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Gainesville / Marc Radio

N

nuffsaid

Do the new owners of the Pamala stations have a chance in Gainesville? Know Marc purchased the cluster and have a new General Manager but really don't know much more about them or the stations.
 
Sure, they bang away at it and squeeze out a living in Gainesville--but not Gainesville/Ocala. And those are two very different concepts.

They need an engineering wizard to re-think the Williston-Cross City-Newberry FM matrix... and/or buy a full-market stick.
 
Marc Radio can be a profitable entity in Gainesville with its existing station portfolio under certain conditions. Most of the Marc signals are rim-shots with limited potential; however, with the right set of programming, promotions, and marketing on the correct signals, Marc can carve out a nice niche for themselves. As for buying a full market signal, that would certainly be a step in the right direction. The question is which full market signal do they acquire?! There are only two full market signals: WKTK 98.5 and WOGK 93.7. The next best thing is to buy FM signals in Ocala or one or two that can move to Ocala to pair with one or more of the Gainesville signals giving Marc full market coverage.
 
Well, Sky & Wind function pretty much as full-market, don't they?--Wind via their multiple-channel rigs and Sky via decent (not perfect, but decent) tower location... and maybe a format that is more tolerant of a less-than-perfect FM signal. And RUF-FM is close to having full-market coverage, despite their north side TL.

But, yeah--Mark and I are on the same page. These guys have enough sticks in Alachua to operate profitably if they position/program correctly and work it. But without a presence in Marion, the Big Picture is out of reach.

Can any of these be moved south, into Marion County? Can 101.7 be moved toward civilization? Two simulcast Class A signals--each city-grading one of the two cities--can compete fully in this market. You don't need a full Class C.

FWIW, Marc is two years into this project, so they're beyond the "new owners" stage...
 
amfmxm said:
Can any of these be moved south, into Marion County? Can 101.7 be moved toward civilization?
Click to expand...

Blocked by WJHM. Could have moved closer to Gainesville more than 10 years ago when WJHM was still a C1 and was using 73.215 directional rules and only 22kW ERP, but not today.

amfmxm said:
FWIW, Marc is two years into this project, so they're beyond the "new owners" stage...
Click to expand...

Struggling to keep bills paid, they may not have much time or resources for such considerations. Radio can be such an expensive hobby.
 
amfmxm said:
Well, Sky & Wind function pretty much as full-market, don't they? You don't need a full Class C.
Click to expand...

That is correct and I believe I had mentioned multiple signals linked together as an option if neither of the two full market 100kw signals are available or if these signals are cost prohibitive for acquisition. One possible option for Ocala might be Flinn Broadcasting's WXRA 99.3 Inglis. Although it does not city grade Ocala, it does have a decent 60 dBu rim-shot signal over most of Ocala and is very listenable.
 
Kmagrill said:
amfmxm said:
FWIW, Marc is two years into this project, so they're beyond the "new owners" stage...
Click to expand...

Struggling to keep bills paid, they may not have much time or resources for such considerations. Radio can be such an expensive hobby.
Click to expand...

Actually, there or only a few minor programming and marketing adjustments with a handful of the Marc stations that will turn them around into profitable entities. I won't go into details here since I'm not in the habit of giving away free consulting advice, but my point is these stations can become sustainable and profitable with what they have. It's a matter of seeing both the forest as a whole and the individual trees that make up the forest.
 
Who knows anything about this new General Manager, I heard she came from a GSM position in a small Florida market? I am told these stations need a real veteran who understands programming and sales???
 
nuffsaid said:
Who knows anything about this new General Manager, I heard she came from a GSM position in a small Florida market? I am told these stations need a real veteran who understands programming and sales???
Click to expand...

The previous owners had some real veterans as GM and not much happened. She was a GSM for Renda in Fort Myers (#61).
 
Jeff said:
nuffsaid said:
Who knows anything about this new General Manager, I heard she came from a GSM position in a small Florida market? I am told these stations need a real veteran who understands programming and sales???
Click to expand...

The previous owners had some real veterans as GM and not much happened. She was a GSM for Renda in Fort Myers (#61).
Click to expand...

The previous "real veterans" apparently didn't understand the market.
 
How can a real vertran broadcaster not understand the market? Understand the new GM was a GSM for Renda as previously stated but know nothing else. hope she does well.
 
nuffsaid said:
How can a real vertran broadcaster not understand the market? Understand the new GM was a GSM for Renda as previously stated but know nothing else. hope she does well.
Click to expand...

Easy. Each market is unique, and the Gainesville - Ocala market is probably more unique than any other market, especially any other Florida market. There are no two markets that are exactly the same. Just because a veteran broadcaster with an impressive resume is in charge doesn't equate to automatic success. Additionally, any GM in charge of the Marc Gainesville stations has a built in handicap because said GM is working with inferior signals. This is why it is imperative that any GM, GSM, and PD fully understand the market in order to be better prepared to create success.

For starters, this includes management understanding it is working with only half the market as Gainesville (with the one exception that WRZN-AM covers Ocala during the day) is where the signals are covering and not Ocala, which is the other half of the metro. And furthermore, nothing can be done to improve the Ocala OTA signal. However, if these stations super-serve Gainesville with a unique format on each station catered to Gainesville, then there is a real chance these stations can succeed and become profitable. Just look at WTMG and its successes over the years, even though it has the worst signal over Gainesville out of all the Marc stations, yet WTMG is the most profitable of the entire cluster.

I wish the new GM much success with the challenge she will face with these properties. It can be done.
 
jmtillery said:
Jeff said:
nuffsaid said:
Who knows anything about this new General Manager, I heard she came from a GSM position in a small Florida market? I am told these stations need a real veteran who understands programming and sales???
Click to expand...

The previous owners had some real veterans as GM and not much happened. She was a GSM for Renda in Fort Myers (#61).
Click to expand...

The previous "real veterans" apparently didn't understand the market.
Click to expand...

Awesome response. You are dead on that each market is different and success sometimes doesn't transfer.
 
I would add to Mark's comments that one of the unique aspects of the market is that the two population centers are demographically very different. It's quite challenging to find formats that will do well in both areas.

Really, Gainesville and Ocala are only a market in name. The marriage is one of financial convenience.
 
Those two towns are over 30 miles apart - about the same distance as Baltimore and Washington. Baltimore and Washington are VERY different and the two markets don't even compete - there are few stations that draw ratings in both markets - kind of like the Ocala-Gainesville situation. Based on sheer distance only the strongest signals can cover both markets, and then you have the above mentioned issue of how to program to two very different markets.

How many other markets are as spaced out as Ocala-Gainesville?
 
Uh... Lakeland-Winter Haven... Miami-Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood... Ft. Myers-Naples-Marco Island... Tampa-St. Petersburg... Dallas-Fort Worth... Greenville-Spartanburg... Greenville-New Bern-Jacksonville... Albany-Schenectady-Troy...

There's a boatload of them. Go to either www.arbitron.com or www.****************** for the whole list.
 
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