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Hagerstown

edocean said:
WDLD's signal has alot to offer. Very strong in Washington County and the Eastern Panhandle, with some reach into Greencastle and Waynesboro. Plus you can carry the signal down I-70 somewhat. The tower is located practically at the I-70/I-81 cooridor right in the heart of the Hagerstown Metro. Great geography for the 96.7 frequency. Personally, I think the 96.7 frequency is a very valuable frequency.
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95.9 and 96.7 might as well be on the same stick--they're only about 2 miles apart and have nearly identical properties, both as 3kw (equivalent) Class As.

But being at the intersection of I-81 & I-70 actually puts them both on the very southern edge--the Potomac River--of the Hagerstown Arbitron metro, and that's a huge disadvantage for both WDLD & WICL.

Only Main Line and Nassau still subscribe to the H-C-W Arbitron reports now, and with Nassau bleeding cash by the buckets (and having already abandoned Hagerstown as 106.9's "city of license") it's not hard to imagine the Chambersburgers as the only subscriber, fairly soon. And if they drop it, the contrived "market" combining Hagerstown and Chambersburg--two cities with nothing in common--might finally disappear.

Might be the best thing for everyone.
 
Re: WDLD, Hagerstown

jackandcoke said:
I might have been a tad unfair to 96.7 WDLD... but then, maybe not.

I did notice that "Wild" had tanked in the Fall 08 report. Question is... did the 1.8 (12+) share come before or after the de-urbanizing/mainstreaming?

Somebody at Mainline dropped the ball on this one.
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The CHR format has changed, or leaned more pop of late, de-urbanizing itself. So hard to say if the stations direction is a reflection of the direction of the format or the station.
 
Looks like the goal of WDLD might be to maintain a more CHR/Pop image instead of Rhythmic. Plus it's the only CHR in the Hagerstown market,
with the next closet CHR being Winchester or DC.
 
FWIW, I think that if 96.7/WDLD backed off the urban content just a tad more--and leaned just slightly more Hot AC, they could do very well. "The Mothership" 95.1/WIKZ has a stranglehold on AC in Franklin County and moving even more into mainstream AC wouldn't hurt them a bit.
 
edocean said:
Do you think a Jack Format (Adult Hits) would work in the Hagerstown Market?
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Outside of major markets, where a 3 share means millions, there haven't been many success stories. It does work especially well, though, in markets where there are no Hot AC or Classic Hits stations. Between Eagle & WIKZ, I'm not sure there's enough to go around.

As I noted above, WIKZ is just barely keeping its toe in the Hot AC segment, leaning much more mainstream, and if they gave WDLD a little more breathing room on the younger end, 96.7 could take off.

But (and this is something Main Line really doesn't want to think about in these penny-pinching times) I think the difference-maker would be a high profile, interactive, Hagerstown-focused morning act... and if they were really serious about it, the same in PM Drive.

The huge hole in Hagerstown right now is not a music hole. It's the enormous and obvious absence of any FM radio station reflecting the interests and concerns of the people who live in Hagerstown & environs.

Everybody--WIKZ, WAYZ, WLTF, WWEG--gives it a "kiss & a promise" from Chambersburg, Greencastle, Martinsburg or Frederick. Lou & Tom & Jim & the rest at WJEJ do a terrific job, but 1240 is an AM in an FM world, and the station is targeted musically smack at the 75-84 demo (presumably at Mr. Staub's insistance). It's good for a 4 share--all 65+.

Main Line or Prettyman are in the best position to fill the void, with WDLD (a modest task) or with WICL (a wholesale makeover). Just not sure if the honchos get it... or would spend the money to do it even if they did.
 
jackandcoke said:
Okay, where was I?

WFYN... er, WBHB: You know, the one at 101.5. This is really the third best Class B signal, I suppose--maybe even the second--since 106.9's stick is pretty far south and misses chunks of northern Franklin--and 95.1's stick is outside Chambersburg and loses some punch toward the Potomac. Anyway, 101.5 shares the Classic Rock pie with 106.9--and, of the two, is more the rocker. Hagerstown has more AC/DC and Def Leppard tunes on the radio than any 50-year old white guy could ever want.

WQCM: ...John Boy & Billy in the morning and the only Active Rocker left. The last of a dying breed...

Back to work.
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Actually WBHB (101.5) is now more of an Active Rock type of station than 'QCM. They play far more new music and hardly any 80's "Hair Rock". Whereas 'QCM still plays CCR, Billy Joel, and lots of "Hair Rock".

Just an observation.
 
What would you think if 95.9 would go to a news talk/sports format offering local news talk content focusing on Washington County and 96.7 leaning more Mainstream Top 40 offering some on-air personality lineups, or syndication like Kidd Kraddick in the morning?
 
edocean said:
What would you think if 95.9 would go to a news talk/sports format offering local news talk content focusing on Washington County and 96.7 leaning more Mainstream Top 40 offering some on-air personality lineups, or syndication like Kidd Kraddick in the morning?
Click to expand...

Makes sense, but you're talking about two different outfits, so it would require two separate decisions by two different companies and (presumably) a bunch of different people.

So don't bet the farm on it happening anytime soon.
 
With the heart of the Hagerstown Metro being located right at the I-70/
I-81 cooridor, there is alot of opportunity for business growth, possible format opportunties, as well as promotional opportunities. I would think that one or even more of the broadcasting companies, especially the ones with frequencies licensed within the county would want take advantage of the great opportunity that lies right in Hagerstown/Washington County, the population center of the metro. Just my thoughts.
 
WDLD has gone a bit more mainstream...but all this is carefully caculated. WIKZ is doing very well the way it is right now. As far as putting personalities on WDLD....why? In the current economic climate this would not work. A syndicated morning show? Maybe...and that's a BIG maybe. Main Line knows what they're doing. They have a plan. Mix is a Hot AC that's family friendly....so they get alot of listeners who might normally listen to a mainstream AC. "DLD is CHR/URBAN. That format has in recent months been getting more mainstream at many stations. To try new format's on class A signals like 96.7 right now would be a big risk nobody in their right mind is willing to take. I wouldn't look for any format changes right now. Tweaks?...maybe...but nothing major.
 
bossjock 56 said:
WDLD has gone a bit more mainstream...but all this is carefully caculated. WIKZ is doing very well the way it is right now. As far as putting personalities on WDLD....why? In the current economic climate this would not work. A syndicated morning show? Maybe...and that's a BIG maybe. Main Line knows what they're doing. They have a plan. Mix is a Hot AC that's family friendly....so they get alot of listeners who might normally listen to a mainstream AC. "DLD is CHR/URBAN. That format has in recent months been getting more mainstream at many stations. To try new format's on class A signals like 96.7 right now would be a big risk nobody in their right mind is willing to take. I wouldn't look for any format changes right now. Tweaks?...maybe...but nothing major.
Click to expand...

We don't need no stinking humans. Automation Is King! Long Live Automation!

Last one to listen, turn off the lights.
 
Don't get me wrong. I'd love to have live people on the air 24/7....or at least a good chunk of the time. Who's gonna pay for it? There are probably more stations in this market than the market can support. Right now...the advertising dollars are slim......so you do the best you can with what you've got.
 
bossjock 56 said:
Don't get me wrong. I'd love to have live people on the air 24/7....or at least a good chunk of the time. Who's gonna pay for it? There are probably more stations in this market than the market can support. Right now...the advertising dollars are slim......so you do the best you can with what you've got.
Click to expand...

Don't forget the mortgage! What did they pay? $23 million for three FM sticks in the boonies and two worthless AM rigs. Let's see. If that was 10X cash flow, that means they were spinning off about 200 grand a month. But a 10-year payout on $23 million... with business down 20 percent... oops. Sorry, Lisa--no soup for you!

And as for 96.7? Just think of it as a 3,000-watt iPod. Lots-o-tunes, uninterrupted by those pesky commercials and annoying disc jockeys!
 
Like a lot of threads this one veered off to focus on the smaller players with no audience with little attention to the big dog that keeps kicking everyone's ass: WAYZ.

Change frequencies? No problem, still #1. Change PDs, GMs, jocks? No problem, still #1.

VerStandig is doing something right. Or he's very, very, very lucky.

Which is it?
 
Wild 96.7

I respectfully disagree that 96.7 should lean more mainstream. This market is notorious for wide swings in share because of inconsistent diary placement and the small number of diaries. Go back a year and you'll find WDLD up in the 4 share to 5 share range, right behind the 50,000 watters. They should NOT over-react to one lousy book because too many diaries ended up in Shippensburg's West End of freaking Fannettsburg.

What they've been doing has worked great. Whether the old timers like it or not, rhythmic music is what 18-34 wants to hear. There's more than enough Old People Music on the air in The Valley.

WDLD should not change at all.
 
Whats Next? now in 2012-2013 era 2 radio stations changed formats, WPPT-FM Country Legends 92.1 Changed Formats from Classic Country To (CHR) Contemporary Hit Radio as "NOW 92.1" and call signs to WNUZ-FM & 95.9 WICL-FM first switched from Oldies to Classic Hits in July 4th, 2013 & then switched Formats to a Country Format playing a mix of Classic Country & Newer Country from 1980's-1990's, hint of classics, & Early 2000's Country, rebranded as "95.9 The Big DAWG", Whats up for the Future NOW!, ??? of 95.9 FM in Prettyman Broadcasting & Verstandig Broadcasting on 92.1 FM???
 
I'd guess they'll let them cook for awhile, maybe tweak here & there, and see how they perform. Couple years? VerStandig seems to be using 92.1 as a foil for two of Main Line's stations--kind of a "tweener" wedged between DLD & IKZ. Regardless of the ratings, they might be slow to let go of that competitive position. Classic Country wasn't of any use to VerStandig. They were getting every Country dollar in the market anyway. For Prettyman, though, it gives them something very different to sell from its "Lite" AC.
 
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