CC Rumors Are Flying

[RoddyFreeman]

I've written in my blog a few times that El Patron (105.3) and Wild (105.7) should switch frequencies. The reasons are 105.3 has a weak signal in Gwinnett, the largest county for Hispanics, and 105.7 has a strong signal there. On the other hand, 105.7 has a touch-and-go signal south of the top-end Perimeter, where most of its potential listeners live. And 105.3 booms in across Atlanta at least through Sandy Springs. For perspective, take a look at WLKQ's ratings (a Gwinnett signal) versus WBZY's ratings (a market-wide signal). Then take a look at Wild's ratings versus the former Beat.

Melissa Forrest, the President/Market Manager, has vehemently disagreed with me. She makes the case that Wild is the #2 station in Hispanic ratings (after El Patron), that Hispanic ad dollars have dried up, and that 105.3's coverage map suggests an Urban station if a change were warranted.

This week, I've heard rumors from reliable sources and not about my suggestion. The rumors may or may not be true. Who knows? But this is what I'm hearing:

1. El Patron to move from 105.3 to 92.3 and 96.7.
2. WGST to move from the 92.3 translator to 105.3.

With an election year coming, and all the dollars political spends on talk stations, this could be true. Then again, it might not be.

 

[jabba17]

So Wild loses a simul partner? I'd put Patron on the 92.3 translator (and an HD signal) and be done with it.

Logic would also seem to indicate a bigger merry-go-round:

1) Wild to 105.3 (and maybe the new Suwanee translator)
2) WGST to 105.7 and 96.7
3) Patron to an HD signal and 92.3

Even better: Project (back) to 105.3 (bring back the "Buzz" moniker) and Wild to 96.1.

 

[RoddyFreeman]

So Wild loses a simul partner? I'd put Patron on the 92.3 translator (and an HD signal) and be done with it.

Logic would also seem to indicate a bigger merry-go-round:

1) Wild to 105.3 (and maybe the new Suwanee translator)
2) WGST to 105.7 and 96.7
3) Patron to an HD signal and 92.3

Even better: Project (back) to 105.3 (bring back the "Buzz" moniker) and Wild to 96.1.

I agree with you on 1, 2 and 3. Just reporting what I'm hearing.

 

[carolinaradio]

92.3 is not enough for WGST on FM.

Clear Channel has really been ramping up their efforts to put talkers on FM - could 640 on 92.3 just be a placeholder? To compete, WGST HAS to be on at least 105.3.

 

[TheMusicMan]

If this does come to fruition, why did they bother putting WGST on 92.3 as an intermediate step?

Merely slapping WGST on a stronger FM signal will not suffice against WSB. When both News/Talkers were on the AM dial, WSB killed them. The only difference is that now the battle would take place on the FM dial - why will the outcome be any different?

I'd love if Wild (or a a CHR variant) got one of the 100kw'ers somehow, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[RoddyFreeman]

If this does come to fruition, why did they bother putting WGST on 92.3 as an intermediate step?

Merely slapping WGST on a stronger FM signal will not suffice against WSB. When both News/Talkers were on the AM dial, WSB killed them. The only difference is that now the battle would take place on the FM dial - why will the outcome be any different?

I'd love if Wild (or a a CHR variant) got one of the 100kw'ers somehow, but I'm not holding my breath.

WGST-AM is a daytime signal for most of the market, and that's a huge disadvantage. So I don't think comparing WSB-AM and WGST-AM is apples to apples. I agree the ratings on a WGST FM signal would not come close to WSB. But WGST had at least some marketable numbers when it simulcast on 105.7. Billings dropped off a cliff when 105.7 was taken away.

 

[carolinaradio]

A stable signal would help WGST. The nighttime issues hurt 'GST badly.

I don't get why they would put WGST on 92.3 if they planned to put it somewhere else, either, unless like I said, it was some sort of 'placeholder' for a bigger upcoming change. That probably doesn't make any sense. Maybe they're testing the waters for having it on FM at 92.3. I just don't think a translator is going to have that big of a difference.

 

[jabba17]

A stable signal would help WGST. The nighttime issues hurt 'GST badly.

I don't get why they would put WGST on 92.3 if they planned to put it somewhere else, either, unless like I said, it was some sort of 'placeholder' for a bigger upcoming change. That probably doesn't make any sense. Maybe they're testing the waters for having it on FM at 92.3. I just don't think a translator is going to have that big of a difference.

92.3 was unlistenable from Duluth to Roswell today. I might have been in a bad spot in Roswell, but it definitely wasn't listenable from Johns Creek eastward.

 

[ShawtyBlack_ATL]

I've written in my blog a few times that El Patron (105.3) and Wild (105.7) should switch frequencies. The reasons are 105.3 has a weak signal in Gwinnett, the largest county for Hispanics, and 105.7 has a strong signal there. On the other hand, 105.7 has a touch-and-go signal south of the top-end Perimeter, where most of its potential listeners live. And 105.3 booms in across Atlanta at least through Sandy Springs. For perspective, take a look at WLKQ's ratings (a Gwinnett signal) versus WBZY's ratings (a market-wide signal). Then take a look at Wild's ratings versus the former Beat.

Melissa Forrest, the President/Market Manager, has vehemently disagreed with me. She makes the case that Wild is the #2 station in Hispanic ratings (after El Patron), that Hispanic ad dollars have dried up, and that 105.3's coverage map suggests an Urban station if a change were warranted.

This week, I've heard rumors from reliable sources and not about my suggestion. The rumors may or may not be true. Who knows? But this is what I'm hearing:

1. El Patron to move from 105.3 to 92.3 and 96.7.
2. WGST to move from the 92.3 translator to 105.3.

With an election year coming, and all the dollars political spends on talk stations, this could be true. Then again, it might not be.

105.3 an Urban signal? Haven't we heard that before??? If that's the case WiLD should've been placed there, but WiLD doesn't skew as Urban as THE BEAT did.

 

[atlmike]

This market does not need another urban station. I don't understand why they won't give WILD a stronger, single signal... either move WILD to 105.3 or 96.1. WILD fills a huge gap in this market and if it had a better signal, it would probably be more popular.

 

[Wildstyle K]

LOL at all these suggestions suggestions suggestions......

Don't you guys get that if the felt any of these things could work, it would've ALREADY happened? ;D

This whole thread reminds me of THIS:

So are there any other options???

If someone at CC felt they could sell more advertising with Wild on a 96.1 or 94.9: it would have already have happened.

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm not convinced that this is true. Over time, I've noticed there are always about 1 or 2 people in this section who always say "if they felt / thought / believed...etc.... ... it would've already happened."

Yet, in pretty much every section of this board I've been to in the past, I've seen so many suggestions dropped about things that SHOULD happen in certain markets / situations, and sometimes those suggested things would eventually & coincidentally unfold exactly how it was suggested after a bunch of other "trial & error" format and signal tests were tried, then it would become successful, and you'd see the people who suggested it saying "what took them so long?!?"

I also remember back when it was a "sin" to present the idea of B98.5 modernizing their format, all because everyone thought "if they felt it could work, then they would've done it already." Well, it actually ended up happening later. I mean, am I supposed to believe that B98.5 could've never successfully tweaked and updated themselves any other time in this world except for around mid 2011? If it happened in November 2010, would it have automatically become a failure?

And how long did it take for Star 94 to finally just go straight Hot AC? Even I felt that that could've been done WAAAAY before it happened (along with many others here) and yet, it still took quite a while before someone who "felt it could be done" to make it "already happen."

In life, I've noticed that many people typically think about, discover, and act on possibilities rather later than sooner. Unless an idea is just completely outrageous and absurd, I have my doubts whenever I hear or see "if someone felt something could've been done, it would've already happened" in any circumstance.

Well........................................................................ All I can say is "GOOD LUCK"

Rhythmic Top 40 and electro dance fans, record a bunch of WWVA cassettes for playback and keep a stack of them just in case... (meanwhile, we're gettin' a 4th chr station in Phoenix in January).

 

[Mr_Winston-Salem]

The 92.3 translator did sound good when it was at full power. I think it's back down to half power.

WLKQ will soon have a .25 kW translator on Stone Mountain at 101.1. I think it's expected to test in January 2012. This should have an interesting impact on Spanish radio next year.

 

[HGR1290]

It is far more likely that the 92.3 translator is being influenced by varying levels of propagation of co-channels rather than Clear Channel running the power up and down for no good reason.

 

[Mr_Winston-Salem]

The translator is directional and must run at half power to test and will later increase power to .99 kW. The WLKQ translator at 101.1 is also directional and will test at half power. One day last week, 92.3 was at full power and had similar signal strength to the former 99.1 translator, which was also .99 kW.

 

[RoddyFreeman]

The 92.3 translator did sound good when it was at full power. I think it's back down to half power.

WLKQ will soon have a .25 kW translator on Stone Mountain at 101.1. I think it's expected to test in January 2012. This should have an interesting impact on Spanish radio next year.

Where are you getting the information that 101.1 will be owned by Davis (WLKQ)? I just spoke with the GM, and he claims he knows nothing about it.

 

[taylorengineer]

I thought 790 The Zone had the Stone Mountain translator??
There was some talk about that a while back.......
As for 92.3. Even if they were at half power you would never notice. In terms of power that is 3 db and not really noticeable. 99 and 49 seem to be a big numerical difference but in terms of power it's really not much at all.
BTW.....in that direction I think I heard the CC engineering guys say it only puts out 7 or so watts in the vertical plane.(I may be wrong)
The signal is nulled fairly deep in the northeastern direction. Usually directional FM antenna create even deeper nulls than are required in some directions - this is probably the case with the 92.3 antenna.
Interference on this channel is terrible....it gets clobbered from several different directions.
The only Atlanta translator that's really great is the 97.9 signal. That one is worth millions of $$$. The other Cumulus signals are OK. All the others are almost not worth the bother.

 

[secondchoice]

I thought 790 The Zone had the Stone Mountain translator??
There was some talk about that a while back.......
As for 92.3. Even if they were at half power you would never notice. In terms of power that is 3 db and not really noticeable. 99 and 49 seem to be a big numerical difference but in terms of power it's really not much at all.
BTW.....in that direction I think I heard the CC engineering guys say it only puts out 7 or so watts in the vertical plane.(I may be wrong)
The signal is nulled fairly deep in the northeastern direction. Usually directional FM antenna create even deeper nulls than are required in some directions - this is probably the case with the 92.3 antenna.
Interference on this channel is terrible....it gets clobbered from several different directions.
The only Atlanta translator that's really great is the 97.9 signal. That one is worth millions of $$$. The other Cumulus signals are OK. All the others are almost not worth the bother.

Is: the CP:
http://www.radio-locator.com/info/W265AV-FX
built out yet?

 

[HGR1290]

I think it is built and on air, it was running the WCCV 91.7 programming the last time I heard it

 

[Mr_Winston-Salem]

I know doubling the power doesn't double the coverage area (inverse square law in physics), but does take the signal from faint to listenable on my radio.

The 92.3 translator did sound good when it was at full power. I think it's back down to half power.

WLKQ will soon have a .25 kW translator on Stone Mountain at 101.1. I think it's expected to test in January 2012. This should have an interesting impact on Spanish radio next year.

Where are you getting the information that 101.1 will be owned by Davis (WLKQ)? I just spoke with the GM, and he claims he knows nothing about it.

This is what an application for renewal said.

Section V - TO BE COMPLETED BY FM AND TV TRANSLATOR AND LOW POWER TV LICENSEES ONLY
1. and 2. [Station Info and Status]

Low Power Applicants: Answer Question 2a only.

1. Station Information:
Call Sign

Facility Identifier

Area Licensed to Serve
W266BW 147273 City:WINDER State:GA
2. Operational Status:
a. Silent Station: Licensee certifies that the station is currently on the air.
Yes No
b. Rebroadcast Status: Licensee certifies that the station is currently rebroadcasting the signal of an FM, AM, TV or LPTV station.

If Yes, identify the station being broadcast:
Yes No
N/A
Call Sign Facility Identifier
Area Licensed to Serve
WLKQ-FM 36350 City:BUFORD State:GA
c. Rebroadcast Consent: Licensee certifies that it has obtained written authority from the licensee of the primary station identified above for retransmitting primary station's programming. Yes No
N/A

https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/w...t=25&appn=101469982&formid=303&fac_num=147273

 

[RoddyFreeman]

It sure does say WLKQ. I emailed the link to Brian, the GM. He'll probably still deny knowing anything about it, but we'll see. Thanks for posting that.