Disney Radio???

[Bob1370]

If the latest (October 2009) Rochester Arbitrend numbers aren't a fluke and repeat themselves over the next few months' trends, then WROC's audience has virtually disappeared, while the WHTK simulcast has grabbed an effective stranglehold on the sports radio niche in Rochester. That's surprising--and 'ROC may easily pop up in the next trends once more. When you're looking at ratings that small you're really close to the survey margin of error that can make a station show with a 1.3 in one book and a dash in the next. But if WROC doesn't re-appear in the next few trends, I wonder--could the Disney option start looking better to Entercom again?

 

[No Compromise]

Aw Bob, use your head will ya? Guys who listen to sports stations generally don't fill out diaries.

 

[Bob1370]

No Compromise sez, " Guys who listen to sports stations generally don't fill out diaries."

LOL!

Actually they fill out a hell of a lot of them in cities like New York or Boston...it all depends on the amount of bigtime sports action you have to talk about in your market, and how well you present it. Rochester's not a major league pro sports market (unlike Buffalo) or a mecca for major college sports (unlike Syracuse). So good luck in getting anything beyond that 1.5 or so share that any sports station will draw from the hardcore sports junkies.

Buffalo's an especially tough comparison because the 3 to 5 share that a sports format gets in a major league town is monopolized by one station...while Rochester's far smaller core audience for the format is split between two. One of them is going to have to change its format sooner or later.

 

[listener-in]

If the latest (October 2009) Rochester Arbitrend numbers aren't a fluke and repeat themselves over the next few months' trends, then WROC's audience has virtually disappeared

This wasn't just eminently predictable - several of us predicted it before WROC flipped. What management in its right mind would ditch a format that it had all to itself in favor of one that guaranteed it would be splitting a small audience? WROC could have developed a loyal progressive audience had it not put its liberal programming on automatic pilot and given it zero promotion. Dumping the well-known and well-liked local personality Allan Harris and getting rid of all local content cannot have helped either. Management could do a lot worse than restore the progressive format, provided that it would first take some lessons on how to run it from a station like WCPT Chicago, which knows how to cultivate its audience.

 

[therealjm12]

I used to listen to WROC when it was progreesive talk (I have never listened to the sports format). Not that anyone cares about me, but so did my 25 year old step-daughter and her boyfriend. It seems that station owners are missing the point that progressive talk attracts a younger, educated audience to AM radio that the right wingers will never bring in. WCPT seems to be the model for progressive talk. The sales dept have done their research have have found local clients that share the political views of the station. They hit the street and sold that station and that format. Problem is, local sales depts don't work that way anymore. They are only interested in selling the bigger stations in the group and the little stations are an after thought. Thank you market media classes at colleges. Certainly finding salepeople with the skills to actually sell such stations is a major problem. But would the corporate owners allow them to do their job if they could?

 

[warsaw35]

My nieghbor's kids listen to what was or is WQEW at night. I used to listen to that station when they had good music on 10 years ago or so.

 

[SirRoxalot]

I'm waiting for the annual - or at least semi-annual - call for "someone to go Hispanic". That might make more sense for WROC than formats that have already failed, especially if they can essentially broker it to a local Hispanic group.

 

[Element9]

I'm waiting for the annual - or at least semi-annual - call for "someone to go Hispanic". That might make more sense for WROC than formats that have already failed, especially if they can essentially broker it to a local Hispanic group.

Hasn't Senor Roberto1370 already posted?

 

[Bob1370]

"Hasn't Senor Roberto1370 already posted?"

Si, senor, on a different thread on this board.

 

[Savage]

Everybody in this market has marched up and down the Hispanic mountain several times. There simply isn't and existing advertiser base large enough to support a fulltime format. Even while Latinos are growing in terms of percentage of local population, the numbers are still quite small - not enough to justify more than a few hours of brokered weekly programming.

WGMC had brokered Hispanic; 950 tried it at night a few years back (under the tutelage, IIRC, of Arnie Rothschild.) 990 sold blocks of time on weekends. It's always the same story - money problems, funny business on-air, then management gets fed up and boots it off the station.

Then there are the issues that would seem obvious, but seem to elude local management. For example: control over programming. If you or your managers don't speak Spanish, how do you know the content and advertising comports with FCC rules?

 

[Radknowski]

It's always the same story - money problems, funny business on-air, then management gets fed up and boots it off the station. Then there are the issues that would seem obvious, but seem to elude local management. For example: control over programming. If you or your managers don't speak Spanish, how do you know the content and advertising comports with FCC rules?

Tu tiene los numeros de los loterias el dia de hoy, por favor? The high school Spanish classes at Bishop Timon finally paid off! Fr. Costello is either very proud or rolling over in his grave. ("Wrong noun, Radknowski, you moron!")

 

[scooterodell]

Everybody in this market has marched up and down the Hispanic mountain several times. There simply isn't and existing advertiser base large enough to support a fulltime format. Even while Latinos are growing in terms of percentage of local population, the numbers are still quite small - not enough to justify more than a few hours of brokered weekly programming.

WGMC had brokered Hispanic; 950 tried it at night a few years back (under the tutelage, IIRC, of Arnie Rothschild.) 990 sold blocks of time on weekends. It's always the same story - money problems, funny business on-air, then management gets fed up and boots it off the station.

Then there are the issues that would seem obvious, but seem to elude local management. For example: control over programming. If you or your managers don't speak Spanish, how do you know the content and advertising comports with FCC rules?

Not only did 990 sell blocks on the weekend, before that 102.7 sold almost every evening and nearly all weekend for Spanish broadcasters. There was definitely demand for the audience - some of the advertisers there were big names with agency buys - but since it was brokered time, the whole operation was a one-man show and those aforementioned problems ensued. I think the community really could support a full-time Spanish station, but it would need to be operated (or at least managed) by someone who was bilingual and comfortable in the Spanish-speaking community, which rules out the current "big boys" in town.