bturner was not being snarky. He was simply stating a fact that should be taken into account before complaining about stations converting to formats you personally do not like
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Latest from Nielsen...105.9 disappears from the face of the earth...
- Thread starter Directional Ray
- Start date
When was WTBS non-commercial and listener supported?
In the early stages of Ted Turner’s ownership of what was then local station WTCG (he had purchased what was originally WJRJ) money was very tight, especially after much needed equipment upgrades had been made. Unable to secure adequate financing, Turner staged a telethon on air to raise money for the station to pay off the resultant bills. This was several years before WTCG launched its satellite distribution. I think this is what the poster was referring to.
The switch to the WTBS call in 1979 came well after the station had achieved widespread carriage of its satellite delivered programming.
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I just remember another big one….The Loop Chicago (97.9)
(After seeing the subsequent comments, I’m sure I’ll get in trouble for this one given how much I “apparently” hate religious stations.). 🙄
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Oops…..I see this was already answered.
“Why don’t you buy the station?” - I call that snarky (and unnecessary). And I’m not sure why you had to come to his defense and why you and him need to continually point out that I don’t like religious stations when it wasn’t even the point of my post. He had already addressed the issue. It’s like you guys are trying to get the last word.
And it’s not the first time you’ve flirted being that way in your comments; they tend to have a condescending air. In fact, the tone of the discussion is usually fine until you pipe in. I tried searching for it and can’t find it now, but I saw one post where someone called you out for being a “know-it-all”. I tried biting my tongue and being respectful since you're the moderator, but the guy is right. I’ve also noticed some of your statements of fact aren’t actually accurate.
And I don’t know everything either. I’m here to learn, share my thoughts, and have a friendly chat, not to compete, walk on eggshells afraid that someone’s going to make some back-handed comment, and be treated like I’m some sort of idiot.
Can we move on? 🙄 Had you not responded, I wouldn’t have even said anything and just let it go.
(I’m not responding further about this. I’ll let you win.)
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The fair comment isn't that there's a religious invasion, but that NO ONE ELSE is buying radio right now.
The general wisdom 10 or more years ago was when the big radio companies went bankrupt, it would lead to a return of local operators and radio would return to where it was before iHeart and other big companies. Part of that would be that station prices would drop to become affordable again. So what we have now is affordable prices and no buyers. To make matters worse, one of the few local owners in Cincinnati decided to sell.
So this is a combination of bad circumstances: The lack of new buyers is driving down station prices, leading to great opportunities for the only people in the market for stations, who are all religious. If there were other buyers, this wouldn't happen, because EMF and VCY are getting these stations without competition. They walk in, make an offer, and it's immediately accepted. At least that seems to be what happened with 105.9.
By the way, I predict a very similar thing will happen with TV stations at some point. The big TV owners are all looking for ways out, and there are no buyers for the towers and transmitters. ABC and CBS have both floated the idea of selling their TV operations. The offers on the table have not been reassuring. Already, the head of ABC is back-peddling. But there could be major change coming in media ownership, and it's not for the best.
The general wisdom 10 or more years ago was when the big radio companies went bankrupt, it would lead to a return of local operators and radio would return to where it was before iHeart and other big companies. Part of that would be that station prices would drop to become affordable again. So what we have now is affordable prices and no buyers. To make matters worse, one of the few local owners in Cincinnati decided to sell.
So this is a combination of bad circumstances: The lack of new buyers is driving down station prices, leading to great opportunities for the only people in the market for stations, who are all religious. If there were other buyers, this wouldn't happen, because EMF and VCY are getting these stations without competition. They walk in, make an offer, and it's immediately accepted. At least that seems to be what happened with 105.9.
By the way, I predict a very similar thing will happen with TV stations at some point. The big TV owners are all looking for ways out, and there are no buyers for the towers and transmitters. ABC and CBS have both floated the idea of selling their TV operations. The offers on the table have not been reassuring. Already, the head of ABC is back-peddling. But there could be major change coming in media ownership, and it's not for the best.
Interesting. I did not know that, and that is why I asked!
Touchy, aren't we? My point continues to be that formats will fill voids, and less popular formats will disappear. The good thing is that streaming sources offer hundreds if not thousands of niche formats
You have the choice of many non-AM/FM options for formats and music you like.
That comes from having about 61,000 posts here.
"Facts" are often a matter of perception. Your perception of the "loss" of unprofitable and listener-unwanted formats is your point of view. Listeners to K-Love will think that they have gained, while you think you lost something.
Fortunately, if any of us post an inaccurate statement, we have experts ranging from Fybush and BigA to many actual radio veterans who will quickly clarify or correct. I've spent the last 22 years and high six figures trying to make the "facts" available to everyone in an era when sources like Wikipedia are wrong about radio and broadcasting about 75% of the time!
What we are all witnessing is a profusion of false data about broadcasting due to AI and crowdsourced information sources.
Radio is what comes out of a radio.
These options don't benefit radio at all.
More importantly, niche formats just aren't all that exciting.
Before the web, you had only choices of formats that were of significant appeal.
Going way back, when I was a kid in Cleveland, there were 3 Top 40 stations, 3 MOR variants and two R&B stations. That is it. How's that for variety?
I will bet that those three Top 40 station were great, with that level of competition!
An invasion sure sounds accurate...
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