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Entercom Dilemma

Element9 said:
Entercom will have to consider putting WBEN's programming on FM.
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If they do, they can't do the obvious thing, and call it BEN-FM. Because those calls already exist in Philadelphia, and are owned by Greater Media.

I agree with the earlier comment in this thread about moving WGR's programming to FM. I see more future there, and more potential among the young demo.
 
Concessions and corrections: First, Fybush sets the record straight with regard to Entercom Boston. I was thinking of the WEEI Sports Network + Greater Media. Two distinctly different companies that compete against each other. Sports being the operative word brings Big A and Rox to the fore. Sports might be a more advantageous format move (back) to FM, especially with WGR's signal limitations at night. I maintain The Edge (as a Sports station) would still have the advantage over WGR if sports moved to 107.7. As Fybush notes, the 107.7 signal ain't exactly a flamethrower. Flipping to mono, dropping HD and maxing the processing might help alleviate some of the problems as 107.7 covers the eastern suburbs where a lot of diaries (and eventually PPM are placed) quite well. WGR-FM? WGRF might have issues with that. Getting back to Greater Media, the company flipped its Philadelphia AC FM to Sports, simulcasting its AM Sports station, WPEN. The Greater Media sports flip was done in a hurry, probably to get the jump on CBS which, according to rumors and past performance in other markets, was considering replacing one of its under-performing Philly FM formats with Sports.
 
TheBigA said:
If they do, they can't do the obvious thing, and call it BEN-FM. Because those calls already exist in Philadelphia, and are owned by Greater Media.
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Omigod. The all-knowing BigA actually got something wrong.

Entercom can call the FM ANYTHING it wants - including BEN-FM or WBEN-FM - as long as they don't follow it with a city of license. GM only owns the 'legal' calls.
 
My reasoning for splitting 'BEN and 'GR programming on 107.7 was two-fold.

1. Extend 'GR's night-time coverage to the east. 107.7 fills in 'GRs nulls very nicely, especially in the car. The Sabres broadcasts could cover a lot of ground in both the Buffalo and Rochester suburbs that get less-than-stellar reception now.

2. Maybe get some of that Sabres audience to sample 'BEN's programming the next day. It's time for 'BEN to bite the bullet and revamp the morning show, shifting the focus to 45-54 instead of 55-64. Let's face it, John Zach is a news anchor, not a morning personality. It's time for a makeover.

107.7 comes in pretty well in most cars in the suburbs, and gets better as you go east. 'GR and 'BEN cover the metro nicely in the daytime, and people WILL hit the "band" button IF there's compelling content that's being hampered by fringe coverage. 'BEN's got a great signal, but AM is out of sight, out of mind for most listeners under 50.
 
I was on the floor reading this Element! You are correct about the shoes and the suits, but i am a cheap bastard. Good call though, i do agree.

Back to radio, it seems that some are trying to define these demos as gospel. Radio Stations i believe are being looked at less and less in regards to demo, and more and more in regards to lifestyle. YRK does not sell a demo, hoever if they had to pinpoint one, they could. They sell the sizzle listener liefestyle. I think it is the same with WBEN. It is truly a lsitener passion with the station. Love or hate it, listeners are passsionate about it, which translates to active listening, which translates to clients getting their messages heard and soaked in, and listeners who recieve arbitron books writing it down. There is no doubt that active listening is gonna win long term.

Also, if i had a station right now that targeted over 65+ only, i would most likely have atleast 15 years of money making left with that, given the current lifespan. I could live with 15 more years of profit. WBEN listeners whether they are 40 or 60, still have plenty more years to listen.
 
SirRoxalot said:
My reasoning for splitting 'BEN and 'GR programming on 107.7 was two-fold.
1. Extend 'GR's night-time coverage to the east. 107.7 fills in 'GRs nulls very nicely, especially in the car. The Sabres broadcasts could cover a lot of ground in both the Buffalo and Rochester suburbs that get less-than-stellar reception now.
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Well, I'll vouch for that. I was camping this weekend literally just minutes from 107.7's transmitter. Trying to listen to hockey Saturday night on WGR was, well trying! I got some bad interference out that way. Maybe you have something with the WBEN/WGR split idea. Making a "best of" with the FM.

More food for thought. Does 107.7 still use a translator here in Buffalo? I know thry used to use 105.3 for awhile. What about popping WGR or WBEN on to that for a little FM presence?
 
Pickle brings up an interesting thought. Buffalo hasn't been invaded by translators like a lot of other markets. Is it because we're pretty jammed up on FM between local and Canadian signals? Or is this just a phenomenon that hasn't gotten here yet?
 
SirRoxalot said:
Pickle brings up an interesting thought. Buffalo hasn't been invaded by translators like a lot of other markets. Is it because we're pretty jammed up on FM between local and Canadian signals? Or is this just a phenomenon that hasn't gotten here yet?
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There are a few, mainly at the low end of the dial. Several religious broadcasters - most notably Family Life Network, but also Pensacola Christian College and Calvary Chapel of the Finger Lakes - are using them to extend service into Buffalo from outside the market. FLN has the translator that used to be the WNSA relay on 105.3. It was bumped down to 104.7 when CFLZ in Niagara Falls moved to 105.1.

Here's the thing about translators: given their limited reach, they're at best a stopgap solution when it comes to covering a relatively large (geographically speaking) market like the Niagara Frontier. It doesn't do WGR much good to pour promotion into "now on FM" if half the market can't hear the FM.

Where translators work well is in smaller markets. Warsaw's WCJW is having great success with its new FM translator signals in Batavia and in Warsaw itself - and in Ithaca, where geography pretty much forces the population into a very compact area easily reached by translator, Saga is going great guns with two translators that relay HD2/HD3 signals from its full-power FMs.
 
Thanks for your input, Scott. Another factor is terrain. In Buffalo, which is largely on a lake plain, the AMs get pretty good coverage except where directional nulls are created intentionally. In Ithaca and the Finger Lakes, AM suffers from a lot of shadowing by the hills. Translators can fill in valleys that otherwise would be underserved without bumping up against a lot of other signals.
 
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