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MIX 106.5 Stunting

Capulet said:
Talk about a thread gone wild!
Format flip flogged and blogged.

Most sports talk stations have at least one play by play " franchise ".
To me, that's the way to do these " talk about firing the coach for 3 months " content stations best.
So it's been over a decade since KNR had one ? To me a good sports-talker needs that franchise for cred. It needs ad dollars to fund the rights fees and with excess pay the reporters/hosts for the coverage of the non franchise sports. The math for this these days in the current market at an operation like KNR says that owner buying rights ( Cavs-Brns-Inds) is more than upside down and unlikely. Looks like they stay the course for now.

In a city this rich with 3 major franchises the sports talk station is horridly deficient of entertainment value. Outside the network talent, its been like that for a long long time.
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This has been a personal pet peeve of mine for many years.

Even when WKNR attempts to make entertaining programming, it fails badly. If Rizz had better sidekicks, the show would be 2000% better.

In fact, the best host on WKNR isn't Rizz, it isn't Munch and isn't Reghi or Roda. It's Greg Brinda, who is nuts 'n bolts but has had the astonishing shelf life of a Twinkie, being moved in and out of literally every daypart on the schedule. And still, he's the only one whom I don't feel my intelligence being insulted by whenever I listen.

The big problem for WKNR is their signal. Unlike WTAM, who has been one of the few AM stations to successfully operate in spite of the decline of the AM band, WKNR never has had that level of listener loyalty. And they don't have the PBP advantages that WTAM used to build and sustain their audience (Ohio State, the Gladiators and the Lake Erie Monsters are NOT advantages in any sense of the word).

Nor will they ever be able to land ANY major PBP signal while at the current 850 home.

Even at 50kW daytime, the 4,700 watt compacted night signal is putrid. The Indians and Cavs will never sign a deal with them, especially when KOA/Denver booms in loud and clear IN LORAIN COUNTY at night. The Browns will never consider them, because WKNR doesn't have an FM sister station (and NFL teams are predisposed to have an FM station as the flagship). And Craig cannot align with any other station group to make a realistic bid, not even Elyria-Lorain or Radio Seaway.

Mark my words: for WKNR to have ANY chance at PBP, heck, if they want to be relevant in five years, they need to move to an FM signal. And soon. Which will never happen. Whomever gets the CBS group will not want to pare off one of the signals to a future competitor. And CC would laugh their collective butts off if Craig came to them. Before slamming the door shut, of course. ;)

Even with the decent 6+ ratings, WKNR will soon be in a world of hurt.

Capulet said:
By the way, take the sport option out of the Mix.
Click to expand...

I agree. Right now, it's Gen-X as #1, with the Brew as a distant #2.
 
Capulet said:
Talk about a thread gone wild!
Format flip flogged and blogged.

Most sports talk stations have at least one play by play " franchise ".
To me, that's the way to do these " talk about firing the coach for 3 months " content stations best.
So it's been over a decade since KNR had one ? To me a good sports-talker needs that franchise for cred. It needs ad dollars to fund the rights fees and with excess pay the reporters/hosts for the coverage of the non franchise sports. The math for this these days in the current market at an operation like KNR says that owner buying rights ( Cavs-Brns-Inds) is more than upside down and unlikely. Looks like they stay the course for now.

In a city this rich with 3 major franchises the sports talk station is horridly deficient of entertainment value. Outside the network talent, its been like that for a long long time.

By the way, take the sport option out of the Mix.
Click to expand...

There's the other side of the arguement that a sports talker is better WITHOUT airing the games because then they can "tell it like it is" and not have to "tow the company line".

Perfect example--

In the mid 90's WKNR (then 1220) had the Indians, Browns, and Buckeyes. People thought they were too cozy with those teams, and didn't rip them when they needed ripping (Bill Belichick's Browns and John Cooper's Buckeyes were always doing something to drive people crazy). So WHK 1420 became the "Voice of the Fan" with Les Levine and a young Tony Rizzo leading the way, and they developed a following as a place where callers could vent without fear of being shooed away for not waving pom-poms.
 
It was touched on briefly somewhere in this topic. The PPM numbers for December show WMVX with an 8.0 which is nearly double what it pulled last month and also ties it with WDOK for #2 in the market.
If it does become a GEN-X format, it won't make sense to stop and play jingle bells for 6 weeks at the end of the year. They'd be giving up all kinds of potential revenue.

I predict a retooling of the AC format.

There's a lot of scenarios in here so allow me to add another. 2 personalities were released. 7:30 is an odd time to launch a new format. Typically they happen at lunch time or in the middle of afternoon drive. Could we see 2 former fan favorite personalities return for the morning show on a retooled AC format? Tony Matteo's still in the building so he covers afternoons. LeeAnn Sommers recently returned to Cleveland, she's no stranger to that audience from her long run on WZJM. Have her memorex middays. Voila!
How long has 106.5 carried an AC format? Mix, Lite Rock, WZZP. It's been a long time.
 
If 106.5 flips to a new format, it could also help them beat out WNCX, which is declining in PPM after changing their morning show. Maxwell has been entertaining to listen to, but I'm not sure if many of the older classic rock listeners are digging his show.

LeeAnn Sommers would make sense on Gen X given her stint at the old Jammin' 92.3. She's on the new WGAR, but she could do a VT show for middays and/or weekends. I wouldn't be surprise if some of the KISS-FM, WKDD, and even WMMS jocks ends up on the Gen X station too. I could picture Kasper, Java Joel, Krissy Taylor and others having some role in the format.

Then again, there could be something to the whole 106.5 The Lake web domain. We shall see...
 
CleveFan said:
If 106.5 flips to a new format, it could also help them beat out WNCX, which is declining in PPM after changing their morning show. Maxwell has been entertaining to listen to, but I'm not sure if many of the older classic rock listeners are digging his show.

LeeAnn Sommers would make sense on Gen X given her stint at the old Jammin' 92.3. She's on the new WGAR, but she could do a VT show for middays and/or weekends. I wouldn't be surprise if some of the KISS-FM, WKDD, and even WMMS jocks ends up on the Gen X station too. I could picture Kasper, Java Joel, Krissy Taylor and others having some role in the format.

Then again, there could be something to the whole 106.5 The Lake web domain. We shall see...
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Or, perhaps, would the Gen-X format be presented under a different name to throw EVERYONE off? (Although the "Lake" name wouldn't fit at all... not enough "oomph" and too closely tied to either Soft AC or AAA.)

Plus, with CC/Syracuse moving their "Power" format to the AM dial, the WPHR-FM calls will soon be available. Just saying.
 
Nathan Obral said:
Tri-State Media said:
As OMW says, however, would they keep WMVX's PD in place if they were flipping to any kind of news/talk format? Nope... it simply wouldn't make sense.

Unless the expected next round of cuts comes from CC next month, I just don't see that happening.
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While it is true that Matteo lost his afternoon shift (and if it's Gen-X, it won't be coming back anytime soon... Gen-X is typically run without any personalities), there's nothing that says he can't do fill-in work at WMJI or WGAR and keep the PD position for 106.5.
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Right... the point I was attempting to make was that since reports state there's cuts coming, he might end up out of a job, it just won't be until AFTER the stunt ends Monday at 07:30.
 
White a format change is always interesting to speculate about, really: is there a radio station anywhere in Cleveland any of you honestly think is outstanding? Stimulating? Creative? A station you can't turn off it's so compelling. Ahhhhh....very few music stations anywhere are like that. It's been decades and decades since really great music stations existed. Virtually anybody who works in radio will tell you that...if they're honest.
 
I've noticed on the Today's 106.5 website (the station redirected under the 1065thelake.com website) that they have a Saturday night Showtunes program. I know I've been hearing Showtunes mixed in during the stunting period, so I'm wondering if there's something to the website, domain, and the possibility of WMVX becoming Cleveland's version of Today's 106.5.
 
GenX would not do well in Cleveland. Cleveland is Talk, Country & very Urban. Maybe since CC Cleveland has started firing sales staff, they'll use that extra $ to put live announcers on. Perish the thought. ::)
 
CleveFan said:
I've noticed on the Today's 106.5 website (the station redirected under the 1065thelake.com website) that they have a Saturday night Showtunes program. I know I've been hearing Showtunes mixed in during the stunting period, so I'm wondering if there's something to the website, domain, and the possibility of WMVX becoming Cleveland's version of Today's 106.5.
Click to expand...

"The Lake" was the name of WMVX's first HD2 format using the primary positioning slogan, "Really wide, really deep." It was a form of AAA.
 
nightfly61 said:
GenX would not do well in Cleveland. Cleveland is Talk, Country & very Urban.
Click to expand...
That must explain why WMJI and WDOK do so well. I beg to differ... Gen-X, if properly executed and promoted, has the potential to explode like the 60's-based oldies formats did 20 years ago. You have a whole new generation now in their 30's that grew up listening to 80's and 90's pop.
 
Wouldn't it be something if Robert Conrad/WCLV bought the frequency to have a high power Classical signal again? Would 106.5 necessarily have to stay with CC? Maybe a new signal move to compliment the station's move to downtown?
 
dannykewl said:
Wouldn't it be something if Robert Conrad/WCLV bought the frequency to have a high power Classical signal again? Would 106.5 necessarily have to stay with CC? Maybe a new signal move to compliment the station's move to downtown?
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If Bob Conrad wanted a high power signal, he would have stayed on 95.5.

All he wanted was a signal period, to make sure the classical music format would always be around.

He was afraid that down the road after he was gone, 95.5 would be sold and the classical music format would be gone all together.

So he arranged the big frequency swap that is celebrating it's 10th anniversary this year.

He willingly took the lower quality signal to make sure WCLV as we know it would be around in the future.

The 104.9 signal is better than what it was a decade ago, though it is by no means perfect.

Think about this...the big swap brought Kiss 96.5 on board as a Cleveland station (technicallities aside).

That gave CC 4 solid FMs (Kiss, Majic, Buzzard, WGAR) and WTAM, so they can afford to screw around with 106.5 to see what sticks, be it Gen-X/news-talk/sports-talk/polkas or whatever.

It also brought 98.1 up from Canton to Akron, and WKDD is a power in the Rubber City.

Salem is happy with their little stable that came out of the deal, which features their signature preach & teach, conservatalk, and "Fish" formats.

Conrad has his little corner of the World that will stay classical for ever and ever, and the 104.9 signal now at least matters.

So everybody got what they wanted.
 
AntDog152 said:
xiradiodotcom said:
Nathan Obral said:
Plus, with CC/Syracuse moving their "Power" format to the AM dial, the WPHR-FM calls will soon be available. Just saying.
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Power 106. Nice.
Click to expand...
Power 106 would also work with an urban format.
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Considering that Harvey's hometown is Cleveland, his show would work really well here. His show could draw in both the younger audience of Rickey Smiley and the older black audience from the TJMS. If they wanted to get another big name, they could work a deal with WPWX in Chicago to simulcast Sam Sylk in PM Drive.
 
Tom Joyner is heard now on a simulcast of WERE 1490/WZAK 93.1

CC isn't going urban because Radio One has a death grip on that format here (WZAK for the adults/WENZ for the young 'ens) and anyone trying to fight them will be squashed.

Same goes for anyone trying to go country against WGAR, soft AC vs WDOK, or classic rock vs WNCX.

The only format in Cleveland where CC could overtake the established station is sports talk.

WKNR can be had if the competitor does it right.
 
vjm said:
WKNR can be had if the competitor does it right.
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But CC won't do that, in Cleveland. It would take a major chunk out of the sports component of WTAM, and CC will protect that. They also won't mount a full, local 24 hour sports station like CBS is doing in Pittsburgh.

(Again, Pittsburgh is theoretically one of CBS' "sell off" markets...but it seems almost likely they would hang onto KDKA and KDKA-FM - the talk and sports stations - in tandem with the TV O&Os they have there, but not here.)

A full, local 24 hour sports station on 106.5 would take far too big a chunk out of WTAM, and CC doesn't want that.

All of the "GenX" chatter I'm hearing, including connected to Oak Tree, almost seems like a plant. I'm not saying they won't do it, but it seems almost forced and too much of a "foregone conclusion".

The whole "Lake" thing could be a plant, too.

I'm not betting against GenX yet, but I would not be surprised if something else is coming out of 106.5 on Monday morning.
 
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