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MsMusicRadio
Guest
Maybe somebody can restore WKHK, 107.3, and 96.5 to former glory as something other than robo jukeboxes
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This will be incredibly interesting. Four FM's, two stable, and two that are still looking for tractions after changes....
WKHK (K95): Undisputed country king for nearly 25 years now. I do hear "local" jocks on there in off-hours (weekends, etc), but, of course, they could easily be voicetracked.....
WKLR (96.5): Will the new owner decide to stay on with John Boy and Billy....otherwise to me it's a stable, but very, very generic, bland classic rock outlet....
WURV (103.7): This station has been snake bit for a decade now. It meandered through the 2000s with an identity crisis, then morphed into its current "The River" format to, frankly, disappointing rating results. But if the ad contracts are rolling in with the numbers they do get in demos, then who cares? This is a monster signal, and the one I hope a local group could acquire. There is a lot of history with this signal; I'd like to see some more.
WHTI (100.9): First rhythmic, then straight CHR with a heavy dose of Q94 bashing. It's not working. And why bash Elvis Duran for several months only to debut YOUR OWN morning show based in the New York City region?? The other jocks on the air, no personality, non-descript.....
This could be the biggest shake-up in Richmond radio since Randall Bloomquist butchered the heart out of WRVA for Clear Channel in 2000. Let the speculation begin....
WKHK (K95): Undisputed country king for nearly 25 years now. I do hear "local" jocks on there in off-hours (weekends, etc), but, of course, they could easily be voicetracked.....
WKLR (96.5): Will the new owner decide to stay on with John Boy and Billy....otherwise to me it's a stable, but very, very generic, bland classic rock outlet....
WURV (103.7): This station has been snake bit for a decade now. It meandered through the 2000s with an identity crisis, then morphed into its current "The River" format to, frankly, disappointing rating results. But if the ad contracts are rolling in with the numbers they do get in demos, then who cares? This is a monster signal, and the one I hope a local group could acquire. There is a lot of history with this signal; I'd like to see some more.
WHTI (100.9): First rhythmic, then straight CHR with a heavy dose of Q94 bashing. It's not working. And why bash Elvis Duran for several months only to debut YOUR OWN morning show based in the New York City region?? The other jocks on the air, no personality, non-descript.....
This could be the biggest shake-up in Richmond radio since Randall Bloomquist butchered the heart out of WRVA for Clear Channel in 2000. Let the speculation begin....
M
MsMusicRadio
Guest
These sales could really alter the face of Richmond radio. Does anybody care what might happen? i would like to see a true classic hits station like the CBS model with four decades of music and live jocks 24/7. Maybe moving the WLEE calls to FM too.
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nocomradio
Guest
I'd like to see something change in Richmond. Whenever I point my Yagi that way, the selection is pretty boring. Of the four stations in question, 96.5 is the only one I listen to with any regularity. It sounds much like any other struggling Classic Rocker out there in any other market unfortunately though.
The River is OK, but listen for a few days and you've heard it all.
Something that had a few more locals on air, no droning endless satellite fed morning show like John Boy, and maybe covered some local events from time to time. On location shows, etc. I've always like Charlottesville's 97.5 3WV for that reason. Why Richmond doesn't have something similar is a mystery. Heck, 97.5 3WV does more coverage of Richmond events that the locals do.
The River is OK, but listen for a few days and you've heard it all.
Something that had a few more locals on air, no droning endless satellite fed morning show like John Boy, and maybe covered some local events from time to time. On location shows, etc. I've always like Charlottesville's 97.5 3WV for that reason. Why Richmond doesn't have something similar is a mystery. Heck, 97.5 3WV does more coverage of Richmond events that the locals do.
As to who may pick these up......
1) IMO, they will probably be bought as a cluster, dashing the hopes of those of us hoping one or two (maybe all??) would be scooped up by LOCAL owners and inject some much-needed LOCAL flavor back into Richmond radio. There's not one radio station in Richmond anymore that is TRULY local.....
2) It all depends on who is willing to fork over $$$ right now, or, if there's a company out there that may be willing to swap properties in a larger market that Cox currently serves, in line with their new corporate strategy.
3) The WORST case scenario would be to hear Cumulus is buying them. I'm told the only evil worse than Clear Channel in radio is Cumulus. I've experienced the evil of CC first-hand. If Cumulus is worse, I wouldn't wish their presence in Richmond on my worst enemy.
4) Wonder if Sinclair down in Tidewater has the wherewithal to buy them?
1) IMO, they will probably be bought as a cluster, dashing the hopes of those of us hoping one or two (maybe all??) would be scooped up by LOCAL owners and inject some much-needed LOCAL flavor back into Richmond radio. There's not one radio station in Richmond anymore that is TRULY local.....
2) It all depends on who is willing to fork over $$$ right now, or, if there's a company out there that may be willing to swap properties in a larger market that Cox currently serves, in line with their new corporate strategy.
3) The WORST case scenario would be to hear Cumulus is buying them. I'm told the only evil worse than Clear Channel in radio is Cumulus. I've experienced the evil of CC first-hand. If Cumulus is worse, I wouldn't wish their presence in Richmond on my worst enemy.
4) Wonder if Sinclair down in Tidewater has the wherewithal to buy them?
Here's a simple reality: ANYONE who buys radio stations today won't have a lot of money leftover to hire lots of local staff. That's just the reality of the situation. No one has that much money, especially if we're talking smaller, regional owners. It's not a whole lot better with the larger companies, because ad rates haven't grown in five years, but at least they have bigger resources to draw on. But a local company will have debt payments to deal with immediately, and they're a lot more hand-to-mouth than the bigger companies. The one thing Cox was not a fan of was national syndication. However, any new owner has to consider it as an alternative to costly local staffing.
R
Radio-X
Guest
ddsparxx said:
WVGO was locally owned (sorta). It was Richmond's HFS!
A group of five Richmonders got together, pooled some cash together with what was then Benchmark Communications (later ABS, AM/FM, then Clear Channel) and purchased 106.5 around 1991 from the original owners of the station when it signed back on as a commercial station in '88. The station broadcasted from Benchmark's studios in Midlothian (which I think still holds Cox Radio to this day) but was locally programmed and DJ'd by the Richmonders.
It was a success and one of the few AAA's that really got traction in the ratings in the South.
Then came Ken Brown and local cluster ABS who owned 104.7 the Buzz, wanted 106.5 for what was then the up-and-coming alt. rock format. So he purchased WVGO (whose owners made a healthy profit from the sale), moved the format to "alternative" (basically, modern rock without the grunge), and added Howard Stern to poison the brand. Ukrops (remember when they were a big name around VA?) refused to advertise, and within 6 months, the new format wasn't breaking even and the Buzz moved to 106.5.
This was all in a much simpler time when radio still hadn't felt the true effects of deregulation, so things would be different for small-time local owners...hell, it took several guys to pool together retirement savings just to purchase a portion of a commercial FM in 1991, heaven knows what it would take to buy just one now!
Radio-X
Armchair OM for whoever buys Cox Radio Richmond! You can't have it! I have first dibs!
N
nocomradio
Guest
radiodxrichmond said:
Now they too, sadly, like local radio are just a memory. Save for a few White House rolls at the Martin's featuring Ukrops bakery.
Alright, I'll give my predictions on what could happen to the COX properties once sold, based on ratings.
K95: They won't change a thing. The station is RIGHT behind Kiss FM for ratings king in Richmond.
96-5 KLR: John Boy and Billy may get replaced with a "Less Talk, More music" morning show. Other then that, no major changes may come to this station.
103.7 the River: What is this: Variety hits, Hot AC, Alternative? While this is not a bad thing at all, the new suits may disagree.
Hot 100.9: Well, the relaunch obviously failed. Dropped 0.9 ratings points to 2.2. The new owner may wait for the PPM to come to Richmond.
K95: They won't change a thing. The station is RIGHT behind Kiss FM for ratings king in Richmond.
96-5 KLR: John Boy and Billy may get replaced with a "Less Talk, More music" morning show. Other then that, no major changes may come to this station.
103.7 the River: What is this: Variety hits, Hot AC, Alternative? While this is not a bad thing at all, the new suits may disagree.
Hot 100.9: Well, the relaunch obviously failed. Dropped 0.9 ratings points to 2.2. The new owner may wait for the PPM to come to Richmond.
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