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Feder: 105.9 To Flip To WBBM Simulcast

avtosalon said:
Another thing, IMO it would be a waste to simucast WBBM on WCFS-FM's primary signal. WBBM is already one of Chicago's highest rated and top billing stations. The signal is a 50,000 watt blowtorch that everyone in the Chicago area can easily receive with an AM radio.
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While most anyone can receive it on AM, for many listeners, hearing it on FM would be the first time the heard WBBM in "high fidelity". This has to be part of the strategy as the younger demographic move up in age. With so many car AM radios filtering the AM audio at 3 or 4 kHz, many especially younger listeners may decide to slowly change to the FM side for the increased clarity..... I wonder what happened in other places where this was done..... That said I've been able to hear WBBM on AM-HD in my car for the last 3 years so I am used to hearing the "wide band" 15 kHz sound plus when it does fall back to analog the AM tuner still provides 7.5 kHz audio bandwidth.
A downside could be half the listeners being on FM and half on AM and reducing their frequent #1 rank in the Arbitrons, as I don't know if you can combine the AM and FM listenership, can someone enlighten me on this.
 
briankay said:
avtosalon said:
Another thing, IMO it would be a waste to simucast WBBM on WCFS-FM's primary signal. WBBM is already one of Chicago's highest rated and top billing stations. The signal is a 50,000 watt blowtorch that everyone in the Chicago area can easily receive with an AM radio.
Click to expand...

While most anyone can receive it on AM, for many listeners, hearing it on FM would be the first time the heard WBBM in "high fidelity". This has to be part of the strategy as the younger demographic move up in age. With so many car AM radios filtering the AM audio at 3 or 4 kHz, many especially younger listeners may decide to slowly change to the FM side for the increased clarity..... I wonder what happened in other places where this was done..... That said I've been able to hear WBBM on AM-HD in my car for the last 3 years so I am used to hearing the "wide band" 15 kHz sound plus when it does fall back to analog the AM tuner still provides 7.5 kHz audio bandwidth.
A downside could be half the listeners being on FM and half on AM and reducing their frequent #1 rank in the Arbitrons, as I don't know if you can combine the AM and FM listenership, can someone enlighten me on this.
Click to expand...

KCBS did go from #5 to #1 in San Francisco after they began FM simulcasting and that's with different calls on the FM.
 
Briankay, to answer your question, they can be counted as one station as long as it is a 100% simulcast. If they break the simulcast for even 1 hour a day, they would have to be listed seperately.

Some examples of stations rated on the same line would WDRV/WWDV 97.1/96.9 and WVIX/WVIV, 93.5/103.1.

As for the call letters, I don't see moving WBBM to 105.9,
in a PPM environment it isn't needed. They could stick with their current top of the hour ID and very quickly bury the call letters right after the :57 post business spot.

As long as they do a legal ID near the top of the hour they can call the station whatever they choose.

Newsradio Am and Fm, Newsradio 780 and 105.9, or what WSB in Atlanta is doing.
 
avtosalon said:
Another thing, an '-FM' suffix must be used on WCFS-FM because there's another station on the same band with the same call letters (coincidentally in the same state at the same frequency): 105.9 WCFS-LP Du Quoin, Illinois.
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The proper call letters are indeed WCFS-FM, but not because of the -LP in DuQuoin.

The DuQuoin station is WCFS-LP, not WCFS. So if Elmwood Park were WCFS, it would not be a duplicate callsign.

However, there was at one time a WCFS *AM*. (I have two conflicting vague recollections, one that it was in Chicago Heights, the other that it was in Connecticut.....)

Elmwood Park had to have the -FM suffix to avoid conflict with the AM station, not the -LP.

The AM station isn't WCFS anymore, so if Elmwood Park wanted to be WCFS (no -FM), it could. They'd have to file the appropriate online form.
 
w9wi said:
However, there was at one time a WCFS *AM*. (I have two conflicting vague recollections, one that it was in Chicago Heights, the other that it was in Connecticut.....)

The AM station isn't WCFS anymore, so if Elmwood Park wanted to be WCFS (no -FM), it could. They'd have to file the appropriate online form.
Click to expand...

WCFS is available, at least according to FCC > MB > Audio Division > AM Query. The station on 1470 in Chicago Heights, was, and still is
WCFJ.
 
avtosalon said:
Another thing, IMO it would be a waste to simucast WBBM on WCFS-FM's primary signal. WBBM is already one of Chicago's highest rated and top billing stations. The signal is a 50,000 watt blowtorch that everyone in the Chicago area can easily receive with an AM radio. I doubt that a combo would provide more additional revenue than what Fresh can generate on it's own, plus the $50 million value of the station needs to be considered.

Now another board is mentioning that 101.1 is not going to be an All News station. Instead, Merlin Media is planning a Talk format, so the new station is not even competing with WBBM! Instead the competitors are: WGN, WLS, WIND, and WCPT.

Maybe those stations are the ones that need to consider FM simulcasts--not WBBM (excluding WCPT which is already on AM and three suburban FM signals).
Click to expand...

I said the same thing about wasting WBBM-AM on an FM simulcast on another thread. However, I would lump WGN and WLS in the same category. Those signals can be heard deep down into central and southern Illinois in the day. The only thing I see in putting those stations on an FM simulcast is to save money.
 
the golden boy said:
I said the same thing about wasting WBBM-AM on an FM simulcast on another thread. However, I would lump WGN and WLS in the same category. Those signals can be heard deep down into central and southern Illinois in the day. The only thing I see in putting those stations on an FM simulcast is to save money.
Click to expand...

But they can't be heard in the downtown/north lakefront office buildings and condos. Other than a few small stations (820, 950, 1240, and 1390), all the Chicago AMs transmit from the suburbs - at least 20 miles away from the loop. The major FMs all transmit from either the John Hancock Center or Willis Sears Tower. Putting WBBM and The Score on FM will increase listeners where much of the big young money is.
 
Ken said:
Hopefully CBS will move the WBBM calls to 105.9 then giving 96.3 a new set of calls...
Click to expand...

Or - call me crazy - moving the B96 format to 105.9 FM and rebranding it B106, and using 96.3 as the FM simulcast for WBBM-AM?

BRNout said:
WBMM? Really, D? Think about it, those aren't attractive calls now are they? Remind me of 'doing business', but not the kind of business that WBBM features during their Wall Street reports...
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Good point. I suppose that's why, of all the big fast food chains that have taken a shine lately to stressing their initials/acronyms in advertising campaigns (e.g. Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burger King, and of course, Chicago's own McDonald's), the Boston Market franchise has yet to follow suit... ::)
 
DToTheJ said:
Ken said:
Hopefully CBS will move the WBBM calls to 105.9 then giving 96.3 a new set of calls...
Click to expand...

Or - call me crazy - moving the B96 format to 105.9 FM and rebranding it B106, and using 96.3 as the FM simulcast for WBBM-AM?

BRNout said:
WBMM? Really, D? Think about it, those aren't attractive calls now are they? Remind me of 'doing business', but not the kind of business that WBBM features during their Wall Street reports...
Click to expand...

Good point. I suppose that's why, of all the big fast food chains that have taken a shine lately to stressing their initials/acronyms in advertising campaigns (e.g. Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burger King, and of course, Chicago's own McDonald's), the Boston Market franchise has yet to follow suit... ::)
Click to expand...

According to Feder's column a few days ago, WBBM's local management is just waiting for corporate approval in NY to move to an FM simulcast.
Only the corporate red tape in NYC is holding up the move.
 
DToTheJ said:
By the way, today, Feder has a nice write-up about how WBBM-AM is ripe for the picking, which not only quotes R-I's own Tom Taylor, but identifies the guy in New York who will decide whether or not WBBM-AM will get an FM simulcast: Scott Herman, executive VP of operations for CBS Radio.
http://timeoutchicago.com/arts-cult...ll-that-counts-in-the-all-news-radio-equation
Click to expand...

Feder makes a powerful point as to why CBS is out to protect it's most valuable property in town. Making that much money also makes WBBM a top target to anyone who has the ambition to take them on. If that 'anyone' is on FM, that makes the challenge even tougher to fight off - if all you have is the AM stick.

A move to FM immediately increases the base of potential listeners, lowers the demos, and places WBBM on the same technical footing as any challenger.

For DtotheJ: I don't see CBS moving B96.3 over to 105.9. Yes, they could do a big flip as they did in Boston - but the 96.3 frequency has been CHR for almost 30 years now. That's a lot of history to toss out. In the world of PPM, having people know where to find you is very important. Easier to swap calls - which I still think that they should do for the sake of simplicity.

By the way, I love this line from the article: "....courtesy of Randy Michaels and his merry band of mirthmakers at Merlin Media." We all know what Randy's brand of "mirth" is, thanks in part to Feder! Good stuff.... :D
 
BRNout said:
For DtotheJ: I don't see CBS moving B96.3 over to 105.9. Yes, they could do a big flip as they did in Boston - but the 96.3 frequency has been CHR for almost 30 years now. That's a lot of history to toss out. In the world of PPM, having people know where to find you is very important. Easier to swap calls - which I still think that they should do for the sake of simplicity.
Click to expand...

Transmitter sites also played a role in the Boston switch - when CBS made its moves, they put hot AC on the 104.1 signal, which transmits from the same building as its CHR and AC competitors, while launching sports talk on the 98.5 signal, which has perfect coverage over the areas where its AM competitor's signal is unlistenable at night. Is it worth spending an extra 30 seconds each day saying "Elmwood Park", or switching up Chicago dial spots for pretty much no reason? I think I know what CBS will decide.
 
Encarta: I remember similar thing happened in Pittsburgh when they merged B94 and Star 101 together to launch the Fan on 93.7 (although Star is an adult-leaning CHR and not mainstream or rhythmic), rather than flipping 100.7 itself to sports (besides, 93.7 was licensed to Pittsburgh while 100.7 was and still is New Kensington and 93.7 had a bigger signal) :)
 
Feder tweet said 11:30a meeting at WBBM poss. about simulcast on 105.9

Someone posted the following on Wikipedia/WBBM entry:
>>It has been reported by several media websites that WCFS will change formats at some point during the day on July 14, 2011, to a simulcast of sister station, WBBM. The change is viewed as a preemptive move to beat crosstown station WKQX's flip at Midnight on the same date.

A couple minutes after I saw that...it disappeared.
 
raccoonradio said:
Feder tweet said 11:30a meeting at WBBM poss. about simulcast on 105.9... A couple minutes after I saw that...it disappeared.
Click to expand...

Gosh, I hope Anthony Weiner wasn't borrowing his account... ::)

@Carolinaradio: Didn't Feder insist CBS would want to "blunt" the impact of a competitor to WBBM? Waiting until August 1 to flip the switch isn't getting the job done in that regard.
 
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