. I would rather have WURP in the middle of a small town than on the edge of a large one.
There is not a lot of investment money for small AM stations these days. The price for WURP was too low for most investors. Given the trend in small AM radio station prices, it did not look like we would have been able to make a killing by building the station and flipping it. We kept it on the air to give the local shows a chance to grow. We never thought it would continue for three plus years this way.
We did apply to move the station to Reserve Township and increase the power. The CP has been granted. About the same time, Business Talk Radio (BTR) showed interest in the station. The radio station is not our main business so having someone else take over the station seemed like a good idea. It took about a year for this deal to close for a lot of issues having nothing to do with WURP.
Changing from Imus in the Morning to the Young Turks had nothing to do with programming. Inner City, the owner of WURP, needed to cut costs and elected to drop the board op for Imus. The Young Turks had been on the weekends and had just moved to Air America. They had listeners and most important could be automated. The Business Talk Radio folks want to restore Imus. The plan is to try to have his show back on the air around April 15. The rest of the day will be feed from one of their two radio networks.
BTR is planning on staffing the station and building a sales force. It will be run like a real radio station.
G
garnet
Guest
if you get a little static with your 'don and mike', so be it...day in, day out, the funniest show on radio
Well I'm very happy Imus will be back!
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