CC Utica

[hmmm]

Reported in the trades this morning the deal in Utica is done as Eddie signs for the CC properties. Question now is what is he spinning and to whom? What will he keep and what formats and people will stay? The giant radio wheel begins to spin!

 

[getoutofradio]

What will he keep and what formats and people will stay?

Well we know BD is out of there........The market couldn't of asked for a bigger blessing. Head South BD, where no one knows you and you can con people all over again.........

I hear a couple sales people got offered positions - Mike Walsh (thats a no brainer. One of the NICEST guys you will ever meet) - ali. Other than that, I don't have a clue.

I feel bad for some but not all. Most of the real good ones got out while the gettin was good. They have moved on in life to bigger and better things. The bs of radio has made most people turn sour. Then again, working for BD made most people turn sour.

I think everyone should thank BD for playing Russian Roulette with their careers and livelyhood. I can assure you while he is sitting in his 200 thousand home he won't be worrying about any of the people he screwed.

 

[BobRoss]

From
http://www.9wsyr.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=01fb7d67-5e04-4078-8b20-e978a2064e0e&rss=112

Galaxy will take ownership of ClearChannel stations WOUR-FM (96.9), WUMX-FM (102.5), WIXT-AM (1230) and WRNY-AM (1350).

Roser Communications Network will purchase WSKS (97.9) and WSKU (105.5) from Galaxy. Educational Media Foundation will purchase from Galaxy WOKR-FM (93.5) and WRCK-FM (107.3).

So, in plain English...

Galaxy: WOUR, Mix, and 2 Sports Stars Stations
Roser: Kiss (both) ... ironic considering Roser used to own these sticks as Wow-FM
EMF: The River and Rock 107

"Educational Media Foundation" -- http://www.emfbroadcasting.com/ -- It's all religious stuff. There's already a "K-Love" in the area, leaving their "Air 1" format. Either way, if Ed is smart, he'll find a way to sell the WRCK calls to some other rock station before allowing them to go to waste on a non-rock format.

Also interesting, no mention of Galaxy properties WKLL (K-Rock) or WTLB-AM (Music Of Your Life), or the other 2 ClearChannel Sports Stars stations. Will Galaxy continue to run K-Rock against WOUR?

On a side note... guess it sucks to be Gary Spears today... or anyone else who jumped ship from Galaxy, thinking CC would be a better place to work.

 

[Adman4120]

Hello...I congratulate Ed. I told everyone he would be getting the properties and the last laugh so to speak, but everyone thought otherwise. He still has K-Rock, and look for WTLB to also become a 24-hours sports operation down the road. It might take till next spring, but it will happen. Made sense to get rid of WRCK given it's luke warm recpetion in the market place and previous problems with on air talent. Even though the same ownership will now have WOUR and MIX, those two stations have never had the same crisis.

Ken Roser gets Kiss and the other two Am stations of WADR and WUTQ which are not factors in the market. but, he probably made out good. If we all remember, he originally had the 97.9 and 105.5 frequencies with his WOW format, then sold them and made out quite well. Now he gets them back for peanuts. Great business move.

All of the employees have been taken into consideration for on-going employment, but some will not remain and some will. I believe Galaxy will not run anything from the current Mayro building in the future, since they would have to pay rent, while already owning their building in Washington Mills. They might have to run from downtown for the immediate future, until modifications can be made to house everything down Route 8.

I wish both Ken and Ed the best with their additional stations.

 

[karmstrong72]

I can see it now, well maybe not since I'm 6.5 hours away

WTLA, WTLB, WTLC, etc on the AM side

WOUR will become a semi simulcast of TK (to protect KROCK)
and Sunny 102 will move into the Utica Market on 102.5 trying to take a bite out of Lite's demo

I feel bad for the 107.3 frequency, do they really need that many religious stations in the U/R market

100.7/93.5/107.3 and What ever WJIV is running on....

 

[Adman4120]

I could not agree with you more. Galaxy has had some success with both TK99 and Sunny 102 in Syracuse, along with K-Rock, so it makes sense to at least try and duplicate what has worked in Syracuse, thus, not having to invest a ton of money on so many people to run Utica.

It would be nice to finally see some competition in the market, even though what works elsewhere, never seems to necessarily work in Utica Rome.

 

[doubly danger]

With the Sport Stars frequencies splitting in half...will there be an all sport station in Utica/Rome? What about the staff of the Sport Stars?

 

[Adman4120]

What is expected to happen is for Galaxy to turn WTLB-AM into a 24-hour sports station down the road and attempt to do local sports in addition to national syndicated programming and simulcast it on WRNY-1350 and WIXT-1230.

WTLB would be succesful, and WRNY will bring in some money for Rome sporting events, however, WRNY and WIXT hardly reach anywhere at night when most of the sporting events are played. Clear Channel has done a great job of not telling their current advertisers that their stations do not reach more than a couple of miles at night when they air the high school games. I'm sure if the advertisers knew this, they would drop like flys or demand their money back. Hard to swallow the fact that when a Rome game is on, half the city cannot even pick up the game. It's even worse in Utica on their current WUTQ with a big 2-watts of power at sunset.

In any case, the new local sports leader is now WIBX. With 5,000 watts, eveyone can pick up the games. Plus, last year, they enetered into an agreement with Fred Miller, who has his very succesful My Hometown Sports newspaper as a cross promotional piece. Last year WIBX did over 50 local high school football and basketball games. They gained a tremendous amount of recognition, fan support and school and business support. Fred Miller and Dave Peroni are two of the best play-by-play/color commentators around and put everyone else in the area to shame. The production aspect of these games is second to none. Just listen. Sounds like a pro game. Plus, Fred Miller now does Sportswatch on WIBX and has devoted his time to covering youngs kids, high school and college athletics. Bottom line...My Hometown Sports and WIBX are on the map for local sports and no one will outdue them. WIBX even picked up The New York State Legion Baseball Tournament this August. Obviously, the Sate committee knew where the beter coverage would come from. Of course there have been rumblings of some very very unprofessional conduct from some Clear Channel employees after learning their not doing the Legion Tournament this summer. Was told a reprimand was given, otherwise, a possible lawsuit was lurking.

As far as the staff at Sports Stars? Doesn't really matter, since they always showed up with a blank in the ratings book. Yes, a few personal friends would listen, but that's about it. They were only super stars in their own ego maniac minds.

 

[therealjm12]

Re: CC Utica -WRCK

There are going to be a lot of broken hearts from radio professionals that are in or have passed thru Utica. WRCK -that great signal going to pay to pray. What a travesty to a once great station.
Gotta admit though, it was a smart move for Ed. -to get rid of the competition.

 

[BobRoss]

Clear Channel has done a great job of not telling their current advertisers that their stations do not reach more than a couple of miles at night when they air the high school games. I'm sure if the advertisers knew this, they would drop like flys or demand their money back. Hard to swallow the fact that when a Rome game is on, half the city cannot even pick up the game.

To ClearChannel's defense -- and this is about the only defense I'll be offering -- the advertisers are just as much at fault. If they're not checking to make sure the spots are airing, they almost deserve to pay prime prices for a less-than-prime signal. I know if I were a business owner, I wouldn't rely on just what the station's telling me. If I can't hear those ads with my own radio, I would raise a big stink about it. Of course, my sales person would probably just tell me it was a "temporary" problem with the transmitter and it "doesn't normally happen" like that all the time... and offer me a few comps at 3am just to shut me up.

As far as the staff at Sports Stars? Doesn't really matter, since they always showed up with a blank in the ratings book. Yes, a few personal friends would listen, but that's about it. They were only super stars in their own ego maniac minds.

It would help if they actually showed up on time for the games they're covering, too. I've heard how the current "big" star (and I do mean big) arrived at the venue after the advertised start time -- just to start setting up the equipment. When you're in a position where you can't go anywhere but up to begin with... it really doesn't help you establish an audience when you're JUST walking in with your remote broadcast gear when the game's already in progress! But it's not the announcer's fault... he can do no wrong. That's right, it's Pizza Classic's fault for setting up shop between the Mayro Building and the Aud.

 

[Adman4120]

Hello Bob Ross...I do not believe I know you, but I wanted to compliment you on your posts. Theyare always informative and very well written. It is difficult sometimes to express opinions in a professional manner without just being blunt, but you do an excellent job and I wanted you to know that.

It is true, that the entire SportStar staff could conduct themselves a bit more professionally, but knowing the staff, it is something that will never happen. After WIBX contracted out with Fred Miller and his local sports newspaper "My Hometown Sports", to air local high school sporting events, I can honestly tell you, it has just taken off. If I did not see it with my own eyes and ears, I would have never believed how many people listened to the games. Fred, his paper and WIBX have created an exciting atmosphere for high school football and basketball that was never there before. Fans look at these games as big events now with increased attendance at the games. Kids are happy, parents and grand parents are thrilled, coaches and schools are estatic, and the fans just love it. Couple the the professional quality of the broadcasts, and you can see why WIBX now has a lock on high school sports. Just listen to some of the other stations games and listen to WIBX and you be the judge.

 

[funnyman]

The problem with the Sports Stars goes deeper than their signal. Mr. Peroni or Adman, whichever you prefer makes a point. The signals have always been difficult and CC was not going to put money into a station that had ZERO ratings on the board. When Fred and Gene were on the passion ran deep but the bull ran deep between management and the team leading to Fred being let go and developing the paper before moving to WIBX. The results were instantly seen as the revenue and passion for the product fell.

Adman I think you should point out that you are part of the Fred Miller play by play team. You guys do a good job on the air with the games and the biggest reason you are successful is that you are your own entity using paid airtime to be a self-promoting machine. CC doesn't allow ANY money to be spent on promotions on the FM's, let alone AM's in most markets. Fred and Gene (and you) were successful at CC when you were allowed to be yourselves. Changes in programming were made and yes as Bob Ross points out, people were/are very lazy. How many times has the Bullpen been on the air in the past 6 months? (must be the stop between home and Pizza Classic right Bob?). It had a huge effect on the product. The old CC days of having 5 board-ops and 4-5 play by play guys left as the CC monster collapsed and money was not allocated to do anything.


In the end I will say again you guys have a good thing going on but it is only fair to point out that the exciting atmosphere did once exist at CC. Fred and Gene, despite lousy signals, had the same vibe going on before the plug was pulled from them financial by the business/management team. The result of hard work has obviously paid off as WIBX now has the American Legion baseball tournament this year and not CC.