J! E! T! S! Hawk Hawk Hawk!

[MikeD]

Heard a promo this morning on 105.7 mentioning that they will simulcast Jets games this season. Great move for the Jets. It covers holes that 1050 & 1040 don't cover.

Any chance this leads to 105.7 ESPN?

 

[SoulCrusher]

I think it would be pretty foolish for Millennium to go 105.7 ESPN, since they have their own ESPN affiliate on 97.3 (WENJ) in Millville with an excellent signal reaching much of WCHR's coverage area extremely well. However, The Hawk's safe-as-milk approach to classic rock has never really taken off in spite of the strong signal, so perhaps it's time to try something new. We absolutely DON'T need another Top 40 or Soft Rock station. What we do need is either Active Rock, Alternative Rock, or a News/Talk station. Since WCHR reaches all of Ocean and the fringes of Monmouth and Burlington counties, the smart thing to do would be to pick a sellable format that we don't have anywhere in the area. Of course, it's possible that WCHR may bill well in spite of its ratings struggles. If only Press had sales people like that when G Rock was still on the air.

 

[nd2023]

Or they could fill in a big format hole whose name starts with D.

Why would they want to carry the Jets so far away from New York? I'd think 105.7's area would be more receptive to the Eagles.

 

[JerseyShor]

Wow, that's a horrible, horrible move.

Ocean County is pretty solidly EAGLES territory and Mana-HAWK-in, WCHR-FM's city of licence is about 99% solidly Eagles.

The retail stores in Manahawkin (Dick's, WalMart, Kohl's, etc.) do not even carry Jets apparel, only Eagles and occasionally Steelers or Giants.

This will only serve to put the final nail in 105.7's coffin as listeners flee from the Jets broadcasts to 103.7 or 102.9.

 

[d21ofnj]

This is like one of the NYC AM stations that reach as far as Providence, RI broadcasting a red sox game. I can pick up the hawk as far north as Oceanport but I would expect to hear Philly teams being represented.

 

[Raider57]

The only people that will listen to the Jets are the bennies, during preseason up until labor day, other than that The Hawk is going to turn away its listeners.

 

[MikeD]

I think its a great move. 105.7 covers much more than Manahawkin. Areas between Barnegat & Toms River, and westward toward Lakehurst, Jackson, & Whiting are split between NYC & Philadelphia sports teams. Further north you start to gain a greater NYC following. 105.7 covers as far north and west as Jamesburg, in Middlesex County. I drive from Mt Holly to Piscataway daily and listen to 105.7 often SW of Exit 8A. 103.7 & 94.1 already have the Eagles, and cover those fans well. In the middle of NJ suburban sprawl has Jets, Giants, & Eagles fans living in harmony (although Eagles fans should use a separate water fountain ).

I also think that Middlesex, Somerset, Mercer, Hunterdon, Monmouth, Burlington, and Ocean counties should be "home areas" for all NYC & Philly teams. There's a large following for the Phillies/Mets/Yankees/Jets/Eagles/Giants/Devils/Rutgers/etc in all these areas. No reason silly "blackout" rules would apply. I have plenty of friends that grew up in Edison watching the Phillies and were fans, until OTA reception got weak, and TKR cable took away Channel 17 or 29. I forget which the Phillies were on then, but we had both on our cable system.

 

[wprt949]

ESPN RADIO 105.7 ?

 

[d21ofnj]

South Jersey will be completelt cluttered with Sports if Millennium decides to flip the Hawk to sports. This will be yet another cost cutting move just like WJRZ.

 

[nd2023]

Add sports to the list of formats we don't need like CHR and AC.

 

[MikeD]

Might be a good move to go Sports. Keep FB & HW and "Parkway first" traffic in the morning (Mike & Mike available on multiple other outlets), then simulcast 1050 NYC the rest of the day. Tierney, Jody Mac, Seth Everitt, Michael Kay, Knicks, Jets, Rangers all set ESPN NYC apart from basic ESPN Radio. It would be very cheap to run as there are no in house shows (unless they choose to) and compete with WFAN, which I beleive does quite well in the MonOc book.

 

[JerseyShor]

Why compete with co-owned 97.3, WENJ. They're co-owned!

 

[SoulCrusher]

AC/Cape May has it all: An alternative rock station, a real news/talk station, and several "oldies" stations (though WMID-AM is the only true oldies station in the whole bunch).

This market has something for everybody, unlike Monmouth/Ocean where nearly every station is either Top 40 or Soft Rock. Where I live, I actually need to use both of my hands to count the amount of stations that broadcast each. I really don't understand why we need so many stations broadcasting the exact same thing. I hit the seek button and often catch some combination of WHTG/WBBO, WJLK, WSJO, WAYV, WIOQ, WRDW, etc. playing the exact same song ... sometimes as many as three or four of these stations. To a lesser extent, this also applies to WOBM, WFPG, WJRZ, WWZY/WBHX, WBEB, WLTW, WWFS, etc. We have all these gaping format holes and absolutely no one is stepping up to fill them. I really wish we could get some new blood in this market - this lack of competition in the market should not stand, because radio listeners in the area are all big losers due to the lack of variety.

On the news/talk format: I have heard some say that it's too expensive to run. Funny that this doesn't apply to WOND-AM, a popular station in a significantly smaller market than ours. The station runs a mix of local programming along with popular syndicated shows (Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin, Michael Savage, etc.). And it's news/talk all the time, unlike NJ 101.5 which plays extremely boring "Jersey's Greatest Hits" during the weekend and has gotten really frivolous with its talk programming lately (heard Dennis & Michele talking about "cougars", Jersey Guys have been going downhill for some time, After Hours is too soft, and the lack of Tommy G hurts as well ... he's the only host who ever talked about Atlantic City and how to solve its problems). Why can't we have a station like this on AM or FM in Monmouth/Ocean, especially since the talkers in NYC put very weak signals into our market? Why can't we have a real Active Rocker, instead of weak sauce WRAT with their playing of Bon Jovi, Van Hagar, Daughtry, etc.? Why can't we have an Alternative station with a broadcaster willing to put forth some effort to make it work, unlike Depressed Communications?

Thank goodness for online radio. If not for that, there would be no radio at all as far as I'm concerned.

 

[d21ofnj]

Thank goodness for online radio. If not for that, there would be no radio at all as far as I'm concerned.

Well, Alternative rock is out there in Monmouth on the HD side (Shore Alternative & Altrok on 90.5 HD2) and the help of 90.5 The Night and 88.9 MCX which plays a mix of Alternative and active rock, no shortage of rock up here 8). What can really fill the hole is the HD subcarriers can take a good advantage of translators. WJRZ is one of those stations that is in HD and have two translators. If they can get an HD2 running, they can also use their translators as their main channel for that HD2 carrier. That can save terrestrial from the lack of format problem. HD's problem is another story.


And speaking about internet radio, there is a dance outlet that is being broadcasted there ;D

 

[Jersey Joe]

Since 105.7 has a strong signal throughout both Ocean and Monmouth counties, I have a theory of what could happen. Instead of using ESPN radio programming, I think Millenium will transfer the sports format of WADB 1310[Fox Sports Radio for the Jersey Shore] over to 105.7. This will allow a few other things to happen:

1. 1310's local afternoon show[Shore Sports report] is currently simulcast on WOBM-AM, which differs from WOBM's daily radio oldies format. By moving it over to 105.7, WOBM can stay oldies and nostalgia round the clock and WADB can just simulcast WOBM's signal at little expense to Millenium.

2. Both WOBM[1160am] and WADB[Fox Sports 1310] both carry the Lakewood BlueClaws games, as well as [For last year, anyway]games of the J-E-T-S, local high school sports and Monmouth University football[The last two under the Shore Sports Network banner]. Again, putting them both on 105.7 carries a better signal throughout the area for both BlueClaws fans, local H.S. sports fan, M.U. fans, and Jets fans[Jets flagship station's signal, unless you are on the beach, fades out south of Red Bank at night] without extra expenses for Millenium under just one radio station.

3. WADB has almost no significant range to carry a sports format. By switching to 105.7, Millenium can use WADB's signal for local Monmouth County news, like WOBM is used for Ocean County news and info.

4. By using Fox Sports on 105.7 it gives a new voice in the already crowded NJ clutter of ESPN Sports Radio[97.3, 97.5 The Fanatic, 1250 in Morristown, 1040 Flemington, 1050 New York].

For those who complain about 105.7 being Eagles country, Northern Ocean County has more Jet fans than Eagles fans, so more than the bennys will listen .

 

[Radio411]

Since 105.7 has a strong signal throughout both Ocean and Monmouth counties, I have a theory of what could happen. Instead of using ESPN radio programming, I think Millenium will transfer the sports format of WADB 1310[Fox Sports Radio for the Jersey Shore] over to 105.7. This will allow a few other things to happen:

1. 1310's local afternoon show[Shore Sports report] is currently simulcast on WOBM-AM, which differs from WOBM's daily radio oldies format. By moving it over to 105.7, WOBM can stay oldies and nostalgia round the clock and WADB can just simulcast WOBM's signal at little expense to Millenium.

2. Both WOBM[1160am] and WADB[Fox Sports 1310] both carry the Lakewood BlueClaws games, as well as [For last year, anyway]games of the J-E-T-S, local high school sports and Monmouth University football[The last two under the Shore Sports Network banner]. Again, putting them both on 105.7 carries a better signal throughout the area for both BlueClaws fans, local H.S. sports fan, M.U. fans, and Jets fans[Jets flagship station's signal, unless you are on the beach, fades out south of Red Bank at night] without extra expenses for Millenium under just one radio station.

3. WADB has almost no significant range to carry a sports format. By switching to 105.7, Millenium can use WADB's signal for local Monmouth County news, like WOBM is used for Ocean County news and info.

4. By using Fox Sports on 105.7 it gives a new voice in the already crowded NJ clutter of ESPN Sports Radio[97.3, 97.5 The Fanatic, 1250 in Morristown, 1040 Flemington, 1050 New York].

For those who complain about 105.7 being Eagles country, Northern Ocean County has more Jet fans than Eagles fans, so more than the bennys will listen .

Jersey Joe you seem to have quite a bit of info regarding Millennium and it's programming options which screams that you are someone on the "inside" as most "average listeners" have no where near the knowledge on the topic...

That said, it was probably an offer from the Jets that Millennium couldn't refuse. As it stands now The Jets ARE indeed on 2 of the area AM's so I would imagine there would be an added premium as you said for the addition of the 1057 The Hawk signal and it's broad coverage area.

Like so MANY decsions in radio today, if the price is right, it's worth it. Dollars trump LOGIC time and time again and with the state of the economy the way that it is I can't actually blame them (Millennium) for making this decision. Rock & Sports works well for WYSP (although there's a whole set of other issues there) and 1037 The Shark. Sports and Rock DO blend well and nail the same demos.

Personally I'll miss the classic rock on The Hawk (which seems to be digging deeper and playing a great deal of variety) on Sunday afternoons but it's only a few months out of the year so I guess I can deal with it... now if they were part of the Giants Radio Network then I personally would be THRILLED!

 

[Jersey Joe]

Jersey Joe you seem to have quite a bit of info regarding Millennium and it's programming options which screams that you are someone on the "inside" as most "average listeners" have no where near the knowledge on the topic...

That said, it was probably an offer from the Jets that Millennium couldn't refuse. As it stands now The Jets ARE indeed on 2 of the area AM's so I would imagine there would be an added premium as you said for the addition of the 1057 The Hawk signal and it's broad coverage area.

Like so MANY decsions in radio today, if the price is right, it's worth it. Dollars trump LOGIC time and time again and with the state of the economy the way that it is I can't actually blame them (Millennium) for making this decision. Rock & Sports works well for WYSP (although there's a whole set of other issues there) and 1037 The Shark. Sports and Rock DO blend well and nail the same demos.

Personally I'll miss the classic rock on The Hawk (which seems to be digging deeper and playing a great deal of variety) on Sunday afternoons but it's only a few months out of the year so I guess I can deal with it... now if they were part of the Giants Radio Network then I personally would be THRILLED!

Radio 411, Thanks for the nice "insider" plug, but I have no definitive knowledge that this theory WILL take place. I just am a sports nut who happens to drive all over the state and pick up whatever sports radio is on while driving without having Sirius/XM Radio. I am also tired of all the ESPN radio stations in the state.

Not sure about the end result of 105.7, but in hindsight, had WABC Radio continued to keep simulcasting the Jets games on last year we probably would not be talking about the Jets on 105.7 next year, or even being on 2 AM area stations in the first place!!