I'm always floored......

[AMRocks]

How does WWIN-FM always do so well in Baltimore? They are always tops in 6+ ratings and often by a significant amount. Yet, their signal isn't that big.

I remember years ago, living in Wilmington DE, I could pick up lots of Baltimore stations when I drove south a bit, but I could never hear Magic.

Is it odd that someone (like an iHeart or Audacy) didn't go after them?

 

[seattlesarchiebunker]

How does WWIN-FM always do so well in Baltimore? They are always tops in 6+ ratings and often by a significant amount. Yet, their signal isn't that big.

I remember years ago, living in Wilmington DE, I could pick up lots of Baltimore stations when I drove south a bit, but I could never hear Magic.

Is it odd that someone (like an iHeart or Audacy) didn't go after them?

As a kid growing up in Baltimore in the early 90’s, I distinctly remember WWIN-FM did have competition in the form of V103 (WXYV). Clear Channel later gave the format another go in the early 2000’s with the same calls. Even though WXYV had the format some ten years earlier, and had done well, WWIN-FM took over as the dominant station by the early 90’s within a couple years of sign-on.

As for why nobody really tries to complete, I’d argue it’s much like oldies or standards formats. Even though it cleans up in the 6+, the demographics skew older (and therefore harder to sell to advertisers). It’s a safer financial bet to go as a second-fiddle country, rock, or hip-hop station even though you’ll likely get much lower 6+ numbers.

Put it this way, the only reason DC has two R&B stations is probably due to WHUR (being owned by Howard U) being less-interested in overall profits and more interested in student training and finding a niche in the DC metro area.

…Just my $.02