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Knoxville-WNFZ changes format, WJBZ sells to "Merle" owner
- Thread starter gr8oldies
- Start date
$900k for WJBZ, not a bad price for a Knoxville FM. I don't see the flip to simulcast Merle, WJBZ way to popular as Southern Gospel.
That's an awfully nice signal to use on a format with an average listener age of 70.
That I wouldn't have thought; often southern gospel seems to be the last gasp format before an AM goes under. I've never been sure what to classify WJBZ's format as, it comes off more "Gospel with a touch of a southern twang" than full-bore Southern Gospel to me. Ron Meredith has been wanting to expand Merle's footprint for a long time, I'd be surprised of he doesn't simulcast Merle...but stranger things have happened.
No morning show today on 94.3. Also still no imaging.
No morning show today on 94.3. Also still no imaging.
Did you ever hear Brother J. Bazell Mull and his wife Lady Mull play SG at night on WWL New Orleans? That's the "JBZ" in WJBZ. Brother Mull died in 2006, his wife in 2011 and their daughter in 2013. Brother Mull had a history of SG on Knoxville radio and TV dating back to the 1940s. I believe it's his grandson who operates WJBZ now. I'm curious as to why Meredith is paying the grandson a one grand a month for 100 months "consulting fee" according to Tom Taylor. For consulting what? The format may not remain on 96.3 but I suspect there is some type of provision in this sale that will keep the heritage of the old Mull Singing Convention on the air in Knoxville.
I saw that about the consultation fee. Originally, I'd thought Merle simulcast too, but that makes me think that maybe he's keeping the southern gospel format & selling advertising on it & Merle as a pair. As far as WNFZ goes, I'm stoked to have alternative in Knox. I'm hoping they stay alternative & not Active Rock as The X was. I also hope they put some money into getting some professional sweepers/production.
Per Merle's Facebook page, Ron Meredith talks about the long history and success of southern Gospel on WJBZ, and it does look like the format will be sticking around at least for awhile. I haven't personally met those younger Southern Gospel listeners, but likely they attend more fundamentalist churches than I do. https://www.facebook.com/merlefm?fref=ts
It sounds like Pirkle and his staff loaded music into the hard drive but have so far not gotten any imaging produced, or any real marketing plan. Definitely so far a lackadaisical effort. I remember when all the buzz took place on this board around Pirkle taking back 100.3 after the Citadel bankruptcy....Pirkle had saved his money for years and was going Country, and it was going to be done so well, be so well produced, have such great personalities it would bring The Frog to it's knees within the year. Instead, they put on a poorly executed second-tier talker with dead air, late rejoins, double elements firing and some of that plagued the format the whole time it was on 100.3. Even as a talker, they seemed not to be ready. Tonight on 94.3 I heard a stopset, nothing into it, nothing out of it. You'd think launching a format you'd be ready but that's just me.
It sounds like Pirkle and his staff loaded music into the hard drive but have so far not gotten any imaging produced, or any real marketing plan. Definitely so far a lackadaisical effort. I remember when all the buzz took place on this board around Pirkle taking back 100.3 after the Citadel bankruptcy....Pirkle had saved his money for years and was going Country, and it was going to be done so well, be so well produced, have such great personalities it would bring The Frog to it's knees within the year. Instead, they put on a poorly executed second-tier talker with dead air, late rejoins, double elements firing and some of that plagued the format the whole time it was on 100.3. Even as a talker, they seemed not to be ready. Tonight on 94.3 I heard a stopset, nothing into it, nothing out of it. You'd think launching a format you'd be ready but that's just me.
Even as a talker, they seemed not to be ready. Tonight on 94.3 I heard a stopset, nothing into it, nothing out of it. You'd think launching a format you'd be ready but that's just me.
It does seem to be a knee-jerk reaction to something.
M&M buying Mull has to one of the more dimwitted moves in a market chock full of dimwitted moves. What are they really planning for it? Was "keeping" it close to the
"Mull" tradition a caveat of the sale? Or were Ron and his cousin wanting to maybe make a big splash with a contemporary format? As for Pirkle, the market was ripe for not only an "alternative" station, but also a "home grown, home owned" station. Looks like the market has been granted one. I look for Pirkle to also move the "talk" format to another FM in the market fairly soon. It was after all a huge revenue generator.
"Mull" tradition a caveat of the sale? Or were Ron and his cousin wanting to maybe make a big splash with a contemporary format? As for Pirkle, the market was ripe for not only an "alternative" station, but also a "home grown, home owned" station. Looks like the market has been granted one. I look for Pirkle to also move the "talk" format to another FM in the market fairly soon. It was after all a huge revenue generator.
It may well have been that the family wasn't going to sell if the format was going to be changed in the near term. My first thought was a simulcast of Merle's signal which misses most of the area WJBZ covers. Maybe after 100 months. I can't quite imagine what other FM would be picking up Pirkle's talk format. Ron Meredith says he wants to buy whatever he can to keep additional stations from going to Knoxville's Big 3 broadcasting companies. We'll see.
I would actually prefer more of the rimshots being scooped up by the "big 3" in town. Sure, they'd be flanker formats to protect their cash cows, but at least the bigger corporations have enough money to actually have decent sweepers & production & even if they put on jockless jukeboxes, they don't sound like local yokel rural town stations. I'd love to see the big 3 scoop up 106.1, 96.7, 105.3, 96.3, etc. From a listener's standpoint, they would certainly sound more professional & big market than they currently do. Just look at Merle for comparison. Midwest's new Duke FM sounds far better & is much better programmed than Merle. Also, the music rotation is well researched & not haphazard & all over the place.
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Midwest's new Duke FM sounds far better & is much better programmed than Merle. Also, the music rotation is well researched & not haphazard & all over the place.
Professional and big time to you. All I hear is a juke box that came about after eight people were sacked. XM has dozens of better sounding channels. To each his own I suppose.
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