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Cincinnati Radio Station Performance

E

exradio

Here's my attempt at an analysis reflecting the Arbitron trends report the other day at http://www.radioandrecords.com/RRRatings. For low rated stations, the error may be larger than the share, but usually there's some truth to it.

I'm ignoring Dayton, rural, noncommercial, and religious stations. I will include WCIN even thought they're not in the ratings.

I'm grouping the stations by how they rated compared to how well I think they should have done given their signal, location, and competition. I'm also rating each station based on what I think of their effort to get ratings through programming, engineering, and marketing.

I'm familiar with the format and signal of all stations, but I have no significant inside knowledge and some of them I've barely listened to recently, so my analysis will surely be wrong in a number of cases.

I would define "effort" as "money well-spent". So, I might praise WLW for buying Reds rights, but condemn WRRM or WDBZ if they did the same thing, because their format or signal would not make this profitable.

OVERPERFORMING:
==============
WLW, VERY HIGH. (unbelievable signal for AM, but distant transmitter location still hurts penetration in downtown and NKY buildings.)
WRRM, HIGH
WUBE, HIGH
WOFX, AVERAGE
WIZF, HIGH (low power signal)
WKFS, AVERAGE (low power signal)
WSAI, HIGH (bad signal in terms of what people expect these days. If this station was on WLW or WKRC's signal I would rate the effort as LOW, because the potential would be so much greater.)

PERFORMING
==========
WEBN, HIGH
WGRR, HIGH (at one time I would have rated them very high. Winton at North Bend transmitter shows up in Dayton ratings.)
WVMX, AVERAGE (great demos I would bet)
WKRC, HIGH (if WLW did not exist and WKRC was exactly as it is, their share
would probably about 5.5 or 6 and I would rate their effort LOW, because I would expect them to fulfill the role of big full-service AM.)
WYGY, AVERAGE (Full power but Mason-based signal is disadvantage to WUBE in large parts of the Metro, though strong in rapid-growth northern suburbs.)
WAQZ, AVERAGE (weak signal in Kenwood, no more Stern)
WDBZ, HIGH (weak signal, but pretty good transmitter location, literally in Eden Park.)

UNDERPERFORMING
===============
WMOJ, AVERAGE
WKRQ, AVERAGE (this station should still make some money due to demos)
WPFB-FM, LOW. (High transmitter power but halfway between Cincinnati and Dayton. Mystery to me why this station is allowed to sit for years in this highly competitive format, where it has zero chance of even being a strong second in either city.) In spite of this, evidence for my effort rating may found in the share for tiny rural WSCH.
WCKY, VERY LOW. (Perhaps I should raise the ratins to "LOW" because of news and weather updates from WLW.) No local shows other than weekend infomercials.
WAOL/WOXY, VERY LOW. Maybe they have been waiting to get their signals sorted out before running these seriously.
WBOB, VERY LOW. Of course this format's gone now. I'm expecting HIGH effort from the new WDJO staff. (HIGH relative to signal potential. If they had a 50kW FM I would expect more full-time personalities and loads of promotion, and even then it would be less profitable than a more common FM format, which is why other formats are more common on FM.)
WCIN, LOW. This is a case of wasted effort, kind of a shrine to the WCIN of the 50's and 60's. Almost every kind of possible problem. Being sold after ownership transferred in receivership.
 
> Here's my attempt at an analysis reflecting the Arbitron
> trends report the other day at
> http://www.radioandrecords.com/RRRatings. For low rated
> stations, the error may be larger than the share, but
> usually there's some truth to it.
>
> I'm ignoring Dayton, rural, noncommercial, and religious
> stations. I will include WCIN even thought they're not in
> the ratings.
>
> I'm grouping the stations by how they rated compared to how
> well I think they should have done given their signal,
> location, and competition. I'm also rating each station
> based on what I think of their effort to get ratings through
> programming, engineering, and marketing.
>
> I'm familiar with the format and signal of all stations, but
> I have no significant inside knowledge and some of them I've
> barely listened to recently, so my analysis will surely be
> wrong in a number of cases.
>
> I would define "effort" as "money well-spent". So, I might
> praise WLW for buying Reds rights, but condemn WRRM or WDBZ
> if they did the same thing, because their format or signal
> would not make this profitable.
>
> OVERPERFORMING:
> ==============
> WLW, VERY HIGH. (unbelievable signal for AM, but distant
> transmitter location still hurts penetration in downtown and
> NKY buildings.)
> WRRM, HIGH
> WUBE, HIGH
> WOFX, AVERAGE
> WIZF, HIGH (low power signal)
> WKFS, AVERAGE (low power signal)
> WSAI, HIGH (bad signal in terms of what people expect these
> days. If this station was on WLW or WKRC's signal I would
> rate the effort as LOW, because the potential would be so
> much greater.)
>
> PERFORMING
> ==========
> WEBN, HIGH
> WGRR, HIGH (at one time I would have rated them very high.
> Winton at North Bend transmitter shows up in Dayton
> ratings.)
> WVMX, AVERAGE (great demos I would bet)
> WKRC, HIGH (if WLW did not exist and WKRC was exactly as it
> is, their share
> would probably about 5.5 or 6 and I would rate their effort
> LOW, because I would expect them to fulfill the role of big
> full-service AM.)
> WYGY, AVERAGE (Full power but Mason-based signal is
> disadvantage to WUBE in large parts of the Metro, though
> strong in rapid-growth northern suburbs.)
> WAQZ, AVERAGE (weak signal in Kenwood, no more Stern)
> WDBZ, HIGH (weak signal, but pretty good transmitter
> location, literally in Eden Park.)
>
> UNDERPERFORMING
> ===============
> WMOJ, AVERAGE
> WKRQ, AVERAGE (this station should still make some money due
> to demos)
> WPFB-FM, LOW. (High transmitter power but halfway between
> Cincinnati and Dayton. Mystery to me why this station is
> allowed to sit for years in this highly competitive format,
> where it has zero chance of even being a strong second in
> either city.) In spite of this, evidence for my effort
> rating may found in the share for tiny rural WSCH.
> WCKY, VERY LOW. (Perhaps I should raise the ratins to "LOW"
> because of news and weather updates from WLW.) No local
> shows other than weekend infomercials.
> WAOL/WOXY, VERY LOW. Maybe they have been waiting to get
> their signals sorted out before running these seriously.
> WBOB, VERY LOW. Of course this format's gone now. I'm
> expecting HIGH effort from the new WDJO staff. (HIGH
> relative to signal potential. If they had a 50kW FM I would
> expect more full-time personalities and loads of promotion,
> and even then it would be less profitable than a more common
> FM format, which is why other formats are more common on
> FM.)
> WCIN, LOW. This is a case of wasted effort, kind of a shrine
> to the WCIN of the 50's and 60's. Almost every kind of
> possible problem. Being sold after ownership transferred in
> receivership.
>
Exradio you have a better perspective on Cincinnati radio than one or two other folks who post here,good analysis.I enjoyed reading what you had to say.
 
> Here's my attempt at an analysis reflecting the Arbitron
> trends report the other day at
> http://www.radioandrecords.com/RRRatings. For low rated
> stations, the error may be larger than the share, but
> usually there's some truth to it.
>
> I'm ignoring Dayton, rural, noncommercial, and religious
> stations. I will include WCIN even thought they're not in
> the ratings.
>
> I'm grouping the stations by how they rated compared to how
> well I think they should have done given their signal,
> location, and competition. I'm also rating each station
> based on what I think of their effort to get ratings through
> programming, engineering, and marketing.
>
> I'm familiar with the format and signal of all stations, but
> I have no significant inside knowledge and some of them I've
> barely listened to recently, so my analysis will surely be
> wrong in a number of cases.
>
> I would define "effort" as "money well-spent". So, I might
> praise WLW for buying Reds rights, but condemn WRRM or WDBZ
> if they did the same thing, because their format or signal
> would not make this profitable.
>

WLW has had the Reds possibly since the existence of the station. Also you could put that programming on any station and it would be profitable in this town. Its a baseball town even if the team hasn't reflected a baseball team in recent years.


> OVERPERFORMING:
> ==============
> WLW, VERY HIGH. (unbelievable signal for AM, but distant
> transmitter location still hurts penetration in downtown and
> NKY buildings.)

I work downtown(well Camp Washington) and can pick up WLW fine in my office building. In my office I have XM though so haven't listened until this past Wednesday.

> WRRM, HIGH
> WUBE, HIGH
> WOFX, AVERAGE
> WIZF, HIGH (low power signal)
> WKFS, AVERAGE (low power signal)
> WSAI, HIGH (bad signal in terms of what people expect these
> days. If this station was on WLW or WKRC's signal I would
> rate the effort as LOW, because the potential would be so
> much greater.)

WKFS may have low power though the signal extends out very far. In car can listen past Carrolton to the West and Maysville to the east.


>
> PERFORMING
> ==========
> WEBN, HIGH
> WGRR, HIGH (at one time I would have rated them very high.
> Winton at North Bend transmitter shows up in Dayton
> ratings.)
> WVMX, AVERAGE (great demos I would bet)
> WKRC, HIGH (if WLW did not exist and WKRC was exactly as it
> is, their share
> would probably about 5.5 or 6 and I would rate their effort
> LOW, because I would expect them to fulfill the role of big
> full-service AM.)
> WYGY, AVERAGE (Full power but Mason-based signal is
> disadvantage to WUBE in large parts of the Metro, though
> strong in rapid-growth northern suburbs.)
> WAQZ, AVERAGE (weak signal in Kenwood, no more Stern)
> WDBZ, HIGH (weak signal, but pretty good transmitter
> location, literally in Eden Park.)
>
> UNDERPERFORMING
> ===============
> WMOJ, AVERAGE
> WKRQ, AVERAGE (this station should still make some money due
> to demos)
> WPFB-FM, LOW. (High transmitter power but halfway between
> Cincinnati and Dayton. Mystery to me why this station is
> allowed to sit for years in this highly competitive format,
> where it has zero chance of even being a strong second in
> either city.) In spite of this, evidence for my effort
> rating may found in the share for tiny rural WSCH.
> WCKY, VERY LOW. (Perhaps I should raise the ratins to "LOW"
> because of news and weather updates from WLW.) No local
> shows other than weekend infomercials.

Springer is/was local though is now syndicated nationally. Station is a give away either due to Clear Channel not wanting to appear a pawn of the Bush administration or the fact that Jesse Jackson is on Clear Channel's board even though Randy Michaels should be.

> WAOL/WOXY, VERY LOW. Maybe they have been waiting to get
> their signals sorted out before running these seriously.
> WBOB, VERY LOW. Of course this format's gone now. I'm
> expecting HIGH effort from the new WDJO staff. (HIGH
> relative to signal potential. If they had a 50kW FM I would
> expect more full-time personalities and loads of promotion,
> and even then it would be less profitable than a more common
> FM format, which is why other formats are more common on
> FM.)
> WCIN, LOW. This is a case of wasted effort, kind of a shrine
> to the WCIN of the 50's and 60's. Almost every kind of
> possible problem. Being sold after ownership transferred in
> receivership.
>

Good analysis though.
 
> WLW has had the Reds possibly since the existence of the
> station. Also you could put that programming on any station
> and it would be profitable in this town. Its a baseball
> town even if the team hasn't reflected a baseball team in
> recent years.
>

The Reds were on 550 WKRC for much of the 1950's-1960's during Waite Hoyt's
"Burger Beer Baseball Network" era.

If I'm not mistaken, the Reds were also on 1530 WCKY for a few years (during the Jim and Joe era) before going to "The Big One". <P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by RadioBill on 03/06/06 06:30 AM.</FONT></P>
 
> If I'm not mistaken, the Reds were also on 1530 WCKY for a
> few years (during the Jim and Joe era) before going to "The
> Big One".

I thunk the Reds were on WCKY once around 1985. I remember how there was a big stink because WCKY actually proposed changing its call letters to WRDZ (which stood for the Reds).
 
> > If I'm not mistaken, the Reds were also on 1530 WCKY for a
>
> > few years (during the Jim and Joe era) before going to
> "The
> > Big One".
>
> I thunk the Reds were on WCKY once around 1985. I remember
> how there was a big stink because WCKY actually proposed
> changing its call letters to WRDZ (which stood for the
> Reds).
>
Negative. The Reds were on WLW in '85. When WCKY made waves about getting the Reds, WLW's owners changed the calls of a sister station in Cleveland to WRDZ.
 
> > WLW has had the Reds possibly since the existence of the
> > station. Also you could put that programming on any
> station
> > and it would be profitable in this town. Its a baseball
> > town even if the team hasn't reflected a baseball team in
> > recent years.
> >
>
> The Reds were on 550 WKRC for much of the 1950's-1960's
> during Waite Hoyt's
> "Burger Beer Baseball Network" era.
>
> If I'm not mistaken, the Reds were also on 1530 WCKY for a
> few years (during the Jim and Joe era) before going to "The
> Big One".
>
You are correct,I listened to them on 55 WKRC with my Grandfather in the 50's & 60's and in the Mid 60's on WCKY.
 
> > > WLW has had the Reds possibly since the existence of the
>
> > > station. Also you could put that programming on any
> > station
> > > and it would be profitable in this town. Its a baseball
>
> > > town even if the team hasn't reflected a baseball team
> in
> > > recent years.
> > >
> >
> > The Reds were on 550 WKRC for much of the 1950's-1960's
> > during Waite Hoyt's
> > "Burger Beer Baseball Network" era.
> >
> > If I'm not mistaken, the Reds were also on 1530 WCKY for
> a
> > few years (during the Jim and Joe era) before going to
> "The
> > Big One".
> >
> You are correct,I listened to them on 55 WKRC with my
> Grandfather in the 50's & 60's and in the Mid 60's on WCKY.
>
The Reds in terms of Frequencey during the Radio Era have been on at one point or Time 550, 700, 1230, 1360 and 1530
 
> > > If I'm not mistaken, the Reds were also on 1530 WCKY for
> a
> >
> > > few years (during the Jim and Joe era) before going to
> > "The
> > > Big One".
> >
> > I thunk the Reds were on WCKY once around 1985. I remember
>
> > how there was a big stink because WCKY actually proposed
> > changing its call letters to WRDZ (which stood for the
> > Reds).
> >
> Negative. The Reds were on WLW in '85. When WCKY made waves
> about getting the Reds, WLW's owners changed the calls of a
> sister station in Cleveland to WRDZ.
>
From the Reds 2005 Media Guide
1924 WMH
1929 WLW
1931-1935 WFBE
1933-1944 WSAI
1934-1935 WKRC
1936-1942 WCPO
1942-1944 WKRC
1945-1954 WCPO
1955-1956 WSAI
1957-1963 WKRC
1964-1968 WCKY
1969-2006 WLW

form 1933-1944 the Reds were on at least 2 if Not 3 Stations at one time
 
> > Here's my attempt at an analysis reflecting the Arbitron
> > trends report the other day at
> > http://www.radioandrecords.com/RRRatings. For low rated
> > stations, the error may be larger than the share, but
> > usually there's some truth to it.
> >
> > I'm ignoring Dayton, rural, noncommercial, and religious
> > stations. I will include WCIN even thought they're not in
> > the ratings.
> >
> > I'm grouping the stations by how they rated compared to
> how
> > well I think they should have done given their signal,
> > location, and competition. I'm also rating each station
> > based on what I think of their effort to get ratings
> through
> > programming, engineering, and marketing.
> >
> > I'm familiar with the format and signal of all stations,
> but
> > I have no significant inside knowledge and some of them
> I've
> > barely listened to recently, so my analysis will surely be
>
> > wrong in a number of cases.
> >
> > I would define "effort" as "money well-spent". So, I might
>
> > praise WLW for buying Reds rights, but condemn WRRM or
> WDBZ
> > if they did the same thing, because their format or signal
>
> > would not make this profitable.
> >
> > OVERPERFORMING:
> > ==============
> > WLW, VERY HIGH. (unbelievable signal for AM, but distant
> > transmitter location still hurts penetration in downtown
> and
> > NKY buildings.)
> > WRRM, HIGH
> > WUBE, HIGH
> > WOFX, AVERAGE
> > WIZF, HIGH (low power signal)
> > WKFS, AVERAGE (low power signal)
> > WSAI, HIGH (bad signal in terms of what people expect
> these
> > days. If this station was on WLW or WKRC's signal I would
> > rate the effort as LOW, because the potential would be so
> > much greater.)
> >
> > PERFORMING
> > ==========
> > WEBN, HIGH
> > WGRR, HIGH (at one time I would have rated them very high.
>
> > Winton at North Bend transmitter shows up in Dayton
> > ratings.)
> > WVMX, AVERAGE (great demos I would bet)
> > WKRC, HIGH (if WLW did not exist and WKRC was exactly as
> it
> > is, their share
> > would probably about 5.5 or 6 and I would rate their
> effort
> > LOW, because I would expect them to fulfill the role of
> big
> > full-service AM.)
> > WYGY, AVERAGE (Full power but Mason-based signal is
> > disadvantage to WUBE in large parts of the Metro, though
> > strong in rapid-growth northern suburbs.)
> > WAQZ, AVERAGE (weak signal in Kenwood, no more Stern)
> > WDBZ, HIGH (weak signal, but pretty good transmitter
> > location, literally in Eden Park.)
> >
> > UNDERPERFORMING
> > ===============
> > WMOJ, AVERAGE
> > WKRQ, AVERAGE (this station should still make some money
> due
> > to demos)
> > WPFB-FM, LOW. (High transmitter power but halfway between
> > Cincinnati and Dayton. Mystery to me why this station is
> > allowed to sit for years in this highly competitive
> format,
> > where it has zero chance of even being a strong second in
> > either city.) In spite of this, evidence for my effort
> > rating may found in the share for tiny rural WSCH.
> > WCKY, VERY LOW. (Perhaps I should raise the ratins to
> "LOW"
> > because of news and weather updates from WLW.) No local
> > shows other than weekend infomercials.
> > WAOL/WOXY, VERY LOW. Maybe they have been waiting to get
> > their signals sorted out before running these seriously.
> > WBOB, VERY LOW. Of course this format's gone now. I'm
> > expecting HIGH effort from the new WDJO staff. (HIGH
> > relative to signal potential. If they had a 50kW FM I
> would
> > expect more full-time personalities and loads of
> promotion,
> > and even then it would be less profitable than a more
> common
> > FM format, which is why other formats are more common on
> > FM.)
> > WCIN, LOW. This is a case of wasted effort, kind of a
> shrine
> > to the WCIN of the 50's and 60's. Almost every kind of
> > possible problem. Being sold after ownership transferred
> in
> > receivership.
> >
> Exradio you have a better perspective on Cincinnati radio
> than one or two other folks who post here,good analysis.I
> enjoyed reading what you had to say.

DITTO
 
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