CHR IN MOBILE, POST-WABB

[acesup]

Lots of theories have been floated, but I'd look to see 96.1 and 107.3 swap frequencies. 96.1 will become "96-1 All the Hits", a la CC's "93.1 All the Hits" in Las Vegas. Another thought that has crossed my mind is CC operating the 97.5 signal (they've been in bed with EMF in other markets) and letting EMF operate one of their signals. If Cumulus doesn't flip 104.1, I would be extremely surprised. Mobile won't be without a CHR in-market for long.

 

[Arby Tron]

Here is something interesting, the intellectual property of WABB is not part of the EMF sale. So theoretically some operator could come on with the station name and then get WABB-FM call letters.

 

[xmusicmatt]

Lots of theories have been floated, but I'd look to see 96.1 and 107.3 swap frequencies. 96.1 will become "96-1 All the Hits", a la CC's "93.1 All the Hits" in Las Vegas. Another thought that has crossed my mind is CC operating the 97.5 signal (they've been in bed with EMF in other markets) and letting EMF operate one of their signals. If Cumulus doesn't flip 104.1, I would be extremely surprised. Mobile won't be without a CHR in-market for long.

I am pretty sure that EMF will be installing "KLove" on 97.5... Typically their trades with Clear Channel have been when it comes to Clear Channel needing a Translator for an under performing AM.

 

[Dr voicetrack]

Call letters are not intellectual property. They're a government mandated identifier. You stop using them, they're up for grabs. The whole intellectual property is a non-issue. They didn't really have anything you would want or wish you had. Jingle package was okay at best. Voice guy is a good radio guy, but never really sounded good as a station voice. He was on because he was cheap. Any features they had are done by every other CHR in the country in some way. Nothing intellectual about the people running the joint the past couple years....

 

[passtheword]

No one could get a hold of the WABB-FM calls anyway, unless the AM were to change calls. Since the WABB call letters are already in use on 1480, whoever wanted the -FM calls would have to get permission from the Dittmans in order to share them. I don't think the Dittmans would be too keen on that. I had wondered why the intellectual property for WABB-FM wasn't sold separately. Since it wasn't mentioned until now, I was assuming that the intellectual property was a "package deal" with the physical assets and maybe the reason being was that the Dittmans knew EMF was going to change the format, anyway. They might not have wanted another party to have access to what Bernie Dittman worked his whole life putting together.

 

[macab4490]

Lots of theories have been floated, but I'd look to see 96.1 and 107.3 swap frequencies. 96.1 will become "96-1 All the Hits", a la CC's "93.1 All the Hits" in Las Vegas. Another thought that has crossed my mind is CC operating the 97.5 signal (they've been in bed with EMF in other markets) and letting EMF operate one of their signals. If Cumulus doesn't flip 104.1, I would be extremely surprised. Mobile won't be without a CHR in-market for long.

That would be nice, or 96.1 Radio Now or Radio Now 96.1 - and follow the Jacksonville theme.. CHR needs a fresh new look for the Mobile/Pensacola market. If people heard like The Beatles on 107.3, people might think "My 107.3" is back on the air, haha.

 

[Poledo]

You don't think Pamal might want to get into the game with 94.1? It's been under performing since hurricane Ivan messed up the facilities.

96.1 flipping with 107.3 would seriously hurt the reception of The Rocket in Florida, where it has very good ratings. 107.3's signal is the worst of the bi-market Mobile-Pensacola signals.

Clear Channel's stations all appear stable. 95KSJ isn't going anywhere, 99.9 wouldn't dream of flipping. TK101 and The Rocket will stay around but I suppose if one has to move to 107.3 to put CHR on a good signal...

I think the best bet would be on Cumulus' 100.7 or 104.1. They currently have similar formats that could be merged together. Cumulus will get involved somehow, some way. Cumulus' Z96 covers Pensacola pretty well. They could put a LOCAL Mobile only CHR on 98.3 and move WDLT (Mobile's #1 or #2 rated radio station) to a 100kw signal. Why not both Cumulus? WDLT and a new CHR on 100.7 and 104.1 with WGOK moving from AM to FM 98.3? Make a small shake up a major shake up and see what blossoms.

 

[tomservo]

96.1 flipping with 107.3 would seriously hurt the reception of The Rocket in Florida, where it has very good ratings. 107.3's signal is the worst of the bi-market Mobile-Pensacola signals.

Believe me, reception of 107.3 is better in Pensacola than it is in Mobile. But whatever they would retain in P'cola by moving The Rocket there, they'd lose as much or more in Mobile. It would be a tough call to make.

I think the best bet would be on Cumulus' 100.7 or 104.1. They currently have similar formats that could be merged together. Cumulus will get involved somehow, some way. Cumulus' Z96 covers Pensacola pretty well. They could put a LOCAL Mobile only CHR on 98.3 and move WDLT (Mobile's #1 or #2 rated radio station) to a 100kw signal. Why not both Cumulus? WDLT and a new CHR on 100.7 and 104.1 with WGOK moving from AM to FM 98.3? Make a small shake up a major shake up and see what blossoms.

It'll be interesting to see how this all shakes out, but the WDLT thing probably isn't in the cards. It does fantastic covering its core market (the city of Mobile). Putting it on the big stick would bring in Pensacola, and put it in competition with WRRX… which is also owned by Cumulus. As is, the WDLT/WRRX combo hit the demo in the urban areas at the expense of Baldwin County, where there aren't many people who are in their target audience. Actually, 106.1 and 98.3 together do manage to slice Baldwin in half more or less, so there's no real lack of choice here for urban AC. Plus, with two small signals that's twice the advertising time that can be sold.

Going CHR on 100.7 or 104.1, on the other hand, is a possibility. But they haven't made inroads in the past, and probably wouldn't do much better now because of poor execution. CHR is, imho, as much personality-driven as it is music-driven, and Cumulus isn't really known for being personality-friendly. They seem like the types to pipe in voicetracking from Dallas or somewhere and call it a day.

 

[Poledo]

How many stations would CC have to pay off to get 107.3 up to a full C or C0? 107.1 The Monkey in Biloxi would have to find a new frequency or go dark, 107.7 in Andalusia may have to reduce power, would WRBE 106.9 in Lucedale be in the way?

It sure would be nice if Clear Channel could work out a trade with Cumulus 107.3 + cash or another small market station for 100.7. Problem Solved.

There is precedence, CC traded 104.1 to Cumulus for 104.9 + cash (I assume).

If for some odd reason Cumulus doesn't jump into CHR I could see Pamal giving it a try on 94.1... opening up a new AC format hole for Cumulus to try on 100.7. I just hope my nightmare of 92Zew flipping to CHR doesn't come true. How well is 106.5 doing with talk?

 

[Poledo]

96.1 flipping with 107.3 would seriously hurt the reception of The Rocket in Florida, where it has very good ratings. 107.3's signal is the worst of the bi-market Mobile-Pensacola signals.

Believe me, reception of 107.3 is better in Pensacola than it is in Mobile. But whatever they would retain in P'cola by moving The Rocket there, they'd lose as much or more in Mobile. It would be a tough call to make.

That's why I included TK101 in my post, I think TK listeners would be more willing to put up with a bad signal than The Rocket's listeners.

 

[Hotseat]

Why not 1480 playing top 40 feeding a translator? Got nothing to lose in ratings. Keeps the streak alive.

 

[tomservo]

Why not 1480 playing top 40 feeding a translator? Got nothing to lose in ratings. Keeps the streak alive.

There are certainly plenty of unused translators sitting around Mobile. Nice idea.

 

[Poledo]

Yeah, nice idea on the translator. Any chance EMF owns one around Mobile to sell to WABB? A 250 watt WABB from that tall building downtown would make a nice combo with one of the local broadcasters. Could always go old school WABB if CHR doesn't fly.

Since nothing is happening with the local translators I'd kinda given up on them. In Pensacola ESPN 1450 still doesn't have 101.1 on the air, WRNE still isn't on FM and ADX hasn't done anything with the two they appear to own. Fort Walton's 94.5 translator for 1400 is just a big mess. Gulf Shores/Orange Beach translators have probably been deleted by now. Foley is the only place benefiting from a translator.

 

[tomservo]

I don't think EMF owns any translators here. The FCC put their muddy boots down on the big hop scheme to bring in distant translators and all the Pensacola moves have gotten caught up in that. They're pretty much stuck because they were late to the party.

Besides WHEP in Foley, WBHY-AM in Mobile has theirs, which runs 24/7 unlike the AM station. I haven't been into the city lately to see if they ever did anything with that highly directional pattern that's listed on their file but it seems to be running at licensed power or better now. I can pick it up on most car radios here in Foley and it's pretty strong in Spanish Fort.

Even with moves basically frozen, there are a couple of good commercial band translators in Mobile that are just going to waste. One on 95.7 could possibly be moved to a better location. It's owned by WASG but off the air. There's one on 99.5 that is off as far as I know. That's another channel with good potential IMHO. Then there's 106.9 in Fairhope, which I can't figure out for the life of me why WABF hasn't snatched it up, what with their non-existent night signal and all. The Gulf Shores 100.3 and Loxley 103.7 translators are still licensed but silent. I have a feeling the potential for the Gulf Shores outlet is severely limited. 100.3 The Ticket is pretty strong along the coat and any interference a translator might cause to their signal in Pensacola would probably be met with a takedown request. As I've learned, a station needn't be complaining about interference in their primary coverage area for them to have authority over translators. It's stupid, but them's the rules. And I'm sure the owners of Sunny 105.7 would squawk over any new competition to their captive local audience.

 

[macab4490]

107.3 Hit Music Now has no local talent (except for mornings but they usually just play music) that could NOT bring any more listeners when WABB was on air which is unfortunate. It just does not look 107.3 will be the primary CHR leader on the Gulf Coast. Who know's how long they will be on. Yep, it's going to a bit frustrating when on March 1st, young adults/teens when riding or driving in their cars to and from school/work, they have nothing really to listen too because they were so dependent on WABB.

That's why it would be smart for Cumulus to re-launch a CHR format on either 94.1/100.7 and/or 104.1.
IF 107.3 wants to stay on air, they need to do something that brings local flavor, not just dj's feeding from Los Angeles.

 

[rubberchicken]

That's why it would be smart for Cumulus to re-launch a CHR format on either 94.1/100.7

One tiny problem: Cumulus would have to BUY 94.1 first, seeing as they don't own it. Pamal does.
Personally, I'd love to see Pamal pick up the WABB-FM calls and brand for 94.1
They own WSPK and WFLY in New York. Both stations score big numbers book after book and have full staffs.
It wouldn't shock me a bit if Clear Channel moved CHR to 96.1 either.

 

[Poledo]

Personally, I'd love to see Pamal pick up the WABB-FM calls and brand for 94.1
They own WSPK and WFLY in New York. Both stations score big numbers book after book and have full staffs.
It wouldn't shock me a bit if Clear Channel moved CHR to 96.1 either.

Now if Clear Channel did move CHR to 96.1, which seems very possible right now, I wonder if Pamal would flip 94.1 to Classic Rock? That could be cool, a new classic rocker with a different playlist than what 96.1 has been playing... forever. With 107.3 having an inferior signal it could make a nice home for a new AAA station to complement TK101, since AAA or Alt Rock listeners are probably the most likely to put up with a sub-par signal.

I think the best case scenario, variety wise at least, would be for ADX (Cat Country 98.7) to buy the two Pamal stations (94.1 & 102.7), getting Pamal completely out of the radio business in Florida seeing as they just sold off the Gainesville/Ocala cluster. This would form a four station, local Pensacola owned/operated, cluster and would free up 98.7 for a new format when they consolidated the two 100kw country stations onto the heritage 102.7 signal.

Another idea just popped into my head... Cumulus could flip 100.7 to CHR and push it hard while at the same time moving a WGOK simulcast to 104.1 to compete with EMF's new station on 97.5. That could produce some interesting results. Depending on the results of a WGOK simulcast on 104.1 they could choose to keep it there forever or let it drop back to the AMs in about a year and launch another format on 104.1 to fill whatever hole is left in the market. This may be able to end the curse that 104.1's had since Cumulus bought it to kill off the Hip Hop competition to 93 BLX.

Just brainstorming with other people's money.

 

[MarioMania]

What FM translator would WABB-AM get to put CHR back on FM??

 

[macab4490]

Well, in a reality - none of this is going to happen for quite some time except for the small possibility CHR coming back to either/or 94.1,100.7 and/or 104.1. For the time being, 107.3 Hit Music Now will be the primary CHR station and 93BLX will (continue) to be your Urban/Hip Hop Station.

 

[MarioMania]

I hope K-Love doesn't take over in the Bay Area,

They only have 87.7 in San Jose