Word is that Citadel is about to see trading of its post-bankruptcy stock begin; in fact, sale of warrants for the stock has already started. I expect some initial sell-off on behalf of some who supported it during the bankruptcy and want to cash out, but once things stabilize and the depository starts building up again, Citadel can announce some long-awaited projects. Speculation on this board has ranged from they-must-do-something-in-terms-of-signal-to-make-Talk-WOKI-competitive-again to they-don't-care-about-Knoxville-anymore. It will be interesting to watch over the next few months to see if something (and what) happens to boost the signal behind the once-Big Talkers or if Knoxville is simply too far down the list of assets to matter to the big corporation.
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Just Where Is Knoxville in Citadel's Plans?
- Thread starter jetfli
- Start date
People, you MUST understand what has happened in this market from the perspective of the golden parachute crowd at corporate HQ.
The execs "up there and out yonder" made the gigantic mistake of thinking they could dump 100.3, cede 2/3 of their coverage area, move their auto-pilot programs to a rimshot and continue with the same, or similar, revenues and less cost. What these folks did not take into account is that 100.3's owners have plenty of experience and savvy. Before you judge those bean counters too harshly, look at how almost every "expert" on this board missed the obvious format...news talk...that Pirkle and Brantley had up their sleeve.
So...the execs in NY and Vegas made a blunder, 100.3 capitalized on it, and the final results will sort themselves out in time.
Meanwhile, accept the fact that this entire market-changing epoch is so small on Citadel's overall landscape that they simply do not care. Companies of that size are not expected to have a passion for any industry in which they are involved. That is probably why they do not bother to hire qualifed execs to run the show. Knoxville is down? Fire somebody. A format switch fails? Change formats.
Long term revenues suffer? Blame the guy you fired.
Corporate america ruins another market, and another industry...and the public suffers.
The execs "up there and out yonder" made the gigantic mistake of thinking they could dump 100.3, cede 2/3 of their coverage area, move their auto-pilot programs to a rimshot and continue with the same, or similar, revenues and less cost. What these folks did not take into account is that 100.3's owners have plenty of experience and savvy. Before you judge those bean counters too harshly, look at how almost every "expert" on this board missed the obvious format...news talk...that Pirkle and Brantley had up their sleeve.
So...the execs in NY and Vegas made a blunder, 100.3 capitalized on it, and the final results will sort themselves out in time.
Meanwhile, accept the fact that this entire market-changing epoch is so small on Citadel's overall landscape that they simply do not care. Companies of that size are not expected to have a passion for any industry in which they are involved. That is probably why they do not bother to hire qualifed execs to run the show. Knoxville is down? Fire somebody. A format switch fails? Change formats.
Long term revenues suffer? Blame the guy you fired.
Corporate america ruins another market, and another industry...and the public suffers.
Citadels plan for Knoxville: Fire Ed Brantley, a man with more knowledge of Knoxville radio than any other person except Johnny Pirkle who then hires Brantley. Move a sucessful talk format from a 100,000 watt signal to an 8000 watt signal. I would say that Citadel has no plan for Knoxville.
T
Tennessee Cowboy
Guest
This doesn't bode well for the frog or the animal. Hopefully Knoxville can fly under the radar until the company finds a boss that gives a rat's turd about something bigger than his Bentley payment.
gr8oldies said:
Upgrade will never happen. Dicks would have done it when they owned it.
BillBattle said:
Art Sutton (a staion owner) has different view. I would bet on him.
artsutton
rimember
Offline
Posts: 137
Re: We Own It, 98.7
« Reply #54 on: June 22, 2010, 05:05:13 PM » Quote
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Quote from: BillBattle on June 22, 2010, 07:28:01 AM
If it could have been upgraded Jim Dick would have found a way 15 years ago. After he purchased the station he moved it as close as he could to Knoxville and still cover the city of license of Oliver Springs. Go over to Oliver Springs and see if you can hear 98.7 ... you can't. It was his last project. 98.7 is 8kw located between two ridges that can not be heard fully in the Metro. I am surprised that Citadel is telling the public and the advertising community that they will make it better over the next several months. Anything at the FCC can take years sometimes decades assuming something can be done. Most stations have very little room to move and it has gotten much tighter over the last 15 years. A new transmitter is not going to make it sound better or the footprint bigger. The only thing that can be done is to turn off the stereo pilot! Good Luck.
\\
Not so...so much has changed in FM allocations since Jim Dick was captain. Many Class Cs have been downgraded to C0s and stations hundreds of miles away can move a few miles and open up a frequency. Things can change any day. There are fewer nowadays but they still happen.
We keep up with these changes on a daily basis because something up in Eastern TN can affect our operations way over in NC, SC and northern GA. We're not that far apart as the crow flies.
I ran a frequency search on WOKI at 98.7 and the only two stations restricting it are WNML on 99.1 and WNRX on 99.3. If each were moved just a few miles, 98.7 will slide down to that ridge north of town where the big towers are located. The circle WSPA Spartanburg, SC Class C on 98.9 falls about there. You would have to change city of license to some licensable community where the city grade falls. Since Oliver Springs has another service...no problem. You might even be able to keep 99.1 and 99.3 where they are now by using a DA although second and third adjacent are tougher to get done than co channels or first adjacents.
As to being able to get rid of FM allotments, you can't just delete it because a station goes off the air. It either has to be moved or changed to another channel if one works. The rare times the FCC has deleted an allotment is if there were special circumstances like they made an allotment on top of an airport and that was the only place the channel would work. Also, if those aren't caught before a station is applied for...even those can move forward. I know of at least two cases where the FCC allotted a channel and accepted applications before it was discovered there was no fully spaced allotment site that city graded the community of license. The FCC just told all applicants to specify directionals and move on.
B
boogiecheck
Guest
secondchoice said:
How much 'ya willing to wager?
I do not think it was all that tight. I think Citadel intended to dump 100.3 very early on. Their reasoning as to why a 8000 watter could hold its own against a 100,000 watter was probably based on the fact that they did not think that Pirkle would go news/talk. I think they were betting on a country format that WIVK could more than handle.gr8oldies said:
T
Tennessee Cowboy
Guest
trapper12 said:
Yep, this Trapper.
It makes sense for Pirkle & Co. to pull 94.3 back in next. I was 100% wrong with earlier predictions, so I'm guessing they could do anything they want with it... Keep it rock, go country, oldies, or anything else. They could go all-Eskimo folk music for all I know. It'd be interesting to see 94.3 go country, though. With Citadel otherwise occupied, there's not much WIVK could really do to counter it.
Three words...Today's Best Hits!!!
We have it on the outskirts of Nashville on 1560 AM, and I love it! 98.7 should try and piggyback off of 99.5 from Madisonville because according to Wikipedia, they have TBH.
We have it on the outskirts of Nashville on 1560 AM, and I love it! 98.7 should try and piggyback off of 99.5 from Madisonville because according to Wikipedia, they have TBH.
Tennessee Cowboy said:
That's about the crux of it. When 94 comes back I would say it will be a country station. IIRC "K94" pulled somewhere in the high 2s, low 3s with its first and only book. They have the catalog, they have the voice talent with Bob, Ed, Mike and co. and they have the signal now they're situated as a "Powell" station.
If I were Q93 or Merle I would be looking at picking up The Oldies Channel or similar right now just to avoid the rush. It couldn't hurt, WOKI had a 3.9 in the last book, that's almost twice what either of them had!
$50k a month with no overhead? Too smart. It will never happen.
B
boogiecheck
Guest
You're right, it is too smart of a move therefore it will never happen. Journal was Oldies, but never did anything to promote and gain listeners. Meredith is merely playing radio. He's convinced he's going to one day beat 'IVK and be crowned King of Radio, which ain't gonna happen.
T
Tennessee Cowboy
Guest
boogiecheck said:
Journal needs one station with an older format. Lots of resistance from advertisers that don't want an all under-25 audience. Somebody told the Merle sales staff how to go south on 75 and now they know where the advertising agencies and car dealers are. 94.3 can go country and do what its big brother did in the 90's or take a sure $50k a month with oldies. Winner either way.
B
boogiecheck
Guest
Tennessee Cowboy said:
Journal needs better leadership. They really screwed the pooch when they swapped frequencies for the same share.
Merle needs better leadership too and less on-staff flunkies strutting around during remotes with their basketball shorts hanging off their hindends with a Marlboro dangling from their lips and huge keychain lanyards swinging from the pocket. They also need to dispatch someone out to Cogdill to pick up the banner facing Walker Springs that they left behind on Saturday. It's been flapping and dragging the ground all week!
[EDIT] what did the big M do to you and how in the world do you know what they were on a remote? As they say in Alabama..get a life you will live longer.. Not a clue what that means but it sounds good.
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