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Bye Bye WEMP!!!

M

mrbrightside

http://www.insidemusicmedia.com/

Merlin To Dump All-News in New York, Chicago
Monday, May 14, 2012
By Jerry Del Colliano

Which Merlin Media spoken word station will be the first one to get a one share?

Big changes are coming and there are increasing indications within Merlin Media that the ill-fated all-news challenge to CBS in New York and Chicago is about to come to an end....

Would be great if rock came back, but I know it won't... however, what goes around comes around!!!!! ;D
 
Or maybe they should bring back smooth jazz to the NYC area, I guess they should bring back the WQCD call letters and call it "CD101.9". NYC never had a smooth jazz station for for 4 years. Look what happened in Chicago. They dumped smooth jazz as well.

Or if not, bring back the WPIX-FM call letters and bring back soft AC to the NYC area. Maybe Merlin should go out of business soon and get another ownership.
 
Reputationally, this frantic series of miscalculation and reactionary slop is worse than the change to Jack-FM on 101.1 had been. It's affected *three* major markets -- with a lot more people watching.

The restructured Philly experiment on 106.9 wasn't just a change in course. It was at least the SECOND change in course. Barbie News failed in New York even with the chocolate-bar bribery. The harder 'news' station let the market down during a blizzard, an earthquake, an election, a few giant sports events and other occasions.

No one can suggest with a straight face that the original Merlin vision was to have pristine Class-B FM signals in three huge markets merely to anchor a national FM network for demos and marketing 25 years older on average than their original launch. The scrambling for the lifeboats wasn't in the plans. What *was* the original goal was getting WTOP-type money, pure and simple.

Didn't happen. Didn't even register on the cash register.

Unless the past year's misery was their version of stunting.

I can't speak for the other posters here. All I can suspect is that if I were the one in charge of this year-long mess with all that $84M backing, I not only wouldn't be working there anymore ; I'd be employed as a bouy or part of a ground system.
 
The question is how long will Cumulus and ARNN in other markets with an all-news operation end up in the tubes the way Merlin did?
Does this mean Cumulus gets WEMP or WIQI and put "News and Information" at some point?
 
Mike said:
they are popping Bottles over @ WCBS-AM AND 1010-wins
Click to expand...

Nah, they are probably just snickering... Once they heard the abysmal product, they most likely knew they had nothing to worry about.
 
rageradio said:
Wow that didn't last very long
Click to expand...
Any company that thinks they can go all news and get great ratings in anything under about 2 years is crazy. No all-news station blots to the top in one book (like Z-100's "worst to first.") That's poor management and poor planning.

I feel sorry for the news people who work there. They will have a very hard time finding another job.
 
WEMP got a .6 in the April PPM's, down from a .7. I don't think the station would ever get a one share in it's current state. As many have stated, New York did not need a third all news station. with WCBS and WINS in the format since the mid sixties, it was bound to fail. I'm sure Merlin was thinking..yeah, but it's on FM and will bring in younger listeners.

I always thought Merlin should have gone with a local talk format. I know it's been tried twice before on FM with WNEW and WFNY(WXRK), but a truly local presentation with a balance of liberal and conservative views might work, ala WMCA in the 70's.

Any other confirmation on this?
 
If they are to end All News on 101.9 FM..any speculation on what format will they flip to ? I would like to see the old WPIX 102 return...
 
recto101 said:
The question is how long will Cumulus and ARNN in other markets with an all-news operation end up in the tubes the way Merlin did?
Does this mean Cumulus gets WEMP or WIQI and put "News and Information" at some point?
Click to expand...

Correction Cumulus is hanging on to a 2.9 in the San Francisco Book for KGO-AM 810. Cumulus has nothing to worry about for now. The difference between Merlin and Cumulus is that Cumulus cross- promoted their "News and Information" brand for KGO-AM to a Disney O&O KGO-TV. Thats what stablilized ratings. Merlin on the other Hand did not do that. Hey Maybe WCBS and WINS can get an LMA agreement to put WCBS and WINS simulcast on 94.7 and 101.9.
 
MusicRadioUSA said:
If they are to end All News on 101.9 FM..any speculation on what format will they flip to ? I would like to see the old WPIX 102 return...
Click to expand...
. I think they could go Talk, just like their property in Philly. I'm hoping for Alternative's return to 101.9, but I think a political talk format is most likely.
 
Mac Daddy said:
Besides this article, is there any other source that can confirm this.
Click to expand...

This is important to keep in mind. His blog has had credibility issues. This specific posting is based more on speculation than insider info. The speculation is likely based on the direction Merlin Media has decided to take its recent acquisition, WWIQ Camden/Philadelphia.

MusicRadioUSA said:
If they are to end All News on 101.9 FM..any speculation on what format will they flip to ? I would like to see the old WPIX 102 return...
Click to expand...
Mac Daddy said:
I'd like to see the return of WYNY ;D
Click to expand...

There is exactly a 0% chance either of these are going to happen.
 
I am SO SICK of speculation. Pix 102 isn't coming back. WYNY isn't coming back. Disco 92 isn't coming back. CD101.9 isn't coming back. Buy yourselves a time machine or an iPod.
 
reelyreal said:
I am SO SICK of speculation. Pix 102 isn't coming back. WYNY isn't coming back. Disco 92 isn't coming back. CD101.9 isn't coming back. Buy yourselves a time machine or an iPod.
Click to expand...

I'm so disappointed to read your statement above.

I was going to suggest that maybe WNBC would return as well, with the reuniting of Imus and Capt Frank and Stern and Alan Bebe. Kevin Metheny could be PD and Randall Bongarten could be the GM.
 
jas2525 said:
reelyreal said:
I am SO SICK of speculation. Pix 102 isn't coming back. WYNY isn't coming back. Disco 92 isn't coming back. CD101.9 isn't coming back. Buy yourselves a time machine or an iPod.
Click to expand...

I'm so disappointed to read your statement above.

I was going to suggest that maybe WNBC would return as well, with the reuniting of Imus and Capt Frank and Stern and Alan Bebe. Kevin Metheny could be PD and Randall Bongarten could be the GM.
Click to expand...

...and WNBC had its own Time Machine ;D http://classicoldiesradio.com/wnbc_66_time_machine
 
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