I had planned to comment sooner; however, as with most things, I’ve been busy lately with business, so that comes first.
At best WYKS provides a limited rim-shot signal over Ocala since the 70 and 60 dBu service contour falls short of Ocala by about 20 +/- miles. While this does very little, if anything, for Ocala, the 105.3 signal covers Gainesville almost perfectly and has a large following, filling the Gainesville CHR void for over 30 years, having become hit radio in late 1981. In summary, WYKS is not and never will, under current FCC rules, provide full market coverage.
Regarding the current market format voids, there are several as follows:
CHR: While WYKS is an excellent Gainesville hit radio station, for reasons mentioned above, it is not a full market station. WMFQ Ocala is attempting to fill the CHR void in Marion County with hot adult contemporary or faux CHR. However neither station covers the complete full market while both stations do have its own respective advantage by having the ability and opportunity to super-serve Gainesville and Ocala respectively. If CHR were to be placed on a full market stick, we will see tremendous ratings gains in the format accompanied with impressive billing in less than one year.
News-Talk: it can be argued that WSKY is filling this void by providing news-talk on FM covering the entire market. While this is partially true, WSKY is the default number one news-talk on FM outlet due to the fact it is the only news-talk station that comes close to serving the entire market. Another advantage WSKY has is the fact its programming consist of first tier syndication interspersed with impressive local programming. It has the right mix of syndicated and local talk along with national and local news content. WSKY has many excellent qualities; however, the truth is, while 97.3 covers Gainesville virtually flawlessly, same as with WYKS, WSKY is another rim-shot station as it relates to Ocala. Same as with CHR, if this format were to be placed on a full-market signal, it would not take long before the ratings will surpass that of WSKY.
All News: This one is a no brainer considering news is number one across the nation and no one is providing full-time news in the market. And while it is expensive to produce and program all news the same way as WCBS, WINS, WBBM and KNX, a balanced mix of syndicated national news interspersed with local content can provide the same imaging as a big time major market all-news radio outlet. All news on either a full market FM or AM has WINNER written all over it.
Adult Standards / MOR / Easy Listening: These are actually two different formats comprising of Adult Standards / MOR and Easy Listening / Soft Adult Contemporary. While adult standards / MOR is best suited for a local Ocala area AM station, a full market Easy Listening format on FM will produce impressive ratings and billing, especially in the Ocala / Marion County area although there is a market for the format in Gainesville and Alachua County as well. Easy Listening is making a comeback as we have seen with WDUV Tampa Bay and WFEZ Miami. And with the baby boomers aging and many retiring to Florida, and the Gainesville / Ocala area, this format is perfect for attracting this desirable demographic.
Block Programming / Time Brokered: Most everyone seems to argue this as a wasted format that does not belong on the radio. Before anyone criticizes “Pay-For-Play” consider the fact there are many AM stations across the state and across the country that will never gain any meaningful ratings nor produce any meaningful billing considering the number of much stronger signals in any given radio market. For these signals, time brokered radio or what is more commonly referred to as “Pay-For-Play”, is the best, and in many cases, only format choice available. While time brokered radio is not a ratings gainer, nor is it designed to be, it does provide a service to advertisers who desire more than the typical 30 or 60 second commercial announcement to tell a story and sell products and services. This type programming does work and does produce sales for the advertisers and also produces revenue for stations that otherwise would have no choice but to go off the air. And, it is never in the public interest or station owner’s interest to permanently sign a station off the air.
To summarize, there are multiple formats, even ones that I have not specifically pointed out, that are available and will fill an existing market void. Select formats have more growth potential than others; however, all have the potential to meet and exceed market expectations, which include radio listener choice and advertiser select demographic targeting.
