Ft. Lauderdale's New Hit Country 93.5 The Bull Launches

[pjc1961]

www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/131372/clear-channel-launches-93-5-the-bull-in-miami-ft-l

Debuted 7/11/14 via WMIA-HD2 and 250 watt translator W228BY.

http://www.935thebull.com/main.html

Direct streaming URL (copy/paste only):

http://wmia-hd2.akacast.akamaistream.net/7/301/293125/v1/auth.akacast.akamaistream.net/wmia-hd2

93.5 is also home to CCM+E sister station Evolution Miami in Dade County.
Wonder if there's any interference halfway between the two, say around the Broward/Dade County line?

 

[JoshTheRadioDude]

I'm wondering if AllAccess didn't get the call letters wrong, because BY is the translator on top of One Biscayne. BV is the translator in Hollywood. And yes, I would imagine there's a LOT of interference there, especially since BOTH of them are TERRIBLY short-spaced with WBGF in Belle Glade.

Besides, how in the heck they think they can make this work up against WKIS defies all logic. The demand for country music in this market isn't big enough for two stations, and that dinky little translator ain't gonna get the job done.

 

[benale]

101.7 in Boston switched to country recently to go against WKLB. I' sure it will have little impact. No way this translator will have any impact on WKIS. Why not use 93.5 for a 50's 60's oldies format or standards that 100.3 in West Palm is doing? 93.5 has a limited coverage area. It would be nice if it was used for a format that is missing from the market.

 

[JoshTheRadioDude]

Here's an idea: take BOTH 93.5 translators and simulcast a format that's worth listening to. That way you at least get the most populated areas of the market, and you could actually sell it to advertisers instead of getting laughed all the way out the door.

 

[Unregistered]

CC did this for same reason they flipped 101.7 in Boston (which is a rimshot signal at best) - to be able to tell national ad buyers they've got a country station in the market.

"Hey, we've got young-skewing (notice the positioning) country stations in 17 (or whatever) of the top 20 markets."

They're well aware of the signal limitations and don't care. They aren't going to sell this local.

And, if by some miracle, the station does start pulling an audience, it'll be flipped to a bigger signal in a heartbeat.

 

[Ai4i]

W228BY is the "Evolution"ary dance station which translates WHYI-HD2 and is 250 watts from One Biscayne Tower with deep rejection to the north. W228BV is the anti-evolutionary "Reach-FM" Christian station which translates WMGE-HD2 and is 179 watts from the Pembroke Rd tower, primarily to the north. CCC, which owns "BY" should buy "BV", adjust their patterns, synchronize their precise frequencies, move "BY" from OBT to an 800' building, and run WIOD (or something) on both

 

[JoshTheRadioDude]

W228BY is the "Evolution"ary dance station which translates WHYI-HD2 and is 250 watts from One Biscayne Tower with deep rejection to the north.

Which is precisely why I say I think AllAccess got the call letters switched around. They reported that BY was going to be switching to country and targeting Broward, which, given that signal, is 100% impossible to do. If they were switching BV, that would make more sense. Still, it's nowhere near full market coverage, and they just plain don't stand a chance to make any dent in WKIS's listenership.

CCC, which owns "BY" should buy "BV", adjust their patterns, synchronize their precise frequencies, move "BY" from OBT to an 800' building, and run WIOD (or something) on both

I would agree that those two need to be synchronized, but if they're going to put WIOD on FM, it needs to go on 103.5. No more of this "610 and whatever the heck translator we feel like putting it on THIS week" bullcrap. That frequency has been pretty much worthless ever since the original WSHE left us (God rest her soul), and if they ever hope to save the Wonderful Isle of Dreams from the utter destruction they've wreaked upon it over the years, it needs to go on a full-market signal.

 

[Groove1670]

News talk will not fly on FM in Miami (the recent decline would only make it worse) . I think the reasoning for the "Bull" is to target listeners in Davie. If they can shave a few listeners off of Kiss then the project is worth it.

 

[JoshTheRadioDude]

Oh, believe me, I'm not advocating for WIOD in its current form. That's an instant disaster waiting to happen. But talk radio WILL fly in Miami if you do it right, and there's a long history of that in the market... at least up until about 1996, when it all got shot to hell in the consolidation frenzy.

 

[Groove1670]

1996 is a lifetime in radio. Times, talent and attiudes have changed. Just figured out the method for the Bull "Bobby Bones". Mystery solved.

 

[Ai4i]

Since CCC owns both translators (I thought Reach owned BV), they should move BV to a high rooftop in downtown Fort Lauderdale and BY should go relatively omni-directional from an 800 foot rooftop in downtown Miami, so each would cover its own county, and then they should both simulcast SOMETHING.

 

[JoshTheRadioDude]

1996 is a lifetime in radio. Times, talent and attiudes have changed.

Yes, and the key to making the format work in Miami is knowing those times and attitudes and using your talents to play to them. Miami is a town that makes its opinion known quite verbally. Put that to use on the air in a creative way that captures listeners' attention and you'll have a winner.

 

[JoshTheRadioDude]

Since CCC owns both translators (I thought Reach owned BV), they should move BV to a high rooftop in downtown Fort Lauderdale and BY should go relatively omni-directional from an 800 foot rooftop in downtown Miami, so each would cover its own county, and then they should both simulcast SOMETHING.

I don't think they can move BV any farther north without getting into trouble with WBGF. If they were to change the frequencies of both translators so that 'BGF isn't a concern, that might work, but is there an open channel with that much geographical area available at the moment? I mean, frankly, they'd be better off just buying WBGF outright and putting it on one of the sticks at the County Line Road tower farm. The fewer translators we have rebroadcasting worthless HD-2 and HD-3 and HD-4 and HD-71 channels, the better. I abhor that trend.

 

[Groove1670]

*Delete*

 

[Groove1670]

"Yes, and the key to making the format work in Miami is knowing those times and attitudes and using your talents to play to them. Miami is a town that makes its opinion known quite verbally. Put that to use on the air in a creative way that captures listeners' attention and you'll have a winner."

With a signal worth several million dollars attitude is secondary. Market research is the key.

 

[JoshTheRadioDude]

With a signal worth several million dollars attitude is secondary. Market research is the key.

I would disagree. The market research is what determines the attitude, and the attitude is what matters. Besides, market research can only determine so much. If you know the market, if you've been in it long enough to know the nuances, the preferences and the matters that are going to resonate with the listeners, market research is secondary to what you know will and will not work. Believe me, this market is long overdue for a modern spoken-word format that actually engages the audience. I'm not talking about news/talk as it is across the country today, I'm talking about Miami's own flavor. Take it and put it on a frequency that people will actually listen to (like 103.5, not a dinky little translator on top of One Biscayne), and it will flourish.

 

[Groove1670]

Maybe David will want to chime in. News/Talk has, and will fall flat on a Miami FM, and what exactly is a news talk format with Miami flavor? Targeting seniors, the Hispanic communty, the club scene, the 9 to 5 office crowd. Seems like it would be a very fragmented station, and would not be successful.

 

[JoshTheRadioDude]

You're missing what I said: not necessarily news/talk. It wouldn't have to be fragmented, but it would certainly be personality-centric more than it is topic-centric. Lifestyle talk rather than strictly current events. There's a reason why this industry is dying, and it's because nobody actually communicates with the listeners anymore rather than to the listeners. And in Miami, if you're communicating to the listeners rather than with the listeners, you're DOA. Hence why WIOD has been in the crapper since going all-politics. Nobody in this market gives a damn what some blowhard has to say about national politics, they want someone who lives and works here who they can identify with and cares about the things they care about. We've been missing that on our airwaves for almost two decades now. If anyone really wanted to serve the public in this market, they'd take on that challenge.

 

[Broward Country fan]

Getting static in central broward

Here's an idea: take BOTH 93.5 translators and simulcast a format that's worth listening to. That way you at least get the most populated areas of the market, and you could actually sell it to advertisers instead of getting laughed all the way out the door.

Getting more static in central broward then country. What a joke!
Check out: www.SouthFloridaCountry.com

 

[nd2023]

They should both simulcast WHYI-100.7 as Evolution 93.5. That would make so much sense. Or if possible, move one of the translators to the County Line Road farm and broadcast to both counties from the top of a tower there. No one's going to listen to 93.5 on their commute between Miami and Ft Lauderdale, a pretty common route.