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No more WSB on 750 AM?

S

secondchoice

I just saw one of the WSB radio rotating ads on the AJC site. It when something like "95.5 FM because the daycare closes at exactly 6PM. Dependable Traffic." Shows a lady stuck in traffic and the WSB logo at the bottom (which has both 750 and 95.5). I though I heard a radio promo just mentioning 95.5 on WSB yesterday*. If Cox can get 95.5 moved to a in-town antenna, swap 95.5 and 98.5's call letters, there is no need for 750 AM to carry WSB's programming. I just wonder if Cox has "plans" for their former flagship frequency. WSB is suppose to get CBS radio news capable of filling several time blocks. A 50KW class A signal (better than 1010 or WCBS in NYC except for the nasty lack of ground conductivity), a lot of folks who have migrated for northern markets with viable all news operations, the resources of Channel 2 news in the same building.

*I was pushing presets rapidly just to get a traffic fix when stuck trying to get to 575 so I might have "miss heard".
 
I totally agree...
CBS, Channel 2, and the AJC all on one station! Great.

In the 50% more news promo.... they only mention 95.5
 
I can't see why they'd ever stop simulcasting on AM. What else would they put on.

I wonder if it might be that instead of just a direct simulcast, maybe they push one to more news only and the other to more talk/news.
 
kal30005 said:
I can't see why they'd ever stop simulcasting on AM. What else would they put on.

I wonder if it might be that instead of just a direct simulcast, maybe they push one to more news only and the other to more talk/news.
Click to expand...
You can't just play segments of a live talk show. Joining a talk show "in progress" is annoying as hell. I guess you could dedicate hours to different programming (like WDUN does on AM vs. FM), but that's about it.
 
On sister station News/Talk WDBO in Orlando, FL, they don't mention their AM frequency in the ID which is AM 580. Now, they still simulcast on AM. All they do mention in the ID is FM 96.5, the FM frequency. The folks at News/Talk WSB-AM/WSBB-FM could be going down this same road.
 
since they simulcast, we can't see the individual station ratings.

i suspect that the AM 750 listeners outnumber the FM 95.5 listeners, but of course i have no proof o that. do any of you guys have any insight on that?

if the FM listeners are low, pushing FM 95.5 might be a way to increase the FM ratings. cox might not be planning on stopping the simulcast anytime soon, but rather preparing for it to happen "someday."

-amos
 
cox might not be planning on stopping the simulcast anytime soon, but rather preparing for it to happen "someday."
Click to expand...
I believe Cox is up to 5 (or was it 7) different focus groups for decisions like this. :D
 
WSB's sister stations in Dayton just stopped with the AM 1290 AND NOW 95.7 FM after 5 years. Now it's Newstalkradio 95.7FM and 1290 AM (they still need both to cover the market). Doubt WSB AM goes anywhere.
 
I honestly don't believe they will split the signals permanently. They MIGHT have to split if they have some sports conflict or for a special reason. But for the two to program separately, it's not happening anytime soon.
 
FLjack2 said:
I honestly don't believe they will split the signals permanently. They MIGHT have to split if they have some sports conflict or for a special reason. But for the two to program separately, it's not happening anytime soon.
Click to expand...
They used to split for sports all the time. Sometimes they will play the sports on one signal and keep the talk on the other. I think the only sports that WSB has the rights for right now is UGA, so the only potential conflict is football vs. basketball (not common), since WSB doesn't carry the other UGA sports (I think WCNN carries the non-rev sports).
 
jabba17 said:
You can't just play segments of a live talk show. Joining a talk show "in progress" is annoying as hell. I guess you could dedicate hours to different programming (like WDUN does on AM vs. FM), but that's about it.
Click to expand...

That's not exactly what I was referring to.

It could be that the core programming is the same but that maybe with some of the less popular talk shows they only run the program on one and news on the other. Or it could also be that because of contracts UGA has with other affiliates, they can't run UGA games on FM.

It could also simply be that they think the dual frequency might be too complex and they will simply run an ID on AM that only mentions 750 and on FM they only mention 95.5.
 
The more you think about it, the FM covers the northern suburbs which traditionally is the Reddest "GOP" part of the market. I wonder what WSB's ratings are south of I 20? Do they even need 750 AM?

Could Cox sell 750AM and be under ownership cap. If so they could move 95.5 to an in-town tower, and swap 95.5's and 98.5's COL and Call letters? Then the WSB calls and brand on 95.5 and B98.5 brand remains on 98.5 with WSBB Doraville muffled and quickly said once an hour to keep legal. They would not have to 750's light bill and up keep expense.
 
secondchoice said:
The more you think about it, the FM covers the northern suburbs which traditionally is the Reddest "GOP" part of the market. I wonder what WSB's ratings are south of I 20? Do they even need 750 AM?

Could Cox sell 750AM and be under ownership cap. If so they could move 95.5 to an in-town tower, and swap 95.5's and 98.5's COL and Call letters? Then the WSB calls and brand on 95.5 and B98.5 brand remains on 98.5 with WSBB Doraville muffled and quickly said once an hour to keep legal. They would not have to 750's light bill and up keep expense.
Click to expand...
Class A clears are still pretty valuable. CC would give their left one to have one in ATL...but then again, they won't put WGST on an FM...
 
A few comments.... CC simulcast WGST on FM on two different occasions. They were competetive when they had the Braves but otherwise WSB has eaten their lunch. As for Arbitron reporting a "true" simulcast.... it really doesn't matter, nobody looks at the actual book anymore, buyers and sellers use software programs such as Tapscan, Marketron, or Strata and in all of them you can create your own combos regarddless of simulcast status.
 
SonoSational18 said:
A few comments.... CC simulcast WGST on FM on two different occasions. They were competetive when they had the Braves but otherwise WSB has eaten their lunch. As for Arbitron reporting a "true" simulcast.... it really doesn't matter, nobody looks at the actual book anymore, buyers and sellers use software programs such as Tapscan, Marketron, or Strata and in all of them you can create your own combos regarddless of simulcast status.
Click to expand...
I just know of one real attempt to put WGST on FM (the current translator doesn't count), when WGST was on 105.7. To pick a nit, that started back in the Jacor days. And WGST was beating WSB before WSB snatched away Clark Howard and Boortz. When Hannity was live and local in the AM, WGST still held their own against WSB. Even Planet Radio did better than what they are doing now.
 
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