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Entercom's KB goes liberal in Buffalo

L

LexLuthor

Guest
Bye Bye Beatles. Farewell Four Seasons. So long Stones.
Elvis has left the building. Here comes Stephanie Miller,
Bill Press, Ed Schultz and Leslie Marshall. The lib-talk
line-up from Jones Network took over Entercom's KB in Buffalo
yesterday at 3. The once proud heritage 50kw blowtorch that
had done an admirable job serving up the hits of the 50s/60s
with legendary Top 40 personalities like Dan Neaverth, Sandy
Beach and Jack Armstrong has faded away. Kudos to Entercom
for a bold experiment on 1520, but while this may be kinder
to the bottom line, you've abandoned your listeners and the
numbers will soon reflect the folly of that move. (LL)
 
> Bye Bye Beatles. Farewell Four Seasons. So long Stones.
> Elvis has left the building. Here comes Stephanie Miller,
> Bill Press, Ed Schultz and Leslie Marshall. The lib-talk
> line-up from Jones Network took over Entercom's KB in
> Buffalo
> yesterday at 3. The once proud heritage 50kw blowtorch that
>
> had done an admirable job serving up the hits of the 50s/60s
>
> with legendary Top 40 personalities like Dan Neaverth, Sandy
>
> Beach and Jack Armstrong has faded away. Kudos to Entercom
> for a bold experiment on 1520, but while this may be kinder
> to the bottom line, you've abandoned your listeners and the
> numbers will soon reflect the folly of that move. (LL)


one of the most jack ass moves I've ever seen!
>
 
>
> one of the most jack ass moves I've ever seen!
> >
>
Since nobody wants to defend the move...I will. If for no other reason, WWKB's taped-rebroadcast of that day's Stephanie Miller Show in the evening is great news for those not near a radio weekday mornings. (This does NOT give you folks who are available for radio listening between 9:00 am and noon the go-ahead to listen to John Depietro or any other sucky stuff).
 
> >
> > one of the most jack ass moves I've ever seen!
> > >
> >
> Since nobody wants to defend the move...I will. If for no
> other reason, WWKB's taped-rebroadcast of that day's
> Stephanie Miller Show in the evening is great news for those
> not near a radio weekday mornings. (This does NOT give you
> folks who are available for radio listening between 9:00 am
> and noon the go-ahead to listen to John Depietro or any
> other sucky stuff).
>
And, that's better than the "real oldies" because...? Stephanie's show is available in a lot of places - if you know where to look.

But, oldies from a 50 kw heritage station are hard to find indeed. True radio geeks on the east coast have truly lost something.

For me, its the second time. When I lived out west, I loved KOMA-AM (ironically also on 1520). That got blown out a couple of years ago for talk. And, it gets WORSE ratings than the oldies simulcast (with local FM 92.5) used to get.

This move (in Buffalo) will be lucky to result in a 1.0. They now get between 1.5 and 2.0 with the oldies. And, AAR is already on elsewhere in the market. What a waste.
 
Happy days are "hear" again... Let's all shuffle off to Buffalo.

Entercom is just ahead of the curve


> Bye Bye Beatles. Farewell Four Seasons. So long Stones.
> Elvis has left the building. Here comes Stephanie Miller,
> Bill Press, Ed Schultz and Leslie Marshall. The lib-talk
> line-up from Jones Network took over Entercom's KB in
> Buffalo
> yesterday at 3. The once proud heritage 50kw blowtorch that
>
> had done an admirable job serving up the hits of the 50s/60s
>
> with legendary Top 40 personalities like Dan Neaverth, Sandy
>
> Beach and Jack Armstrong has faded away. Kudos to Entercom
> for a bold experiment on 1520, but while this may be kinder
> to the bottom line, you've abandoned your listeners and the
> numbers will soon reflect the folly of that move. (LL)
>
 
> Happy days are "hear" again... Let's all shuffle off to
> Buffalo.
>
> Entercom is just ahead of the curve
An incredibly dumb and stupid move by Entercom. I remember listening to the station when it was top 40 in the 60's. Wonderful memories with great personalities behind the mike. This move is right up there when CBS-FM 101 got Jacked last year. Typical of the white shirts who don't respect listeners and their preferences. This is another reason to go to satellite radio specificly the 60's on 6 on XM radio. Terrestial radio needs to wake up fast.
 
> > Happy days are "hear" again... Let's all shuffle off to
> > Buffalo.
> >
> > Entercom is just ahead of the curve
> An incredibly dumb and stupid move by Entercom. I remember
> listening to the station when it was top 40 in the 60's.
> Wonderful memories with great personalities behind the mike.
> This move is right up there when CBS-FM 101 got Jacked last
> year. Typical of the white shirts who don't respect
> listeners and their preferences. This is another reason to
> go to satellite radio specificly the 60's on 6 on XM radio.
> Terrestial radio needs to wake up fast.
>

Memories, as you know, don't pay the bills. It may be tough to accept the change, but reality shows the station averaging a 1.5 share and #15 in the market over the past few books.

In this case, terrestrial radio is waking up. I subscribed to Sirius in large part to get Channel 146, "Siruis Left". Left leaning talk that I wasn't finding on terrestrial radio.
 
> > >
> > > one of the most jack ass moves I've ever seen!
> > > >
> > >
> > Since nobody wants to defend the move...I will. If for no
>
> > other reason, WWKB's taped-rebroadcast of that day's
> > Stephanie Miller Show in the evening is great news for
> those
> > not near a radio weekday mornings. (This does NOT give
> you
> > folks who are available for radio listening between 9:00
> am
> > and noon the go-ahead to listen to John Depietro or any
> > other sucky stuff).
> >
> And, that's better than the "real oldies" because...?
> Stephanie's show is available in a lot of places - if you
> know where to look.
>
> But, oldies from a 50 kw heritage station are hard to find
> indeed. True radio geeks on the east coast have truly lost
> something.
> > This move (in Buffalo) will be lucky to result in a 1.0.
> They now get between 1.5 and 2.0 with the oldies. And, AAR
> is already on elsewhere in the market. What a waste.
>
I sort of knew KB format wasn't long for this radio world,but it was nice to be in the car in the winter and punch it up occasionally. They have a great signal and although AM is a talk band, it's too bad a classy power station couldn't make a go of it with an oldies format.
 
KB tribute site

> This move (in Buffalo) will be lucky to result in a 1.0.
> They now get between 1.5 and 2.0 with the oldies. And, AAR
> is already on elsewhere in the market. What a waste.
>
Couldn't agree more. KB is oldies, always should be. Yeah, I'm stuck in the past and I hate to see this change. Admittedly, KB drew low numbers, and I've noticed the ads were from strip clubs and and a Polish deli, not exactly a big $$ maker. But I was happy Entercom was keeping this classic station alive, the home of so many great DJ's. Now 1520 means nothing. Everything changes, but damn it! does it have to be the station I grew up with? Guess so. A good KB tribute site here: http://wkbwradio.com/
 
> I sort of knew KB format wasn't long for this radio
> world,but it was nice to be in the car in the winter and
> punch it up occasionally. They have a great signal and
> although AM is a talk band, it's too bad a classy power
> station couldn't make a go of it with an oldies format.
>
Exactly - well put. They had a killer signal at night (even listenable during portions of the day) and the oldies sounded great, just like when I was a kid.

It was sad to reprogram AM preset #6 away from 1520 - sad, but necessary.
 
> Memories, as you know, don't pay the bills. It may be tough
> to accept the change, but reality shows the station
> averaging a 1.5 share and #15 in the market over the past
> few books.
>
> In this case, terrestrial radio is waking up. I subscribed
> to Sirius in large part to get Channel 146, "Siruis Left".
> Left leaning talk that I wasn't finding on terrestrial
> radio.
>
What makes you think that the new format will even approach that 1.5 average? Even in some of the more politically motivated markets, leftist talkers have struggled. The nature of the listener to such radio is different than it is for conservative talk (aside from politics). Liberal folks have long listened to NPR, and many of the younger ones stick with music formats. And, Buffalo is an "old" skewing market.

With AAR on elsewhere in Buffalo, what little audience there is for the format is already split. This station will now be doing 'very well' in the new format if it averages a 1.0.

I don't care what demos you try to sell me, losing 1/3 to 1/2 of the listeners (permanently) will not help you to sell ads. Wait and see.

They'll be lucky to get ads from Polish delis and strip clubs now...
 
> > I sort of knew KB format wasn't long for this radio
> > world,but it was nice to be in the car in the winter and
> > punch it up occasionally. They have a great signal and
> > although AM is a talk band, it's too bad a classy power
> > station couldn't make a go of it with an oldies format.
> >
> Exactly - well put. They had a killer signal at night (even
> listenable during portions of the day) and the oldies
> sounded great, just like when I was a kid.
>
> It was sad to reprogram AM preset #6 away from 1520 - sad,
> but necessary.
>

Hell I would even listen to them near Chicago once and a while, even off the back of their power pattern. YES YES I know that me listening doesnt do anything for sales.

I already heard the collective CLICK of anyone that listened moving away from the station. What a waste for such a decent signal!
 
To be sure but all good music has been on FM for years and now moving to Satellite radio which is the future. Perhaps, it is good move to save a dying frequency.


> > Happy days are "hear" again... Let's all shuffle off to
> > Buffalo.
> >
> > Entercom is just ahead of the curve
> An incredibly dumb and stupid move by Entercom. I remember
> listening to the station when it was top 40 in the 60's.
> Wonderful memories with great personalities behind the mike.
> This move is right up there when CBS-FM 101 got Jacked last
> year. Typical of the white shirts who don't respect
> listeners and their preferences. This is another reason to
> go to satellite radio specificly the 60's on 6 on XM radio.
> Terrestial radio needs to wake up fast.
>
 
> With AAR on elsewhere in Buffalo, what little audience there
> is for the format is already split. This station will now
> be doing 'very well' in the new format if it averages a 1.0.
>

The only justification is that the cost of an oldies station (and all that staff) is just too high to pull off low ratings, but an "off the bird" libtalk station will be cost effective even if it pulls in lower ratings. You can't beat the accountants up. AS for the programming, Only Stephanie Miller looks decent to me. Maybe they will go for some of the better AAR stuff (like Rachel Maddow and Tom Hartman) in time.
 
> Bye Bye Beatles. Farewell Four Seasons. So long Stones.
> Elvis has left the building. Here comes Stephanie Miller,
> Bill Press, Ed Schultz and Leslie Marshall. The lib-talk
> line-up from Jones Network took over Entercom's KB in
> Buffalo
> yesterday at 3. The once proud heritage 50kw blowtorch that
>
> had done an admirable job serving up the hits of the 50s/60s
>
> with legendary Top 40 personalities like Dan Neaverth, Sandy
>
> Beach and Jack Armstrong has faded away. Kudos to Entercom
> for a bold experiment on 1520, but while this may be kinder
> to the bottom line, you've abandoned your listeners and the
> numbers will soon reflect the folly of that move. (LL)
>
>
Will definitely miss KB...and really, I just don't see what the real effect of a preemptive strike against WHLD is anyhow... the listener ...at least the discerning one... will gravitate to the better product and if Marks and WHLD have something better and more "local" then people will listen to HLD over KB.

And forgive me if it's on another post, to change the subject, but what might the logic have been to switch WECK to country? Large potential classic country listenership with bucks to spend at sponsors in WNY?... I don't see it in WNY.
 
Barbecue on WECK

> And forgive me if it's on another post, to change the
> subject, but what might the logic have been to switch WECK
> to country? Large potential classic country listenership
> with bucks to spend at sponsors in WNY?... I don't see it in
> WNY.

It was a post-emptive strike against WXRL. Ramblin' Lou was a serious threat to WYRK...
 
Re: Barbecue on WECK

> > And forgive me if it's on another post, to change the
> > subject, but what might the logic have been to switch WECK
>
> > to country? Large potential classic country listenership
> > with bucks to spend at sponsors in WNY?... I don't see it
> in
> > WNY.
>
> It was a post-emptive strike against WXRL. Ramblin' Lou was
> a serious threat to WYRK...
>
I'd say key word "was"... how could XRL ever challenge YRK for ratings now?
 
"Waste of a Signal"

> I already heard the collective CLICK of anyone that listened
> moving away from the station. What a waste for such a
> decent signal!

You already nailed it in the earlier part of this message, when you noted that you're far out of the market. You LITERALLY mean nothing to Entercom Buffalo as a listener. You may as well not exist...for they can't market to you.

But you're right in one sense...that's a part of our problem these days, as a listener only.

No, not that a Buffalo radio station has to pay attention to listeners in Chicago or Cleveland or New York City, as romantic as that notion is. The problem is even within the talk radio format, 50,000 watt blowtorches are ALL PLAYING THE SAME THING. How many 50,000 watt powerhouses run George Noory or Art Bell at night? Roughly 20 or so, at last check. Now, with liberal talk coming on the scene, we'll have a half dozen stations running Lionel at 10 PM.

Sure, I tire of that (I get both "Coast to Coast" and Lionel's show on very strong local stations).

The answer is not that WWKB in its oldies incarnation needed compelling programming to draw listeners from Rochester to Massachusetts at night... the answer is that it needed to be just as good for BUFFALO during the day. And the answer is that it needed to be as strong a radio station as it could be (off air, etc.), to gain a loyal, niche audience in a market that skews older, and probably could have supported an oldies AM station in large enough numbers to at least give it some shot of survival. The question - would the returns be enough for Entercom to spend a decent amount of money on accomplishing that?

I personally didn't really catch onto listening to the station while I was driving through the area - as I said, it skewed a bit old for me (too much 50's). But I was, and remain, a fan of the one and only Mr. Armstrong, a radio artist if ever there was one.

It sounded like there was Danny Neaverth in the morning, some other scattered old 'KB jocks during the day, and then he came on at night (or later, afternoons).

It looked for all the world that the station was basically "mailing it in" outside of the air personalities. But you can't honestly say that the station would have AUTOMATICALLY been successful if Entercom put a major effort (and money, very important) into promoting it. 50,000 watt blowtorch or no, 'KB exists below both WBEN and WGR on the Entercom food chain (let alone the FMs), and unless we return to the thrilling days of yesteryear in radio, that's about all that matters. Yes, very sadly.

-OA<P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>
 
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