How does WBRU survive?

[farid]

Granted the one thing WBRU doesn't have is a payroll problem when it comes to air staff since the djs are not compensated but if there's one Providence station aimed at an audience most apt to get their music anywhere but radio it's WBRU.They probably also target more music snobs than any other station,which again means radio runs the risk of being irrevelant to them.Still they've lasted through the years and hold their own ratings wise.With the alternative format itself in trouble any ideas how WBRU still is able to pull numbers?Obviously it isn't just a student population since out of town students don't get diaries.What does the long term hold for this station with the format being what it is?

 

[evanchads]

I have to admit that I do not listen to WBRU on a regular basis. One thing listeners of this station can count on is the fact that this station is slightly different each time you tune in. You have new voices to listen to, different styles, etc. The music is consistent but everything around the music is for lack of the better word-"Fresh". Now, many programmers may not like this type of radio due to is unpredictability. It's almost like listening to shock jock radio or talk shows. You never know what will happen next. I think there is a certain population that likes this type of radio and that shows in the ratings.


You are correct about the Brown U students getting their music from other sources. Have you ever walked around the East Side and counted iPods?

 

[BillHall]

> Granted the one thing WBRU doesn't have is a payroll problem
> when it comes to air staff since the djs are not compensated
> but if there's one Providence station aimed at an audience
> most apt to get their music anywhere but radio it's
> WBRU.They probably also target more music snobs than any
> other station,which again means radio runs the risk of being
> irrevelant to them.Still they've lasted through the years
> and hold their own ratings wise.With the alternative format
> itself in trouble any ideas how WBRU still is able to pull
> numbers?Obviously it isn't just a student population since
> out of town students don't get diaries.What does the long
> term hold for this station with the format being what it is?
>
Good question! Obviously, as a college station licensed as a commercial station and a full market signal, WBRU is a very unusual case. I think that this might suggest that either:

a) The Providence market is for some unknown reason much more interested in alternative.

or

b) Corporate-owned alternative stations can't quite capture the same genuine feel that WBRU creates.

I'm inclined to guess the latter is more likely to be the case.

Any other thoughts out there?

 

[Runrigger]

> You are correct about the Brown U students getting their
> music from other sources. Have you ever walked around the
> East Side and counted iPods?

I don't think we can assume the iPod bunch is totally abandoning radio anyway & if they're more receptive to new music & artists, BRU is going to be where they hear it.

As far as the East Side, the iPods are in the left ear because the cell phones are in the right ear while they're watching videos on their laptops. Walking down Thayer Street always puts me in a foul mood.

 

[rockchick]

> a) The Providence market is for some unknown reason much
> more interested in alternative.

This is a plausible theory. WBRU has been alternative since the late 80's. It was one of the first alternative stations in the country. Perhaps that history makes them more likely to survive than the other alternative stations around the country that have flipped.

The question is, is WBRU doing anything to cash in on that history? I mean, if they're playing nothing but Linkin Park now, who cares if they played Flock of Seagulls back in the day?




> b) Corporate-owned alternative stations can't quite capture
> the same genuine feel that WBRU creates.

Is that feel really what drives their ratings? Is the college aspect a plus or a minus? A lot of people I talk to don't even realize that WBRU is a college station, in which case it would just come off as a station with lousy jocks. How can they build TSL with no morning show and no personalities?

If I were trying to fend off the iPod, I'd start making podcasts available on my website. I'd e-mail my listeners all the time. maybe even send text messages to their cell phones. How else can you engage the tech-savvy crowd?

 

[Feralcat]

> > a) The Providence market is for some unknown reason much
> > more interested in alternative.
>
> This is a plausible theory. WBRU has been alternative since
> the late 80's. It was one of the first alternative stations
> in the country. Perhaps that history makes them more likely
> to survive than the other alternative stations around the
> country that have flipped.
>
> The question is, is WBRU doing anything to cash in on that
> history? I mean, if they're playing nothing but Linkin Park
> now, who cares if they played Flock of Seagulls back in the
> day?

They're really the only alternative station around since FNX can't be heard in Providence anymore and even though HJY plays Linkin Park you also hear Kansas in the same half hour. I think BRU aims at the crowd that wants new music and new artists. They have to be exposed to them in some way before they decide what to download or even buy and BRU is the place. I wonder if they buck the system and add stuff not being promoted along with the music the promoters want played. As far as the jocks I know they're rough but that might work for them. They're closer to the listeners and they're the kinda listeners who laugh at most radio stations and their philosophies behind what to play.

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

WBRU-95.5 also programs an urban music format all day on Sundays.

Might the time come when WBRU drops rock and expands it's Sunday urban music block to 24/7??

 

[BoredModerator]

> WBRU-95.5 also programs an urban music format all day on
> Sundays.
>
> Might the time come when WBRU drops rock and expands it's
> Sunday urban music block to 24/7??
>

No.

 

[missdj]

> > WBRU-95.5 also programs an urban music format all day on
> > Sundays.
> >
> > Might the time come when WBRU drops rock and expands it's
> > Sunday urban music block to 24/7??
> >
>
> No.
>


it would be great if WBRU would have more music and less DJ's. the dj's have that same grating tone with a valley girl/guy sound.... maybe its just me but the less they speak on the station the more i enjoy it.

 

[webcastboy]

> WBRU-95.5 also programs an urban music format all day on
> Sundays.
>

And allegedly does extreme well selling ads during it. I don't remember if WBRU does (or did) run fundraisers but something tells me at one point they did and the urban block brought in some serious dough.

> Might the time come when WBRU drops rock and expands it's
> Sunday urban music block to 24/7??
>

Doubt it - the student DJ's would revolt.

I suspect WBRU also does well because they give pretty good incentives to listen via their promotional giveaways, contests, concert tickets, etc. They get good interviews with bands and good scoops on new music. In short, they act like a real local radio station. Imagine that! ;-)

It certainly helps that they consistently do a good job programming the alternative/modern rock format. IIRC their GM is always a student but the program director is a professional, right? Sales staff is pros, too, I think.

Overall, though, my uninformed opinion is that WBRU's secret is that their overhead is very, very low. Three or four paid staff total, no rent, no utilities...do they even pay tower rent? Perhaps most important: no stockholders to answer to every fiscal quarter.

I can't help but think there's also that vague feeling there that they all know that if things got reaaaally bad they could fall back on Brown's endowment if needed.

 

[epsilon]

> it would be great if WBRU would have more music and less
> DJ's. the dj's have that same grating tone with a valley
> girl/guy sound.... maybe its just me but the less they
> speak on the station the more i enjoy it.
>


I wish BRU would become a little more adventurous in their music. It seems they're just playing the same 25 songs every other altrock station in the country is playing.

 

[Eli Polonsky]

> > WBRU-95.5 also programs an urban music format all day on
> > Sundays.
> >
>
> And allegedly does extreme well selling ads during it. I
> don't remember if WBRU does (or did) run fundraisers but
> something tells me at one point they did and the urban block
> brought in some serious dough.

I've never heard of a commercial station doing a fundraiser. Was WBRU non-comm in the past?

 

[webcastboy]

> > > WBRU-95.5 also programs an urban music format all day on
>
> > > Sundays.
> > >
> >
> > And allegedly does extreme well selling ads during it. I
> > don't remember if WBRU does (or did) run fundraisers but
> > something tells me at one point they did and the urban
> block
> > brought in some serious dough.
>
> I've never heard of a commercial station doing a fundraiser.
> Was WBRU non-comm in the past?
>

Well...I don't know whether WBRU has ever run a fundraier, but there's nothing stopping them, or any, commercial station from running a fundraiser. WCRB 102.5 has done a few over the years. And AFAIK, Harvard's WHRB 95.3 runs fundraisers as well. I wouldn't be surprised if WMVY 92.7 has done some (although I have zero evidence one way or the other if they have).

Obviously it's not the sort of thing your average commercial station does lightly...it requires a certain type of listener base to pull it off.

While WBRU has not done so, a station in the commercial FM band CAN file to become NCE. There are some benefits: no FCC filing fees, and you qualify for other grants & gov't programs. I don't know of many examples, though...the only one that comes immediately to mind is KUOW 94.9 in Seattle; they're an NPR affiliate.

 

[Eli Polonsky]

> Well...I don't know whether WBRU has ever run a fundraier,
> but there's nothing stopping them, or any, commercial
> station from running a fundraiser. WCRB 102.5 has done a
> few over the years. And AFAIK, Harvard's WHRB 95.3 runs
> fundraisers as well. I wouldn't be surprised if WMVY 92.7
> has done some (although I have zero evidence one way or the
> other if they have).

I spoke to some people from MVY last summer, and that subject happened to come up. They've never done an on-air fundraiser, but due to their format and specialty programming, occasionally some listeners have assumed they were some sort of "public radio" and they've received a few unsolicited donations over the years!

> While WBRU has not done so, a station in the commercial FM
> band CAN file to become NCE. There are some benefits: no
> FCC filing fees, and you qualify for other grants & gov't
> programs. I don't know of many examples, though...the only
> one that comes immediately to mind is KUOW 94.9 in Seattle;
> they're an NPR affiliate.

I believe that Pacifica owned stations such as WBAI in NYC and KPFA Berkeley, CA are full-power non-comm's in the commercial band. There are also some other NPR stations in the commercial band in various areas of the country. WOMR, an independent non-comm in Provincetown, MA moved from 91.9 up one step into the commercial band at 92.1, though I think they may have been forced to by UMB.

There are also many Class D's (non-comm stations under 100 watts) and LPFM's in the commercial band in many areas. Many of the Class D's were forced to move up there from the non-comm band years ago when it was ruled that they either had to go up to a minimum of 100 watts, or move out of the way of any competing 100+ watt applicant even if scrambling to find a slot in the commercial band with no protection from new full-power applications.

 

[webcastboy]

> I believe that Pacifica owned stations such as WBAI in NYC
> and KPFA Berkeley, CA are full-power non-comm's in the
> commercial band. There are also some other NPR stations in
> the commercial band in various areas of the country. WOMR,
> an independent non-comm in Provincetown, MA moved from 91.9
> up one step into the commercial band at 92.1, though I think
> they may have been forced to by WUMB/WFPB-FM 91.9.
>

WOMR took advantage of the rules that allow a non-comm to move three channels up or down from their existing frequency without it being a "major change". (assuming several other criteria of contour spacing and whatnot are met, of course). They were indeed originally on 91.9 and moved to 92.1 to help out WUMB. I've heard that story told by several bitter WOMR staffers who feel WUMB repaid the kindness by stabbing WOMR in the back when WOMR applied for a repeater in Orleans and WUMB MX'ed the app. It's still winding through the process last time I looked...

I was wondering about WBAI and Pacifica in general and actually I think they're a mix. AFAIK, you can tell a station's comm/non-comm status from their license's file number...searchable at www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/fmq.html

Here's a quick list...

KPFA 94.1 is BLED-19791108AE
WBAI 99.5 is BLH-19940204KK
WERS 88.9 is BLED-19900706KB
WBCN 104.1 is BLH-19911018KD
WBRU 95.5 is BLH-19940318KG
WBRS 100.1 is BMLED-199410120KD

I include WERS as a known NCE in the reserved band. WBRS is a grandfathered Class D. WBCN is a known commercial in the non-reserved band.

IIRC it's the "ED" in the file number that gives it away as to whether it's NCE or not. I don't know what the "BL" or "BML" stands for. Broadcasting/Land-based?

KPFA and WBAI are both Pacifica but I guess WBAI decided to keep the ability to run commercials (God only knows why when the whole point of Pacifica is that they never run commercials). Could just be that they never got around to filing for the exemption; Pacifica stations kinda have a reputation for, shall we say, disorganization in the management level. :-/

Ahh, all the fun things you can find in the CDBS!

 

[Eli Polonsky]

> WOMR took advantage of the rules that allow a non-comm to
> move three channels up or down from their existing frequency
> without it being a "major change". (assuming several other
> criteria of contour spacing and whatnot are met, of course).
> They were indeed originally on 91.9 and moved to 92.1 to
> help out UMB. I've heard that story told by several bitter
> WOMR staffers who feel UMB repaid the kindness by stabbing
> WOMR in the back when WOMR applied for a repeater in Orleans
> and UMB MX'ed the app. It's still winding through the
> process last time I looked...

I've also been told by an OMR management that UMB continues to make offers to buy them out to become another repeater. The latest one involved "trading" their Orleans AM daytimer to them... of course, that was laughed off...

 

[epsilon]

> I've also been told by an OMR management that UMB continues
> to make offers to buy them out to become another repeater.
> The latest one involved "trading" their Orleans AM daytimer
> to them... of course, that was laughed off...
>


Maybe if they throw in Manny Ramirez, Matt Clement, and cash....