Has the Cromwell Group given up on 102.5 the Game and the Game Radio Network? The local show that airs on 102.5 The Game is "Sports Night" with George Plaster and Predator games. The rest of they time they are broadcasting ESPN Radio shows of "Mike And Mike in the Morning", "The Herd with Colin Cowherd" and the Scott Van Pelt Show, while the "First Quarter with Greg Pogue and Joe Dubin and the Mid-day show with Bill King and Bubba Miller and The Paul Finebaum Show are being broadcast on the Game2 (94.9FM/830AM). I have also noticed that the several of the stations that were the first to sign up as the Game Radio Network affliates (namely WGNS (100.5 FM, 101.9 FM & 1450 AM) are no longer carrying "SportsNight with George Plaster". Has the Nashville Radio Community come to the conclusion that George Plaster is NO LONGER the beginning and the end of Nashville Sports Media as he thinks he is? Or is it because of the bad signal for 102.5 east and southeast of the Nashville area?
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Has Cromwell Given up on 102.5 The Game and the Game Network?
- Thread starter jwk1979
- Start date
Just once, I would like to see a discussion about this station in which signal strength is NOT mentioned. At any rate, I thought that they put on new translators and repeaters in the Murfreesboro area to rectify this situation. I have seen billboards for the Game2 in Antioch when I have been down that way, so apparently they can be picked up down that way as well. I have also seen Game2 billboards in other parts of town.
The real issue here is Cromwell itself. Much as they might want to, they are simply NEVER going to be major players here. They are just simply too small to compete with all the other "C" corporation-owned stations (Clear Channel and Cumulus). Cromwell stations would probably do well in small towns where they would not have as much competition, but they will simply NEVER make it in the big leagues. I have lived in the midstate for 22 years, and I have simply NEVER really been all that impressed with any of the Cromwell stations. As if I needed any further proof of this, their studios are out there in no man's land on Murfreesboro Road. (I used to live about a mile from there, myself.)
Agree with you about Plaster. I have never understood all the fuss made over him. He is just simply NOT "all that." Yet he is (or at least was) treated like a radio god in the Nashville sports world.
The real issue here is Cromwell itself. Much as they might want to, they are simply NEVER going to be major players here. They are just simply too small to compete with all the other "C" corporation-owned stations (Clear Channel and Cumulus). Cromwell stations would probably do well in small towns where they would not have as much competition, but they will simply NEVER make it in the big leagues. I have lived in the midstate for 22 years, and I have simply NEVER really been all that impressed with any of the Cromwell stations. As if I needed any further proof of this, their studios are out there in no man's land on Murfreesboro Road. (I used to live about a mile from there, myself.)
Agree with you about Plaster. I have never understood all the fuss made over him. He is just simply NOT "all that." Yet he is (or at least was) treated like a radio god in the Nashville sports world.
They did put a translator and repeater on 97.5 in Murfreesboro but that signal is hit and miss at the best. I live in Smyrna and all their of the signals (102.5 The Game, 97.5 and 94.9FM/830AM the Game2) are hit and miss at best. I could never pick-up the 97.5 signal from my house at all, while I could pick-up 94.9 in my drive way but when I leave my house and just turn at the next corner, completely lose that signal. Same with 102.5 the Game. Their use to be a billboard on I-24 at Waldron Road promoting the the Game on 97.5 but yet when you turned to that signal, you heard nothing but static. About the only place I have ever been able to pick-up the 97.5 with no interference and no cutting in and out is on the Court House Square in Murfreesboro. The signal strength IS A MAJOR ISSUE FOR THE GAME EAST AND SOUTHEAST OF THE METRO AREA, NO MATTER HOW MANY SIGNALS, TRANSLATORS AND REPEATERS THEY ADD IN THE AREA!!!! Just as the signal is for 94.5 the Hippie is in the same area.
Hippie broke up a little bit on me whenever I was in Anti-crotch. (Sorry, I call it that because I just don't like it over there, and we had an obnoxious co-worker at a former station who lived there at the time.) I just tuned in to the Vol State station over there, and of course, that signal was iffy, too.
I could pick up Hippie okay from another location in south Nashville (which I called AIN'Tioch, cuz it AIN'T Antioch), but it was not strong enough to stop the seek/scan button if I was not already on it. I could pick up the Cookeville station from there, too, but same story, not strong enough for the seek/scan button to stop on it.
My advice would be to just give up on the CRAMwell stations entirely, and find something else to listen to. If it is as bad as you say it is, then there is definitely an opening for a sports station to serve the 'boro, specifically.
I could pick up Hippie okay from another location in south Nashville (which I called AIN'Tioch, cuz it AIN'T Antioch), but it was not strong enough to stop the seek/scan button if I was not already on it. I could pick up the Cookeville station from there, too, but same story, not strong enough for the seek/scan button to stop on it.
My advice would be to just give up on the CRAMwell stations entirely, and find something else to listen to. If it is as bad as you say it is, then there is definitely an opening for a sports station to serve the 'boro, specifically.
Greetings everybody! They are still selling air space on The Game, but it's a "relative" bargain. I should note that it's a Top 5 rated station in the rankings on the westside zips of Nashville. Overall, the numbers show no life, but it has it's "spots." Wouldn't call last rites just yet.
Judging by Radio-Locator's map, Buzz's tower site appears to be in SW Rutherford County. Pegram (where I live) is the COL for the Game, but their tower appears to be in northern Dickson County. I have long said that CRAMwell needs the SAME programming on BOTH of these stations (a la The Fish), but that doesn't appear to be in the offing anytime soon. If they did that, they could get rid of all the translators and other secondary stations, but that also doesn't appear to be happening anytime soon. It seems to me that CRAMwell (again judging by these maps) is content with covering just Nastyville and Clarksvegas with the Game's primary signal, and everyone else is just SOL.
I don't listen to much sports talk, so the Game is not of much interest to me. Likewise, I don't listen to much "modern" rock, so the Buzz is also of no interest to me. It DOES appear, however, that CRAMwell is going to stick with the "Game" branding, since they are also using it on their Fox 17 sports show.
I don't listen to much sports talk, so the Game is not of much interest to me. Likewise, I don't listen to much "modern" rock, so the Buzz is also of no interest to me. It DOES appear, however, that CRAMwell is going to stick with the "Game" branding, since they are also using it on their Fox 17 sports show.
Translators rarely, if ever, rectify signal problems like intended. At best, they make radio something you have to work at to enjoy. If I have to listen at 97.5 at home and flip to 102.5 shortly after leaving the house for work, I'm probably just not going to bother listening or will plug my smartphone into my car's auxiliary jack and stream it. 102.5 was never intended to be a Nashville station, and HD2 signals and translators can't fix that problem, at least not much.
Keep in mind that most of that ESPN programming is now required if you want to affiliate with them. As of a year or two ago, you must carry Mike & Mike in at least some hours of morning drive. Since most network radio contracts are three years, it would make sense that ESPN affiliates are suddenly dropping local shows as they're probably renewing contracts.
That station started out as WDKN-FM of Dickson. And like so many other FM stations in bedroom communities around Nashville, it became a Nashville "move-in." It may not have (at least originally) ever been intended to be a "Nashville" station, but it was DEFINITELY never intended to be a Murfreesboro station. Check this map:
http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WPRT&service=FM&status=L&hours=U
You have the right idea. Streaming it is the way to go.
Cromwell actually believe they are a Nashville player. As far as success in small towns, not so much. Bud went nuts in the nineties grabbing all of the 80/90 drop ins he could building his empire. He then clustered them around towns like Owensboro, KY, Decatur and Mattoon, Illinois over saturating the market. As to get business on the air they sell at rock bottom rates, literally a dollar a holler. The result is collapsing market revenue while heritage properties in those towns suffer and wind up reducing operations or in some cases even being purchased by Cromwell. I sold radio against them for a short time and it was frustrating when they would do a victory dance on selling out inventory. How hard is that when you are selling inventory at a dollar a spot?
Okay, let's get real for a moment here. Since you decided to YELL at me, I am going to BUST this "signal myth" once and for all.
http://www.radio-locator.com/info/WPRT-FM
http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WPRT&service=FM&status=L&hours=U
So we see from the first link above that WPRT is a 100,000-watt station, the maximum currently allowed by the FCC. And we see from the map in the second link that they send out a good signal in every direction. There is not even a null toward Rutherford County. The problem comes in that Smyrna is 48.8 miles from WPRT's tower. That is THREE COUNTIES AWAY from Rutherford County. That has to be AT LEAST an hour's drive from Smyrna. Link to that info below:
http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/locate?select=city&city=Smyrna&state=TN&x=9&y=8
So there is not really a "signal issue" in Rutherford County, it is just that they are apparently choosing NOT to seriously compete there. Hell, even MY town (Pegram) is 19.4 miles away from their tower, and we are their COL. And that is at least a half-hour's drive away from me! The irony here is that I actually lived CLOSER to their tower when I lived in Clarksville!
http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/locate?select=city&city=Pegram&state=TN&x=9&y=5
Where JWK actually has a point is with regard to the translator. Here is 97.5's coverage map, although here, it claims to be a translator for the Buzz (probably unnecessary if that is true).:
http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=W248BM&service=FX&status=L&hours=U
So the reality here is that Smyrna is simply NOT in the primary coverage area (outside the red-outlined circles) for either that station, or its translator. It is simply in a "donut hole" between the station's and its translator's primary coverage areas.
So, apparently, CRAMwell is electing to NOT seriously compete in Rutherford County, at least with regard to sports talk. If they are claiming otherwise, that is a problem for them.
So evidently, JWK's only recourse is to either move, or listen online. (We are planning to buy a cord so that we can listen to Hippie online through the car radio on the wife's ipad when we go to Pensacola.)
So if Cromwell has choosen to not COMPETE in Rutherford County, as you claim, then answer these two points for me.
1) 102.5 the Game claims to be the FLAGSHIP STATION for MTSU Atheletics, which is LOCATED in Rutherford County. Since the biggest majority of MTSU graduates that I know don't keep up MTSU Sports on a regular basis, then why would a station claim to be the Flagship station for MTSU if they are not trying to compete in Rutherford County, the home of MTSU? Would if make more since of the Game to carry Austin Peay Sports, since the signal is MUCH STRONGER in Clarksville, Springfield, Ashland City and Dickson, which is much closer to the APSU Campus than they are to the MTSU Campus?
2) Why did Cromwell spend all that money on Billboards advertising the [email protected] in both Smyrna and LaVergne if the signal was never meant to be heard in neither city?
I'm just tired of someone who ADMITTS they very rarely venture into this part of town, yet when the signal strength of 102.5 The Game is brought up, he is the first one to STATE the signal is not a problem East and South of Nashville. How coming down here and checking out the signal for the station for yourself before you make any Comments on the signal in Rutherford County!!!
You raise two good points with your first two paragraphs, but the last paragraph is irrelevant. I repeat: the signal there is NOT an issue there. They are NOT competing there, despite what they might have you to believe. The links that I have provided above prove it. You CAN'T complain about NOT being able to receive their signal when you live an HOUR away from their tower! If anything, those maps are probably too optimistic. The actual coverage probably isn't even AS GOOD as what is shown on those maps. At any rate, you live OUTSIDE of BOTH red circles, meaning that your listening ability to those stations is going to be iffy at best. You are in their secondary coverage areas, but I seriously doubt that they are selling much advertising there, unless it is indeed "dollar a holler."
You need to raise those first two points with CRAMwell, arguing the logic that I have provided. The maps PROVE that they aren't competing there; thus they are indeed wasting their money on billboards, except for maybe right there in the 'boro.
I am NOT unsympathetic to your plight. Before Hippie came on, I had to strain to get my car radio to pick up WKOM out of Columbia. You can look at a map of their coverage area, and see that I, even here in southern Cheatham County, am only on the fringes of their coverage area. I must drive down to at least Cool Springs in order to be able to receive them. But at the end of the day, they are still a Maury County station, and they really don't give a damn about me. I wrote to them, asking them to increase their power, but they told me that they were not able to do so. Chaffin's Barn is (or at least was) a regular advertiser on their station, but apparently it is only because they are trying to attract Maury Countians to venture to Bellevue.
Bottom line: The Game is simply NOT competing in Rutherford County, despite what they would have you to believe. They are kidding themselves if they suggest otherwise. If they are going to form a "Game network," then they need an actual STATION (not just a translator) in the Murfreesboro area.
Okay, here is why The Game is not carrying the Govs:
http://www.apsugovernors.com/ViewAr...0133&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=16900&ATCLID=1060732
http://www.apsugovernors.com/ViewAr...0133&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=16900&ATCLID=1060732
The Buzz is in a tower on 840 going west toward Knoxville. It's a couple miles west of the I24/840 split. They have a pretty powerful signal, I believe they are at 100kw
They did have a station in Murfreesboro that was one of the first stations to sign on when Cromwell and George Plaster first proposed the Game Radio Network in order to air "SportsNight with George Plaster". WGNS (1450 AM, 100.5 & 101.9 FM) was one of the first stations to sign on as a Game Network affliates. WGNS has since dropped "Sportsnight", as have stations in Tullahoma, McMinnville and Lynchburg since 97.5 FM & 94.9 FM started broadcasting.
Firepoint - greetings in this new year. Sadly, the signal issue does need to be considered in the overall picture of all of the Cromwell stations, as well as product. The biggest hurdle with 102.5 is not it's 100kw "strength" but rather the signals ability to penetrate office buildings and houses. Same, but to a lesser degree for 102.9. It's probably just best to call the signal "thin" because it gets chopped up and blocked right as it hits the main population of Davidson County. I could speak to other counties, but we've talked about it for years on here in varying levels of depth. That alone gives them an almost impossible chance of ever beating 104.5. Now, as to respect your request to talk about the actual product, there has been TONS of billboard marketing, which should have helped propel the station into at least a 3 or 4 share, especially in the fall. So, we have to see what is on the station to figure out why it is having problems. I think the Dave Ramsey move was a bad choice, because it admitted early-in defeat of the ALL SPORTS product. Dave's audience is heavier in female listeners anyway. Dave had no choice but to at least try. And I will say it cannot be comforting to be at WLAC 5-8pm in your hometown and not be live. Issues like this hurt Dave's ratings, just like similar issues on The Game. The actual sport product, except for Plaster, is not drawing listeners like 104.5. Plaster, while certainly fair game for discussing whether he is relevant or not anymore, is the stations 6pm new anchor. Just that no one is "watching" the 6pm news like they did 10-15 years ago. Even if 102.5 had the exact same signal pattern as 104.5, The Game would still probably be about 1/2-3/4 of the Zone's listening audience (at best.) That doesn't give you a chance for top ten status and you have to at least have that for ad buys in this market. Also, add in the WNSR translator and IF someone scans the dial and the stations actually come in, you have a very dizzying array of sport talks options that most don't have enough recognition to quickly compel the audience...or keep them. The old song, played on Hippie, "Nothing from Nothing Leaves Nothing" is sadly a true statement what is happening and I don't see it getting that much better, if any. What I cannot figure out is how Bud didn't see the perils of all of this after having so many issues with ratings and formats over the years. How long this can or will survive is anybody's guess. I would certainly be having some sleepless nights. And remember, The Game does do well in some zip codes, etc., but overall the Nashville ratings are so chopped up, they hide any strong spots, unless you break them down. And at least they do try to sell advertising in the sweet spots, so someone is paying attention to that in the Cromwell sales department. Not sure it matters.
I found this online over the weekend. If MTSU can't be bothered to update their website (WNFN hasn't been "The Fan" for nearly FIVE YEARS now!), then it probably doesn't particularly bother them that they are well outside of the coverage area of their "flagship" station.
http://www.goblueraiders.com/content.cfm/id/2198
Tibbs--spot on with the issues that you raise. 102.1 was originally there to "prop up" 102.5 in downtown Nashville, at least until this latest format change. CRAMwell is just NEVER going to be a major player in Nashville or anywhere else. I reiterate that if they were only in small towns (see "Thunderbolt Broadcasting" down in west Tennessee, for example) then they MIGHT have a chance of making it.
I can generally pick up Hippie anywhere in Nashville that I happen to go, but they have a tendency to break up for no apparent reason in the most unusual places.
The biggest issue that radio stations are facing right now is online competition. The Sunday morning airing of AT40 the '70s on Hippie is inconvenient for us, so we listen online on Sunday evening from a station in Massachusetts!
For the longest time, high school football has been the savior of small-town AM stations, but now if schools start providing their own online broadcasts, then they won't need AM stations anymore.
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