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How's WSYR FM doing?

T

therealjm12

I just read on the Buffalo/Rochester thread that WBEN -FM got a big goose egg in the latest trends. WBEN -AM has a big signal on 930, similar to WSYR on 570. So now there's a lot of questioning of the move to blow up the Lake of 107.7 to simulcast WBEN.
So anyone got any poop on how WSYR-FM is doing?

Ya, got to admit, I try to keep this site moving.
 
Jeff, it's my understanding that Arbitron combines the ratings for all simulcast stations in the market into one line.

http://www.radio-info.com/markets/buffalo-niagara-falls

I don't think the people on the Buffalo board are correct in claiming WBEN-FM (the former WLKK) got a zero. It looks that way at first glance, but really, it's because WLKK-FM no longer exists. Now that it's WBEN-FM, simulcasting WBEN(AM), the combined total for both stations is all credited to WBEN(AM).

After all, if Arbitron has diary entries that list program names, or just call letters without an AM/FM distinction, they've got better things to do with their time than try to "ARBITRarily" (sorry, it's late, I'm tired, couldn't resist) decide whether to credit the AM side or the FM side.

Usually there's a notation indicating call letter changes and simulcasts, but I'm guessing either radio-info.com missed it, or maybe Arbitron doesn't bother with it for the trends, opting instead to wait until the next "full book" report.

Bottom line though, the latest result for WBEN-AM shows an increase from 7.2 to 8.5 trend-to-trend. So at second glance, it appears the FM simulcast helped WBEN, but the Entercom cluster, as a whole, didn't gain much. Then again, for the sales staff, that 1.3-rating from the FM side is probably more valuable as an addition to WBEN's existing audience, than it is on its own as a separate format.
 
I'm pretty sure CNYRadio is right on this one. What's more, since Buffalo is a diary market rather than a PPM market, it's entirely possible (and altogether likely) that a significant number of diary entries for 107.7, if there are any, would be simply "WBEN" and would likely be attributed to 930 anyway.
 
Didn't Arbitron use list simulcast stations separately?
 
therealjm12 said:
Didn't Arbitron use list simulcast stations separately?
Click to expand...

I can only go as far back as the early 2000s for sure, when I was PD of WLZW... I'm pretty sure the Utica/Rome Arbitron reports have always listed WSKS and WSKU (Kiss-FM) on the same line together for as long as I can remember them simulcasting.

As Scott mentioned, with a diary-based market, it could be difficult for Arbitron to accurately determine which station gets the credit for a "vague" diary entry. Obviously, frequency numbers make it easy to assign credit. But "WBEN" without an AM or FM designation could be a problem. Same goes for if someone writes down a host name, program title or a slogan. If someone writes "Rush Limbaugh" or "The News and Weather Station" there's no way for Arbitron to accurately determine which station in the simulcast gets the credit.

However -- if a station does NOT offer a 24/7 simulcast, all bets are off. For example, some people were hoping that when WSYR started simulcasting AM/FM, that only one side would get Yankees games so the other side could maintain the normal schedule (since it often gets pre-empted for games). While that might be the "nice way to please everyone," such a compromise would mean WSYR-AM and WSYR-FM would have to be counted as separate stations. That forces Arbitron to "guess" AM or FM when diarykeepers fail to be specific enough... and by keeping the two lines separate, it defeats the purpose of using the AM/FM simulcast as a strategy to boost the format's overall rating.
 
Mike Doyle, Entercom's RVP, set the record straight in his post on the Buffalo board. The ratings appear as a total on the WBEN line. It's rare that a GM, especially RVP appears on these boards. You have to give Doyle credit. Arbitron's policy regarding 100% simulcast credit can be found here.
 
The appropriate question is--did the FM simulcast affect either the total 12+ audience, or the demographic profile, of either WBEN in Buffalo or WSYR in Syracuse? Beyond that, was the impact strong enough in the desired direction to justify the sacrifice of even a modestly performing separately programmed revenue stream for their respective clusters?

It's probably too early to tell in both cases. The 12+ numbers for initial books for each station don't seem to indicate any major movement of the needle, thougb the demo results may say something a little different, at least after a while.

The imperatives for these simulcasts were significantly different as well. WSYR-AM needed extra coverage only the FM could provide because of its restricted directional signal to the south. WBEN has broader full market coverage through its main AM signal and probably hoped for added sampling of younger listeners on FM. It doesn't seem to be getting a lot so far, although again it's early to make a conclusion. Another complicating factor is that in 107.7's case a lot of the extra reach really creeps into the Rochester market rather than blanketing Buffalo, so if it's doing anything, Entercom may be pulling numbers away on the margins in the Rochester TSA from Clear Channel's WHAM and indirectly helping WBEE, Entercom's market leading country FM in the Flower City.Is that worth sacrificing a suburban Buffalo signal? Who knows?
 
Bob1370 said:
The appropriate question is--did the FM simulcast affect either the total 12+ audience, or the demographic profile, of either WBEN in Buffalo or WSYR in Syracuse?
Click to expand...

No matter what, I think the FM simulcast definitely offers benefits. Why? More and more mobile devices (MP3 players, smart phones, sometimes even regular cell phones) now have FM tuners built-in, but no AM tuners. AM stations are automatically "off the radar" for anyone using these devices to listen to radio. In a recent Taylor on Radio-Info column, someone who went to the NAB Radio Show was quoted having noticed the in-room clock radios at the hotel hosting the convention only had FM capabilities.

We're in an age where FM radio, MP3 podcasts and even live streams via internet sound better than AM radio... and younger listeners are used to hearing quality audio. AM radio's lower-quality audio is only going to be a tougher and tougher sell as time goes on.
 
AM sounds just as good as a web stream if you can listen without interference on a decent unit. The problem is interference is everywhere on the AM band these days, especially in an urban setting and most newer AM radios aren't built as nice as older units. Out in a rural area away from the city 570 definitely sounds better (thankfully they've never added HD Radio to 570) and covers more range than 106.9.
 
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