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Free FM and not NY, Not Philadelphia

M

mwebster

Guest
NJ 101.5 pioneered FM "lifestyle" (not-political, not-advice)talk. Now with the new year, CBS Radio (formerly Infinity) is launching it's own knock-off, Free FM in New York and Philadelphia (and elsewhere).

Is this a threat to NJ 101.5? Should they be worried?
If the station's success due to the format or because they are "not New York and not Philadelphia - proud to be New Jersey?"
 
> Is this a threat to NJ 101.5? Should they be worried?
> If the station's success due to the format or because they
> are "not New York and not Philadelphia - proud to be New
> Jersey?"

Nah - 101.5/97.3 balnkets the majority of the state. 94.1 & 92.3 are less than full strength signals, and NJ101.5 has Big Joe Henery - something that CBS doesnt have.
<P ID="signature">______________

AOL IM: wnjoldies or jamminoldies105
CBS-FM lives at http://67.83.118.54:8010
Oldies Board co-moderator</P>
 
I know you are an Oldies fan but NJ 101.5 is a talk station five days a week.
As a talk station it will be up against FreeFM (either/both).
Together, the two FreeFM stations cover most of New Jersey geographically - and about three-forths of New Jersey's population (based on populations of the NJ counties assigned to the New York and Philadelphia markets).

>
> Nah - 101.5/97.3 balnkets the majority of the state. 94.1 &
> 92.3 are less than full strength signals, and NJ101.5 has
> Big Joe Henery - something that CBS doesnt have.
>
 
> I know you are an Oldies fan but NJ 101.5 is a talk station
> five days a week.
> As a talk station it will be up against FreeFM
> (either/both).
> Together, the two FreeFM stations cover most of New Jersey
> geographically - and about three-forths of New Jersey's
> population (based on populations of the NJ counties assigned
> to the New York and Philadelphia markets).

True - but 101.5 has traffic & weather every 15 minutes, news at the top of the hour, and very 'Jersey' personlaities. Free FM seems to skew younger than 101.5 does - I dont think there will be much overlap between the two.
<P ID="signature">______________

AOL IM: wnjoldies or jamminoldies105
CBS-FM lives at http://67.83.118.54:8010
Oldies Board co-moderator</P>
 
> > I know you are an Oldies fan but NJ 101.5 is a talk
> station
> > five days a week.
> > As a talk station it will be up against FreeFM
> > (either/both).
> > Together, the two FreeFM stations cover most of New Jersey
>
> > geographically - and about three-forths of New Jersey's
> > population (based on populations of the NJ counties
> assigned
> > to the New York and Philadelphia markets).
>
> True - but 101.5 has traffic & weather every 15 minutes,
> news at the top of the hour, and very 'Jersey'
> personlaities. Free FM seems to skew younger than 101.5 does
> - I dont think there will be much overlap between the two.
>

Right, I don't see Free FM threatening NJ101.5. Like you said, NJ101.5 has news, traffic, and weather. Free FM is mostly syndicated national radio. NJ101.5 is very local.

I wish the station came into the Sussex County area.
 
Yea, I agree. The Free FM thing seems like something the FCC will be on top of. I've tried listening to some Free FM stations online...stupid slapstick garbage.

101.5, as said, is so localized for NJ.

It's all those mountains in Sussex Co. Try listening online. They have a very good stream.<P ID="signature">______________
"Will the last person in New Jersey please turn out the light!" -- Jim Gearhart</P>
 
> Yea, I agree. The Free FM thing seems like something the FCC
> will be on top of. I've tried listening to some Free FM
> stations online...stupid slapstick garbage.
>
> 101.5, as said, is so localized for NJ.
>
> It's all those mountains in Sussex Co. Try listening online.
> They have a very good stream.
>

I have listened online. I really enjoy listening on the weekends. I did listened over the summer when I was driving down South for vacation. It was around 4:30am. I listened to some music, then it went to news, traffic, weather, and info coverage. Great station.

Free FM, doesn't stand a chance.
 
> Is this a threat to NJ 101.5? Should they be worried?

I would have to assume not. I may not agree with everything (or anything) Millennium is pushing over there at 101.5 but at least the hosts can tend to be interesting and engaging. FREE-FM, so far, is nowhere near as good at the format. In fact, I'd venture to say that the 101.5's format is completely different from that of FREE-FM and therefore there is no competition. Just my thoughts.
 
I completely agree. They have a great thing going. The station has been doing what they do since the early 90s I believe. Here it is 2006 now...enough said.<P ID="signature">______________
"Will the last person in New Jersey please turn out the light!" -- Jim Gearhart</P>
 
> > Is this a threat to NJ 101.5? Should they be worried?
>
> I would have to assume not. I may not agree with everything
> (or anything) Millennium is pushing over there at 101.5 but
> at least the hosts can tend to be interesting and engaging.
> FREE-FM, so far, is nowhere near as good at the format.

They've been on for all of a day...give em a chance to get going.

> fact, I'd venture to say that the 101.5's format is
> completely different from that of FREE-FM and therefore
> there is no competition. Just my thoughts.

With this I'll agree, they seem to be targetting different demos, but there may be some overlap in some areas....I doubt anything that will effect either station significantly.

BN
 
> They've been on for all of a day...give em a chance to get
> going.

A day? Where have you been? It's been weeks now, hasn't it? And with the exception of "Roth Radio" this morning, they seem to have stopped evolving altogether. The things just sounds like a mess to me.

> With this I'll agree, they seem to be targetting different
> demos, but there may be some overlap in some areas....I
> doubt anything that will effect either station
> significantly.

Yeah, I very much doubt that either is going to have any effect on the other.
 
> Nah - 101.5/97.3 balnkets the majority of the state. 94.1 &
> 92.3 are less than full strength signals, and NJ101.5 has
> Big Joe Henery - something that CBS doesnt have.
>
You can get WYSP and K-Rock in Trenton. Together I'd say, the 2 CBS stations blanket most of NJ's population.
 
> > I know you are an Oldies fan but NJ 101.5 is a talk
> station
> > five days a week.
> > As a talk station it will be up against FreeFM
> > (either/both).
> > Together, the two FreeFM stations cover most of New Jersey
>
> > geographically - and about three-forths of New Jersey's
> > population (based on populations of the NJ counties
> assigned
> > to the New York and Philadelphia markets).
>
> True - but 101.5 has traffic & weather every 15 minutes,
> news at the top of the hour, and very 'Jersey'
> personlaities. Free FM seems to skew younger than 101.5 does
> - I dont think there will be much overlap between the two.
>
WYSP has Barsky!
 
> NJ 101.5 pioneered FM "lifestyle" (not-political,
> not-advice)talk.
> Is the station's success due to the format or because they
> are "not New York and not Philadelphia - proud to be New
> Jersey?"
>

NJ 101.5 is successful because it is specifically a New Jersey station that discusses New Jersey issues. Historically, the stations in New York and Philadelphia have ignored New Jersey, as have all the NYC and Philly wannabe stations licensed to New Jersey towns. NJ 101.5 fills that void. CBS/Infinity's cookie cutters cannot or will not do that.
 
>
> Right, I don't see Free FM threatening NJ101.5. Like you
> said, NJ101.5 has news, traffic, and weather. Free FM is
> mostly syndicated national radio. NJ101.5 is very local.

Umm, Roth originates from New York, and everything from 10pm-3am except Penn Gillete's hour at 2pm is live and local in NYC. YSP may be a little different but is still pretty local for a corporate FM operation, especially considering the amount of WW1/CBS/Wilbur syndication available.
 
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