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No Sale Looming, ESPN 98.7 expected to pivot to Music

michael hagerty said:
True story:

When KTAR in Phoenix moved from 620 AM to 92.3 FM in 2006, they spent huge amounts of time and money promoting the move, during a two-and-one-half-month long simulcast.

On January 1, 2007, KTAR-AM went all-sports.

The AM ratings stayed high. The FM had trouble gaining traction. It went on for a year. Finally, Bonneville did some research---and found that a significant number of the KTAR audience never switched to the FM.

Because KTAR-AM had always had a significant sports presence (Diamondbacks, Cardinals, Suns, ASU), people interviewed said they tuned into the AM, thought they must have tuned in during a game, a pre-game or post-game show, stuck around to hear the talk show they expected---and when it took too long, turned it off.

Bonneville spent another boatload of money and finally got the full talk audience over to the FM.
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How did Bonneville brand the Talk format on air during the simulcast? I would think the smart move would be to use only the FM frequency, even though the programming was still (temporarily) available on AM. Branding with both frequencies might not do enough to “force” listeners to make the move, or increase their awareness of the FM option.
 
Mediafrog+ said:
How did Bonneville brand the Talk format on air during the simulcast? I would think the smart move would be to use only the FM frequency, even though the programming was still (temporarily) available on AM. Branding with both frequencies might not do enough to “force” listeners to make the move, or increase their awareness of the FM option.
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It's been eighteen years, but if I recall correctly, both frequencies were mentioned: "Newsradio 620 and 92.3---KTAR." There were at least three promos every hour about the move, as well as print, television and outdoor. Again---for two and a half months.

But it's an illustration of habit. I worked at KTAR from 2000-2004, and we'd routinely get people who had been listening to us since we went to News/Talk in 1973---or even longer. Callers who said they'd been listening since the 50s and 60s were not uncommon, and my mom, who was still alive at the time and had moved to Phoenix to be close to the grandkids, could top that. She was born in Bisbee and could recall my grandmother having KTAR on in the house in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
 
Marcos_C said:
Understandable. I checked the affiliate map, and the show has only one affiliate in a Top 25 radio market: WBEA on the East End of Long Island. (KISY, which is indicated as the Dallas station, is actually too far from Dallas to be listenable over-the-air.)
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That’s laughable about KISY, much like some modest station in Poughkeepsie claiming to serve NYC. KISY has no signal presence anywhere in the DFW Metroplex.
 
radiodx10 said:
Technically speaking, since they're now broadcasting in HD, the legal should be "WEPN-FM and WEPN-HD, New York"
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No, not really. The "-HD" so many stations use isn't an official FCC suffix. It's not part of the callsign. Both the analog and digital transmission are covered under the WEPN-FM license. The actual legal ID rule only says that stations broadcasting in HD have to "appropriately notify" their digital audiences accordingly. It doesn't specify how.
 
TheBigA said:
Where do you get this idea that "they" are paying for this?

Apparently, they will be running the TJ Show, which is a nationally syndicated show:

radioinsight.com

The TJ Show Expands To 25 Affiliates

Gemini XIII's "The TJ Show" hosted by TJ Taormina has announced it has crossed the 25 affiliate threshold less than
radioinsight.com radioinsight.com

If you compare the font of the TJ Show with the logo for TJ98.7, they are identical. (See post #684)

thetjshow.com

The TJ Show – All TJ…all the time.

welcome! welcome! join The TJ Show's significant newsletter radio show podcast
thetjshow.com thetjshow.com

Apparently the show and its syndicator think this is a great way to publicize their show.
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I don't think this has been mentioned here, but TJ's site says he's from Hillsdale, NJ which was the also location of the 7-Eleven in Judy's "report" that was heard after the change. I had never heard of him either.
 
Rollo-Smokes said:
But they need to fix that TOH legal ID. It's missing an "‐FM" suffix.
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Dutifully filed under "oops".

Rollo-Smokes said:
And during this temporary phase, how is this station handling its public affairs requirements?
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The FCC does allow for a little leeway for unusual circumstances. That said, the third quarter public file issues and programs list for Q3 is coming due in a month.
 
TheBigA said:
It really hasn't, because this is simply a temporary placeholder until the station is sold. Once that happens, then we know for sure.
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And given that the TJ Show is small/medium market programming, its stay on a full-power signal in Market 1 is likely to last just this weekend. It doesn't stand to gain much of anything from being on 98.7. Advertisers will still view it as a minor league show and spend on it accordingly, which is to say not at all. Certainly, station operators in LA and Chicago aren't going to say "Wow, what an amazing new talent! We need this show now!"
 
I know this is temporary until the weekend is over but I wouldn't be surprised to have a format with Top 40 with a show( The TJ show) to compete with Z100. Just seeing this show was on Amp 103.3 in Boston. How we had Amp 92.3 to compete with Z100 years ago.
 
MTNProductions said:
After all of the speculation, the wait is over! As of late last night, WEPN-FM at 98.7 dumped ESPN Radio and flipped to Hot AC as “TJ 98.7”. But the bad news, “Kiss-FM” at 98.7 will not be coming back to New York City ever again.
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And you're only 7½ hours behind everyone else here in posting.
 
Mediafrog+ said:
That’s laughable about KISY, much like some modest station in Poughkeepsie claiming to serve NYC. KISY has no signal presence anywhere in the DFW Metroplex.
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Reminds me of a guy I worked with back in the 70s who did the legal ID, then "serving the (market name) area ... and parts of East Poughkeepsie."
 
Xale57 said:
I know this is temporary until the weekend is over but I wouldn't be surprised to have a format with Top 40 with a show( The TJ show) to compete with Z100. Just seeing this show was on Amp 103.3 in Boston. How we had Amp 92.3 to compete with Z100 years ago.
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WHTZ's had multiple stations compete, and all attempts to take them out have failed. AMP was deemed a failure here too; terrible shares despite Z having a great share.
 
K.M. Richards said:
The FCC does allow for a little leeway for unusual circumstances. That said, the third quarter public file issues and programs list for Q3 is coming due in a month.
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The FCC seems to grant waivers to stations that can make a good case. The fact that the owner is selling the station likely qualifies for a waiver.

CTListener said:
And given that the TJ Show is small/medium market programming, its stay on a full-power signal in Market 1 is likely to last just this weekend. It doesn't stand to gain much of anything from being on 98.7. Advertisers will still view it as a minor league show and spend on it accordingly, which is to say not at all.
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AFAIK the show hasn't begin airing yet. They're just playing music and teasing something for Tuesday. The only thing that makes it small/medium market programming is the syndicator doesn't own any radio stations and can't force it on them the way iHeart does.

Advertisers don't base buying decisions on shows but on audience. National shows aren't based on local market ratings but market clears. So adding market #1 to the list for a few weeks might help. They won't get any usable ratings for a few months, and they're probably not subscribing to Nielsen. Good Karma didn't. I think the only real benefit here is PR.

Gemini is a small radio syndicator. The main product appears to be a podcast. If this stunt can build audience for the podcast, mission accomplished.

Xale57 said:
I know this is temporary until the weekend is over but I wouldn't be surprised to have a format with Top 40 with a show( The TJ show) to compete with Z100. Just seeing this show was on Amp 103.3 in Boston. How we had Amp 92.3 to compete with Z100 years ago.
Click to expand...

It's temporary until the station is sold. We also don't know if this is the only deal Emmis has made. I have no reason to believe the goal is to "complete with Z100" or any other station. The goal for Emmis is to sell the station, not play radio.
 
With all due respect, A, I am going to reduce my quote of your post and isolate the two lines that should be the real takeaway for everyone to keep in mind,
TheBigA said:
I have no reason to believe the goal is to "complete with Z100" or any other station. The goal for Emmis is to sell the station, not play radio.
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I believe too many people in this thread have completely lost sight of that fact.
 
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