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How Close can 106.1 WNGC get to Metro Atlanta?
- Thread starter TJB
- Start date
A
Art Sutton
Guest
WNGC on 106.1 is limited toward Atlanta by the Alexander City, AL 106.1, 105.7 at Canton, GA and a 105.9 Class A open allotment at Milner, GA. 106.1 is the IF of 95.5 and you can't short space those frequencies. Right now, and until 95.5 moves off the tall tower near Chateau Elan....106.1 is as close to Atlanta as it can get. It's hemmed in to the east by 106.3 at Maudlin, SC(Greenville)Scott Fybush said:
The only grandfathering 106.1 Toccoa has is with 106.7 at Gainesville. Since both were licensed on those channels long before the FM allotment policy was adopted by the FCC in 1964, they can completely ignore each other's facilities. This is how 95.5 can move to the WSB-FM tower. 96.1 and 94.9 are pre 64 spacings. They can ignore each other. The pre-64 status follows a channel even with a city of license change once a pre-64 is downgraded, it's stuck. Example...Cox first applied to move 95.5 to WSB-FM as a C2. However, before a license was granted, it filed to keep a C1 status by moving a couple other stations off their channels so the WSB-FM site would clear for a C1.
As far as Toccoa upset over losing 106.1, that station hasn't had a local presence since the 1980s when it was moved to Gainesville. The station struggled until Paul Stone bought the intellectual rights to 95.5 WNGC, which included the advertising accounts, and turned 106.1 into WNGC. The station prior to then had a huge coverage area but really no home. Too big of a facility....too much overhead for a 100KW station...much like WNEG TV in Toccoa has always struggled. The TV station is being sold to UGA.
A class A FM or a C3 FM can do well in rural but growing NE Georgia but most local advertising is bought for the immediate area around the towns...not regional and except for car dealers and there aren't many which are going to pay more than $25 to $50 per ad for radio or TV ads.
With 95.5 moving to the WSB-FM tower, it does pull the IF contour off 106.1 but the other stations close that opening pretty quickly.....in other words, all those other stations would have to go away before 106.1 could move considerably closer in to Atlanta and be a viable signal there. I can't imagine that Clear Channel would accomodate a downgrade on their Columbus market 106.1 to gain a new competitor in Atlanta even though if they downgraded they could move much closer to Columbus.
Everyone thinks Cox is going to move stations from Athens into Atlanta. I may be wrong but I don't see why they would or at least why they have to. The Athens, GA market is probably the most financially lucrative unrated market in the nation. The fact that it is not a Arbitron market means that the number of stations one owner can own is determined by contour overlap. The ownership limits are determined by Arbitron BIA Radio markets and if the stations are licensed to towns inside that radio market or considered "home" to the BIA radio market.
They could own a bunch more stations in Atlanta if they wanted but they own everything viable in the market. Plus, how many stations does one need in Athens. The same can be said of Atlanta. What format could do they on another FM they aren't already doing or is already being done on some other big FM.
I don't know what Cox stations do in revenue but I would suspect that the bottom line of the Athens market is as good as the Greenville, SC stations and a lot less competitive.
Also, a case can be made that the submarkets near Atlanta but far enough to be standalone markets of their own....such as Athens and Gainesville is a good business plan. They can operate them as standalone markets but also use their Atlanta presence and sales relationships to develop regional sales on the Athens stations from the larger city nearby.
The move of 103.7 to Maysville so it puts a city grade over Gainesville has lead to some speculation that maybe Cox wants to set up a stronger presence in Gainesville which population wise equals Athens in size. The big difference is a strong strong competitor in Gainesville. The Jacobs have always had a great operation in WDUN. That dates back to 1949 when they along with the prominent Gainesville DUNlap family put WDUN on the air.
In today's market, it would seem to me that it's a smart move to bulk up in these strong outlying markets near a major market like Atlanta but far enough away to have their own identity. Its a new concept but one which may make a lot more sense than just buying more signals in an already saturated market such as Atlanta.
Art Sutton said:
Thanks for all that info!
How about this scenario? Since 95.5 is moving intown, could 106.1 be moved to the Chateau Elan tower? This would give WNGC coverage similar to River--which means you'd still get Gainesville, cover Athens better, and pick up MUCH more of metro ATL. CoL could remain Arcade. They might have to back off on the power or go shorter on the stick (maybe where the current WBTS transmitter is) to prevent interference with WSTH and/or Viva...but Athens coverage should still be an improvement.
It would all depend on how much more ATL metro they can cover to see if it's worthwhile.
It wouldn't be an intown signal...but it wouldn't interfere with WSTH 106.1 or the Milner allocation either. The only question I see (given my limited knowledge) would be short-spacing with Viva. The 2 stations are already pretty close.
I don't think you're correct on that, especially because I read a quote from Bob Neil saying Cox couldn't do anything more in Atlanta.
The 8-total/5-on-a-band limit is for markets with 45 or more stations. I think the FCC goes by the number of stations reported to have ratings by Arbitron. I believe Arbitron shows less than 35 rated stations for the Atlanta metro.
TJB said:
Somebody mentioned that the problem with the old Beat tower was that the signal was blocked by Stone Mountain. How much of a problem vs. improvement would this be? Would it just be a null area on the back side or would you have multipath issues on the front side?
94.9 and 96.1 share a tower...although they're farther apart than third-adjacents.
A
Art Sutton
Guest
Unless another frequency is found for the Milner allotment, In order to stay 100,000 watts, WNGC must pretty much stay on its present tower. If it downgraded to a C3, it could go on the 97.1 tower. The Fish tower is totally a non starter. It's pretty much hemmed in as a 100KW station were it is, as things stand now.
One advantage the present site offers is it sits on a ridge which averages 1100 to 1500 feet above sea level and runs SW and NE along 985. One you go south toward Athens, the elevation drops off 500 to 700 feet lower. This really gives 106.1 and other nearby FMs a super strong signal heading off to the SW, S and SE.
One advantage the present site offers is it sits on a ridge which averages 1100 to 1500 feet above sea level and runs SW and NE along 985. One you go south toward Athens, the elevation drops off 500 to 700 feet lower. This really gives 106.1 and other nearby FMs a super strong signal heading off to the SW, S and SE.
RoddyFreeman said:
Goat Rodeo Cowboy said:
Maybe you're forgetting, but it's up to the FCC to approve it. The government has every opportunity to stand up for the communities and reject these move-ins. But they usually don't, and therefore companies have been doing this for 80 years. Radio companies are not, and have never been, "benevolent caretakers." They are private businesses who are licensed to operate on the public airwaves.
The government's approach seems to be: Let the owners do what they want. When they move out, that opens up a space for a community-owned non-commercial LPFM station. So all you folks who've been looking to own your own station, this maybe a chance to wedge one in to Athens, if you can find a way to make enough money to keep it on the air.
Sgeirk said:
No, no. This was my post:
"(Maybe I missed something) but if WNGC can't be moved anywhere, why change the CoL? Isn't Toccoa more recognizable than Arcade?"
Unless there's some strange magic in the "air", moving only the CoL will have no effect on the signal (duh), so IF the tower can't be moved, WHY change the Col to Arcade?
???
trusty said:
I got the idea from one of the previous messages that it would affect which rating book the station showed up in: Atlanta ratings vs. Greenville, SC ratings.
We're dealing with something above my pay grade here.
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