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Look at WGOC and WXSM Ratings NOW!!

I don't live in the Tri-Cities, but I have family there and I once stayed at a Holiday Inn Express there, too. How many years ago was the format swap of Classic Country 640 WGOC to AM 1320 and Sports to 640? Look at the pitiful numbers now...and wasn't WGOC the most-listened-to AM station when it was at 640 for many years and just prior to the switch? Shouldn't the "Sports Monstor" be renamed to the "Sports Gnat" or something? I know we must be careful on this borad on how we quote the ratings, but both stations now have zeros to the left the decimal.

Corporate radio and its bone-headed decisions.

Eric
 
I worked there for eight years until just over a year ago. The change came quickly as usual and effected my job as well. Citadel had a ratings albatross on 1320 (then WKIN) and yes, came up with their brilliant idea that the Tri-Cities needed a "real" sports voice. 640 has a 10,000 watt stick and 1320 has maybe 5000(on a good day?). I dare to bet the suits at Citadel wanted a copy of their own "Sports Animal" from Knoxville in the Tri-Cities. The only thing good about the Sports Animal is Mickey Dearstone and Smokies baseball. Oh Well.
Bill Meade is about all that's worth listening to on the monster. The rest sound like Charlie Brown's school teacher. Oh, I'm sure I'll get flack from this: Britney says:"baby hit me one more time"-MD ;D
 
kd4rnc1964 said:
Citadel wanted a copy of their own "Sports Animal" from Knoxville in the Tri-Cities. The only thing good about the Sports Animal is Mickey Dearstone and Smokies baseball. Oh Well.

Really? Smokies baseball??? Smokies Baseball is easily the worst thing on the Sports Animal. Nobody cares about AA baseball on the radio. Add to that how horrible Mick Gillespie is and you've got a recipe for misery.

And you forgot to mention SportsTalk, which is the highest-rated sports program in the state of Tennessee.
 
I actually heard 640 AM this year in Asheville. The people I was with were changing the station each time we lost classic country (that was for me; had it been up to them they would have listened to WMIT and I wasn't putting up with that, though they like classic country too) . Of course, I knew there was nothing worth hearing on 640. It didn't take us long to get a listenable signal from another classic country station.
 
RadioRob- I was told by a high-ranking executive that WGOC's demographics were so old that it simply wasn't a good sell.

Sports Radio stations generally aren't going to get massive ratings. WEEI in Boston is the only sports radio station I have ever heard of that was No. 1 in its market, and that was with a 5.5 overall rating and the Red Sox and Patriots both winning championships.

What a sports station will do, if properly run, is generate a great venue for advertisers who wish to reach the male 25-54 demographic, which is just about everybody. The overall rating isn't that important; you'd obviously like it to be as high as possible, but WFAN was once the top billing station in the country and it would get a 2.0 rating.

What is the classic country demographic going to be? Sell your quilts and pickled peaches here? Let your church buy time on Sunday mornings to run the services?

They still have that at 1320.

WXSM could use some tweaking- what station couldn't? But this area was about 20 years behind the times in getting a sports station.

Of course, considering the area is about 50 years behind the times in everything else- no wonder there is so much waxing poetic for Patsy Cline records.
 
Pratte4Life said:
RadioRob- I was told by a high-ranking executive that WGOC's demographics were so old that it simply wasn't a good sell.

Sports Radio stations generally aren't going to get massive ratings. WEEI in Boston is the only sports radio station I have ever heard of that was No. 1 in its market, and that was with a 5.5 overall rating and the Red Sox and Patriots both winning championships.

What a sports station will do, if properly run, is generate a great venue for advertisers who wish to reach the male 25-54 demographic, which is just about everybody. The overall rating isn't that important; you'd obviously like it to be as high as possible, but WFAN was once the top billing station in the country and it would get a 2.0 rating.

What is the classic country demographic going to be? Sell your quilts and pickled peaches here? Let your church buy time on Sunday mornings to run the services?

They still have that at 1320.

WXSM could use some tweaking- what station couldn't? But this area was about 20 years behind the times in getting a sports station.

Of course, considering the area is about 50 years behind the times in everything else- no wonder there is so much waxing poetic for Patsy Cline records.

Screw the demographics...screw the consultants who've brainwashed the radio sales departments/management of this way of thinking...if you hear a lie long enough you will believe it. I believe there is money to be made with a well-run classic country format. So what if the audience is older--there may actually be some "young'uns" who like the sound of REAL classic country. The argument for us "old" folks (I'm 40) is that we're set in our ways and won't try new products. That may be true, but what about all of the products that us "old" folks do use? What about advertising special sales? Us old farts are always looking to save a buck, so give us the weekly specials at ANY store selling products we use. There are a ton of advertisers that cater to us old farts. And all of this boils down to the state of corporate radio--they want the advertisers calling THEM and jumping into THEIR laps. Corporate radio refuses to be creative and put forth effort.

Eric
 
The trouble with MOST(notice I said most not all)local stations is that they have forgotten what the FCC put them on the air TO DO....SERVE the PUBLIC in a Meaningful LOCAL manner. Of course that means weekday programs from Charlotte, Los Angeles, Bristol,Conn.,NYC and OTHERS :D???? Of course it does!!!! ::)
 
Boy don't I know how to stir it up! Shows you how much I've listened to the animal or the monster. Half the time I can't even hear the animal. Stud is right, the suits have forgotten the no.1 purpose of why radio was developed,but who cares. This is 2008. The kids have music on their goofy cell phones and the RIAA has relaxed on where to get tunes as long as you PAY!! for them. Sports radio may be the last frontier of free radio. Time for my dog biscuit now. I'm starting to salivate.-MD
 
Local? WGOC had been run on automation for years- ever since Citadel bought the station. The only thing local on WGOC was when they broadcast high school sports on it.

The Tri-Cities has got to be the only market in the world where two local talk shows are not considered as "local" as playing Slim Whitman on automation.

The thing is- WGOC HASN'T GONE AWAY! IT HAS MERELY BEEN MOVED TO ANOTHER FREQUENCY!

So you can still listen to it, you can still buy time on it to sell your guns and funeral homes (not trying to be smart- but when I worked at a classic country station these were our advertisers).

For the record, I like Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings and Loretta Lynn as well. And this isn't a great sports market.

But perhaps the reason why is because we have been YEARS behind the times in getting a sports radio station.
 
Pratte4Life said:
Local? WGOC had been run on automation for years- ever since Citadel bought the station. The only thing local on WGOC was when they broadcast high school sports on it.

The Tri-Cities has got to be the only market in the world where two local talk shows are not considered as "local" as playing Slim Whitman on automation.

The thing is- WGOC HASN'T GONE AWAY! IT HAS MERELY BEEN MOVED TO ANOTHER FREQUENCY!

So you can still listen to it, you can still buy time on it to sell your guns and funeral homes (not trying to be smart- but when I worked at a classic country station these were our advertisers).

For the record, I like Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings and Loretta Lynn as well. And this isn't a great sports market.

But perhaps the reason why is because we have been YEARS behind the times in getting a sports radio station.

Slight correction, WGOC has gone away on its new frequency when you consider it has issues covering the market with a higher dial position in the mountains.

Citadel wants cashflow, remember there are VP depending on bonuses and a stock price lower than the extra value meal menu. They feel there is a monetary miracle with sports and as long as their name is on the license it's their call.
 
1320 comes in during the daytime in all of the Tri-Cities.

And to the audience that would listen to classic country and probably remembers the frequency as WKIN, the AM counterpart of WZXY (or some such call letters), then it's not a hard find.
 
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