Gainesville Fall Ratings

[jmtillery]

Mark, do you know? I seem to remember around 1,400 feet HAAT. Just slightly less than WMMZ/WOGK.

The exact height of the original WKTK tower situated at Morriston was, and still is, 1,341 Feet. WMMZ (now WOGK) is 1,347 feet.

Regarding 98.7 Tampa, WSJT was originally, and still is, licensed to Holmes Beach. Entercom acquired the station as a class A with the intent of upgrading to a C2 to pair with its WYUU 92.5 C2 Safety Harbor (Tampa). These two stations were later used as pawns which Entercom used to trade with CBS for CBS' Boston stations. CBS already owned WQYK Tampa, so this was attractve to CBS in creating a bigger Tampa Bay cluster. In order to create the Entercom Tampa duoploy, it was necessary to downgrade WKTK to a class C1 to prevent a short-spacing issue with 98.7. I believe now WKTK "may" be able to upgrade to a C0.

 

[jmtillery]

Yup. WRUF could still have upgraded after the deadline. It took a couple of years longer for stations to encroach from the south. The dean was opposed to it for several reasons, most of which weren't very good in retrospect.

That is true; However, as we all know, UF still waited too long. Now with WFUS on 103.5 C0 in Tampa, WRUF-FM is locked in where it is. The best it can do now is add another 200 feet to it's existing tower provided it meets local zoning and FAA approval. Even then I'm not convinced the expense of increasing height to the full 981 feet will make any difference covering Ocala and Marion County.

 

[Kmagrill]

... WRUF-FM is locked in where it is. The best it can do now is add another 200 feet to it's existing tower provided it meets local zoning and FAA approval. Even then I'm not convinced the expense of increasing height to the full 981 feet will make any difference covering Ocala and Marion County.

The FAA was opposed to letting WUFT rebuild that tower after it came down in the plane crash of 1978. It took a lot of muscle to get the FAA to relent. There's no chance at all of ever putting anything taller up on that site. It's directly on the approach to the Gainesville airport and only 7 miles out.

 

[jmtillery]

... WRUF-FM is locked in where it is. The best it can do now is add another 200 feet to it's existing tower provided it meets local zoning and FAA approval. Even then I'm not convinced the expense of increasing height to the full 981 feet will make any difference covering Ocala and Marion County.

The FAA was opposed to letting WUFT rebuild that tower after it came down in the plane crash of 1978. It took a lot of muscle to get the FAA to relent. There's no chance at all of ever putting anything taller up on that site. It's directly on the approach to the Gainesville airport and only 7 miles out.

In that case, that takes care of that. I didn't think it was possible to obtain regulatory approval for any tower improvements at the current location, anyway. Now we know.

 

[MN Maniac]

That is true; However, as we all know, UF still waited too long. Now with WFUS on 103.5 C0 in Tampa, WRUF-FM is locked in where it is. The best it can do now is add another 200 feet to it's existing tower provided it meets local zoning and FAA approval. Even then I'm not convinced the expense of increasing height to the full 981 feet will make any difference covering Ocala and Marion County.
[/quote]

Interesting thing with 103.5: CC/Tampa has CPs to upgrade the Riverview site so that it meets the new full Class C height requirements. This is the TL for 93.3, 100.7, 101.5, and 103.5. Except that 103.5 didn't make it in time, so they'll remain C0 with reduced power to compensate for the new height.

Who "bumped" them? The only thing I can think of that's near their frequency is the LPFM on 103.3 in Citronelle.

 

[Kmagrill]

Interesting thing with 103.5: CC/Tampa has CPs to upgrade the Riverview site so that it meets the new full Class C height requirements. This is the TL for 93.3, 100.7, 101.5, and 103.5. Except that 103.5 didn't make it in time, so they'll remain C0 with reduced power to compensate for the new height.

Who "bumped" them? The only thing I can think of that's near their frequency is the LPFM on 103.3 in Citronelle.

Can't be. LPFMs are secondary services and can be displaced at any time by full-powered stations of any class. The limiting factor has to be a full-powered station.

 

[MN Maniac]

Who "bumped" them? The only thing I can think of that's near their frequency is the LPFM on 103.3 in Citronelle.

Can't be. LPFMs are secondary services and can be displaced at any time by full-powered stations of any class. The limiting factor has to be a full-powered station.

That's what I meant. Since Frank's station is an LPFM, it's not a factor. So, who is keeping 103.5 from upgrading to a full C with it's 3 CC/Tampa sisters?

 

[amfmxm]

Yup. WRUF could still have upgraded after the deadline. It took a couple of years longer for stations to encroach from the south. The dean was opposed to it for several reasons, most of which weren't very good in retrospect.

If I remember correctly, it was because the existing TV/FM stick was still fairly new. Less than 10 years old? And, of course, it would have been a big expense item involving re-engineering not only the two FMs, but also Channel 5. And, at the time, none of the stations were exactly rolling in money.

Beyond that, the 1987 "drop-dead date" for retaining Class C status was still 5 years before the G-O markets were combined, so covering Marion County wasn't a priority. Hell, they were probably just thrilled that the SOB could be heard in Jacksonville. Screw Ocala. Who needs it?

Hindsight is 20-20.

 

[amfmxm]

But, hey, speaking of hindsight--and at the risk of taking this thread way the hell of topic--do any of you old-timers recall whether there was any particular technical reason (FM or TV adjacencies, for instance) that kept UF from putting that stick up in Bradford or Clay counties?

It seems pretty obvious to me that all of those facilities--two Class C FMs and a VHF TV station--could have very easily served their COL of Gainesville from a big stick around Starke while at the same time being real players in Jacksonville.

Did it just not occur to them? Were they afraid of pissing-off the Jax PBS & NPR folks?

 

[jmtillery]

That's what I meant. Since Frank's station is an LPFM, it's not a factor. So, who is keeping 103.5 from upgrading to a full C with it's 3 CC/Tampa sisters?

"Frank's station" WFJV is not a factor regarding WFUS. However, possibly WVYB 103.3 Holly Hill (Daytona Beach) may be the reason WFUS is unable to upgrade to full "C" status.

 

[jmtillery]

Beyond that, the 1987 "drop-dead date" for retaining Class C status was still 5 years before the G-O markets were combined, so covering Marion County wasn't a priority. Hell, they were probably just thrilled that the SOB could be heard in Jacksonville. Screw Ocala. Who needs it?

There were obvious signs of combining the Gainesville and Ocalal markets as one Gainesville - Ocala market as early as 1983. Former WKTK owner Comco planned moving the former WRYO (now WKTK) to cover the Ocala and Gainville markets in 1985 and moved its studio and operation base to Gainesville in early 1986. The former WMMZ (now WOGK) also began covering Gainesville shortly following WKTK completing its upgrade. All of this was implemented before the March 2, 1987 cut-off date for class "C"s that did not meet the new minimul C requirments or risk being automatically downgraded. Additionally, as we all know, a full C is much more valuable than a C1, depending on its location and the market the station serves. It would have made good business sense for UF to have upgraded to a full C when it had the chance in order to preseve its full C fair market value. Of course, it is too late now.

 

[ThatGuyOnTheRadio]

Academic folks rarely make good business decisions.

 

[MN Maniac]

Considering the time when the upgrade was done, I'm surprised 93.7 didn't build their new stick SOUTH of Ocala instead of North. As a full Class C, it could have became an Orlando move-in, similar to 94.5 and 101.9 which migrated from Daytona Beach.

WGYL/Vero Beach was still 3,000 watts on 93.5, so it would have fit. Since Gainesville was a completely separate market and Ocala was already a supplemental market to Orlando, it seems like it would have made more sense at that point in time to get a new "Ocala/Orlando" ID, rather than "Ocala/Gainesville." Does anyone know if targeting Orlando was ever seriously discussed by the WFUZ/WMMZ folks?

 

[jmtillery]

The Gainesville vs Orlando move came down to simple economics - become a "big fish in a small pond" or become a "small fish in a large pond". Dix Comminications decided they'd rather be the "big fish in a small pond" as there is much less competition and easier sales being the number one station in the "small pond".

 

[Kmagrill]

But, hey, speaking of hindsight--and at the risk of taking this thread way the hell of topic--do any of you old-timers recall whether there was any particular technical reason (FM or TV adjacencies, for instance) that kept UF from putting that stick up in Bradford or Clay counties?

It seems pretty obvious to me that all of those facilities--two Class C FMs and a VHF TV station--could have very easily served their COL of Gainesville from a big stick around Starke while at the same time being real players in Jacksonville.

Did it just not occur to them? Were they afraid of pissing-off the Jax PBS & NPR folks?

No, it was considered, but rejected on the grounds of exceptionally high cost (well in excess of $1,000,000) and of not wanting to step on WJCT's toes. Now, it's impossible.

 

[MN Maniac]

The Gainesville vs Orlando move came down to simple economics - become a "big fish in a small pond" or become a "small fish in a large pond". Dix Comminications decided they'd rather be the "big fish in a small pond" as there is much less competition and easier sales being the number one station in the "small pond".

Makes perfect sense, given the time that the upgrade was done. This was still several years before deregulation. Duopoly wasn't even a reality until 6 years later. So, the stick values had not yet become inflated. If 93.7 had upgraded 10 years later, the obvious choice would have been to move it south. Simple economics: a 100kW Orlando FM would be worth MUCH more than a 100kW Ocala/Gainesville FM.

 

[amfmxm]

Back to the Fall 10 book for a moment--the purported reason for this thread...

Thatguyontheradio quoted some cume movement in A18-49--showing RUF's audience exiting en masse. What did this do to their AQH in Adults 18-49 and/or 18-34? I seem to recall around the time of the Big Switch that Gator Country (or whatever it's called) was going to try to target the younger end of the Country audience.

Any movement in 18-24 or 18-34 on the share end? Women? In other words, do they have any kind of story to tell, at all?

In fairness, it really is hard to know what's going on when two very different audiences are leaving and arriving (ushering out the rock listeners and ushering in the country listeners), but we're probably all curious to see if there is any sign of life over at Weimer Hall...

 

[jmtillery]

Back to the Fall 10 book for a moment--the purported reason for this thread...

Without going into any extended details, every comment contributed by each poster herein relates directly or indirectly to the Gainesville Fall Ratings as there are many factors that play a role in determining the overal ratings landscape. Everyone is on topic, even if only indirectly. The whole idea about any of these threads is to share ideas which we are doing even though these shared ideas are sometimes expanded into a wider scope. However, thank you for pointing out more specifically the actual ratings which I will address in a second post.

 

[jmtillery]

Regarding WRUF-FM, it's too early to give an accurate prediction of how well the New Country 103.7 will actually perform during the next ratings period. However, I will say the decision to flip 103.7 to country has created challenges and disadvantages that the former Rock 104 did not have.

For starters, WRUF-FM, as previously stated, does not have the much needed signal in Ocala and Marion County to effectively compete against WOGK. The inferior signal worked fine for Rock 104 as WRUF-FM owned the active rock market. Active rock listeners from Ocala would listen to Rock 104 because that was "all there was" at the time. The active rock format also already had the 18 - 49 adult male. This gave WRUF-FM a tremendous competitive advantage. However, now WRUF-FM is competing head-to-head with WOGK which owns the country market in both Gainesville and Ocala.

Not only is 103.7 competing directly with WOGK in Gainesville, but it is also competing directly against WOGK in Ocala as well as competing against heritage WTRS; also in Ocala. We may see some improvements within the desired target demo in Gainesville, but I don't expect to see any significant improvements, if any at all, in Ocala and Marion County for reasons already stated. For this reason, since Gainesville and Ocala are measured together as one market, I expect Country 103.7 to perform less than expected in Gainesville resulting in a loss of much of its national agency buys.

Again, as already stated, and also since my "crystal ball" is broken and is in the shop awaiting repairs, at this point it is a "wait and see" situation.

 

[jmtillery]

There are two schools of thought regarding WRUF-FM, so I will further expound by stating CHR would have been a much better choice for WRUF-FM in attracting the 18 - 49 adult within the MSA and TSA. There is only one CHR in the market - WYKS-FM, which covers Gainesville fine, but not Ocala and Marion County, and there is no CHR in Ocala. Again, for the same reasons Rock 104 performed relatively well overall in Ocala as well as Gainesville, CHR would have given WRUF-FM the same competitve advantage in expanding its desired target demo to attract the 18 -49 adult rather than the 18 - 49 male.

On the other hand, perhaps UF is planning to operate WRUF-FM as a local Gainesville ONLY station, in which case Ocala and Marion County is not a factor for localized purposes. This, however, serverly limits 103.7s marketing opportunities as an MSA / TSA regional medium, but this secondary strategy may create a situation where WRUF-FM is a "bigger fish" in a much "smaller sub-market pond" within the total rated Gainesville / Ocala market, currently ranked at 82 with a total person count at 563,700.