Party's Over For 102.5?

[briancraig]

The Game will likely not get even a 1 share with a sports format. You always hear that with sports radio, the demos are good and the 6+ ratings are meaningless. But if you have less than a 1 share overall, you don't have many listeners in any demo.

Maybe sports radio gets results for the advertisers, but I find it weird that so many stations go to this format and are able to make a living when Arbitron indicates that most of these stations have virtually no listeners.

In some markets, the sports stations are becoming like dollar a holler religious stations and are mainly brokered. One sports station in Memphis was running ads in the paper that you could have your own sports talk show for as little as $100 an hour.

 

[techguy1975]

I make no assumptions about commitment. I can hear a station and recognize that it is not very well programmed and I can read the numbers that reflect the result of that programming. Just the facts.

And those same poor programming issues will still be there when they go into sports. After all, it's a Cromwell station! Unless they make a buttload of money on sports and put that cash into better programming for the station(s). Yeah, right! :

At any rate, I won't be listening once they flip. Still not convinced that Nashville can support two sports stations on FM.

I agree, I don't think it will do well either. Take for example, Milwaukee. A city about the same size as Nashville (Milwaukee also happens to be my hometown.

They have two sports stations, both are AM. Of interest to note, neither of these stations have the 3 major sports teams (Brewers, Bucks, or Packers). Both stations are holding at a 0.4 currently. See for yourself, take a look at the ratings for the Milwaukee/Racine market and look at WSSP and WAUK

 

[Kent T]

And Sports and News Talk belong on this market on AM or HD2 channels. Not on a FM. Same for religious yapping formats.

 

[radiorob2.0]

And Sports and News Talk belong on this market on AM or HD2 channels. Not on a FM. Same for religious yapping formats.

Here is the problem, AM radio has little audience under the age of forty. In today's part 15 crazy world AM is doomed. As far as the "religious yapping format", that's the way it is and a topic in itself.

The sports format has no chance beyond filling inventory at ten cent on the dollar of what "The Zone" charges per unit.

 

[jetfli]

Where did you get that date? Don't see that here: or here:

Why are you asking that question... I don't rely on the Tennessean for radio news, and I certainly don't rely on radio-info for local news. I know what I know because I'm constantly in the midst of radio circles. I have a lot of confidences to keep so I do try to limit my discussions here to what has been released at least somewhere, but I may have let that one slip.

 

[Tibbs4]

Who wants to bet that the game will be knocked off the air by a 3 mph wind gust every time they TRY to put a live game on the air? Both stations are cursed by constant problems.

Sports is not auto-pilot radio. It's expensive to produce and promote sports stuff, so it has to have better returns just to break even.

I also don't buy it could be considered "a stunt" to have flipped to "Hot AC", but my guess is they saw the dismal old Party as toast, flipped and then within a few weeks, someone came to Bud offering a "deal" to basically buy the air time and run it and then go try to sell spots and Bud saw an easy way to make $$$. The stations gotta be paid for....

If Plaster bolts to this frequency, he's selling his soul. I understand being pinned either way, but ehhhh! Is this where sportscasters go to never be heard from again?

At least there's RQQ for Vandy sports...

 

[firepoint525]

In some markets, the sports stations are becoming like dollar a holler religious stations and are mainly brokered. One sports station in Memphis was running ads in the paper that you could have your own sports talk show for as little as $100 an hour.

Interesting that you should say that. One of the "dollar a hollers" here in Nashville (that would be WNQM) once had a sports-themed program on Saturday afternoons. Don't know if they still do, because there is no programming guide on the 'NQM website.

Where did you get that date? Don't see that here: or here:

Why are you asking that question... I don't rely on the Tennessean for radio news, and I certainly don't rely on radio-info for local news. I know what I know because I'm constantly in the midst of radio circles. I have a lot of confidences to keep so I do try to limit my discussions here to what has been released at least somewhere, but I may have let that one slip.

I asked because I had not seen that date posted anywhere else. That date falls on a Monday, so it makes sense to start a new format at the beginning of a new week.

 

[firepoint525]

I also don't buy it could be considered "a stunt" to have flipped to "Hot AC", but my guess is they saw the dismal old Party as toast, flipped and then within a few weeks, someone came to Bud offering a "deal" to basically buy the air time and run it and then go try to sell spots and Bud saw an easy way to make $$$. The stations gotta be paid for....

As has been said before (I believe we are up to the fourth time in this thread alone!), the Party cannot really be considered a "failure" as a hot AC because they never really promoted it as such. All they succeeded in doing was pissing off the few remaining teen listeners that they still had. I only knew about the "change" because someone posted about it here. They had been off my presets since returning to the "Party" three years ago. (And even those few remaining teen listeners will be gone come August 29th. :)

If Plaster bolts to this frequency, he's selling his soul. I understand being pinned either way, but ehhhh! Is this where sportscasters go to never be heard from again?

Yeah, I know! Sucks to be him right now, doesn't it?

 

[DToTheJ]

...Having "Electric Avenue" and "Safety Dance" mixed in with your Katy Perry might actually be preferable to all sports, all the time...

Beats "Bob & Sheri" mixed in with Katy Perry, doesn't it? :

 

[Rocky2539]

And those same poor programming issues will still be there when they go into sports. After all, it's a Cromwell station! Unless they make a buttload of money on sports and put that cash into better programming for the station(s). Yeah, right! :
[/quote]

You may well be right, especially because we're talking about Cromwell. There are cases where a company may flip through more than one format before they find one that best fits either their skills or market conditions. Failure with CHR or Hot AC doesn't necessarily equal failure with sports.

I note from your posts that it seems to be important to you that Hot AC not be seen as a failure in this instance. Fair enough, but that seems to be a distinction without a difference. Failure or not it, will be just as dead. I'm not sure whether any other owner sees enough potential to try to fill that void.

But if the Plaster move and the Preds move do, in fact, happen, there will be 2 audience draws on a frequency where there is now none. You will have two signals going head to head that are both move-ins (104.5 was originally allocated to Gallatin, 102.5 to Pegram) and Cromwell seems to indicate that improvements to 102.5's signal are in the works - don't know whether that would be making the stick taller or closer - so this could be an interesting battle. Add that you are subtracting the Zone's highest rated M-F program and putting it on the new rival in the same time slot. There seems to be little proven daily syndicated programming available for the new station. Not sure of the status of the Jim Rome show from Fox, since 104.5 has Dan Patrick from Fox and WNSR also claims to be a Fox affiliate. Coming up with something to challenge Dan Patrick and the 3 Hour Lunch could prove challenging.

The Titans help 104.5 during Fall (and hopefully a little Winter), the Preds should help the new station in Winter and Spring.

This could be interesting to watch.

 

[roadrunner]

Put the sports channel on 102.1 and leave The Party as is!

 

[anotherguyTN]

In some markets, the sports stations are becoming like dollar a holler religious stations and are mainly brokered. One sports station in Memphis was running ads in the paper that you could have your own sports talk show for as little as $100 an hour.

Interesting that you should say that. One of the "dollar a hollers" here in Nashville (that would be WNQM) once had a sports-themed program on Saturday afternoons. Don't know if they still do, because there is no programming guide on the 'NQM website.

Would the station in Memphis happen to be AM 730? They were sports talk, but were bought by the same group that owns WNQM/WWCR and WMQM in Memphis. THey were still doing sports the last I heard, but doing the dollar a holler approach wouldn't surprise me with them. I figure the station may still have sports, but I get the weird feeling that it's probably mixed in with dollar a holler preachers. :

 

[the marv]

You won't be the only guts getting a 2nd FM sports station. September 6th Philadelphia will be getting a second one too.

 

[firepoint525]

...Having "Electric Avenue" and "Safety Dance" mixed in with your Katy Perry might actually be preferable to all sports, all the time...

Beats "Bob & Sheri" mixed in with Katy Perry, doesn't it? :

Absolutely! Bob and Sheri have indeed been tried twice, and failed twice, in Nashville. In both cases, they didn't even outlast the format itself!

 

[firepoint525]

And those same poor programming issues will still be there when they go into sports. After all, it's a Cromwell station! Unless they make a buttload of money on sports and put that cash into better programming for the station(s). Yeah, right! :

Failure with CHR or Hot AC doesn't necessarily equal failure with sports.

The two are unrelated. And "hot AC" wasn't a "failure," because they never really tried with it. Fifth time that I have made that point.

I note from your posts that it seems to be important to you that Hot AC not be seen as a failure in this instance. Fair enough, but that seems to be a distinction without a difference. Failure or not it, will be just as dead. I'm not sure whether any other owner sees enough potential to try to fill that void.

A second sports station on FM (106.7) was seen as a failure, yet Cromwell is trying it again.

But if the Plaster move and the Preds move do, in fact, happen, there will be 2 audience draws on a frequency where there is now none. You will have two signals going head to head that are both move-ins (104.5 was originally allocated to Gallatin, 102.5 to Pegram) and Cromwell seems to indicate that improvements to 102.5's signal are in the works - don't know whether that would be making the stick taller or closer - so this could be an interesting battle. Add that you are subtracting the Zone's highest rated M-F program and putting it on the new rival in the same time slot. There seems to be little proven daily syndicated programming available for the new station. Not sure of the status of the Jim Rome show from Fox, since 104.5 has Dan Patrick from Fox and WNSR also claims to be a Fox affiliate. Coming up with something to challenge Dan Patrick and the 3 Hour Lunch could prove challenging.

A couple of big IFs there. The Plaster move is not a done deal, and the Preds are already on 102.9, which is the other Cromwell station. How are they doing on 102.9? Not a signal issue for me, because I live in Pegram, and can receive both 102.9 and 102.5. How well the Preds are doing on 102.9 is an indicator of how well they might do on 102.5. Keep in mind that they made the playoffs last season. If they don't repeat in this coming year, listenership WILL be down, no matter where they end up.

 

[firepoint525]

In some markets, the sports stations are becoming like dollar a holler religious stations and are mainly brokered. One sports station in Memphis was running ads in the paper that you could have your own sports talk show for as little as $100 an hour.

Interesting that you should say that. One of the "dollar a hollers" here in Nashville (that would be WNQM) once had a sports-themed program on Saturday afternoons. Don't know if they still do, because there is no programming guide on the 'NQM website.

Would the station in Memphis happen to be AM 730? They were sports talk, but were bought by the same group that owns WNQM/WWCR and WMQM in Memphis. THey were still doing sports the last I heard, but doing the dollar a holler approach wouldn't surprise me with them. I figure the station may still have sports, but I get the weird feeling that it's probably mixed in with dollar a holler preachers. :

I'm the wrong guy to ask that question, since I don't live in the Memphis media market. I have not heard anything about FW Robbert buying AM 730. Isn't that the West Memphis station? I haven't seen anything on the websites to indicate that they own that one now. IM me from time to time, and let me know what is going on with that one. (I don't know what they would need with a THIRD AM station in the Memphis market, unless the first two are fully sold out with programming.)

 

[firepoint525]

Put the sports channel on 102.1 and leave The Party as is!

That's funny! The Light may actually be their most successful station in the Nashville area!

 

[briancraig]

Yes, the sports station placing newspaper ads about having your own show for $100 an hour is KQPN 730. When they were purchased by FW Robbert, I think most thought they would immediately switch to brokered religion but they have kept the sports programming and they don't mix in any preachers. With the announcement that 92.9/680 ESPN is the new home of the Grizzlies, I think it can now be said that they are THE sports station in Memphis over WHBQ or KQPN. They now have UT Football, Titans football, the Cardinals and now the Grizzlies.

There is really only room for one all sports station in most markets and obviously in Nashville that will continue to be WGFX. I wouldn't care if some throwaway AM station switched to sports like 1240 or 1360 or 1430 but to have a second sports station on FM that no one will listen to is just a waste of the frequency. They might as well just go dark.

 

[romer979fm]

You will have two signals going head to head that are both move-ins (104.5 was originally allocated to Gallatin, 102.5 to Pegram)

let me give you more details that you probably care about:
104.5 is still licensed to Gallatin...has always had a huge signal (for many years the tower was on "the ridge"
between Gallatin and Portland on highway 109...moved to the "antenna farm" on I-24 just NW of downtown Nashville in 1987). no city of license change since going on the air with big band music as WFMG.
as for 102.5...they began as WDKN-FM...a class A on 102.3 (the FM in Carthage was also on 102.3 at the time.
102.3 moved to 102.5 as WQZQ...as easy listening on the tower in Charlotte...eventually becoming satellite delivered classic rock as "The Zebra"...then CHR "The Party" (first time...COL eventually became Pegram)..."Venus"..."V-102.5"...and back to "The Party" with the current WPRT calls. 102.5 is also a huge signal...their problem hitting Nashville is that the tower is in Charlotte. Should be interesting to see how the signal changes when the stereo pilot is turned off.

 

[firepoint525]

On the 102.5 the Party Facebook page there is a link to this article on the WSMV website:

http://www.wsmv.com/story/15277616/1025-changing-to-24-hour-sports-format

As of right now, there are only two comments to the article, but the second one is this gem:

102.5 is constantly changing genres! I wish it could remain the same for longer than five seconds! We'll see how long this lasts...

A woman (or girl) named Annie posted this. I would say that she is correct. Hot AC didn't "fail" on 102.5, because it was never promoted as such. CHR might have failed on 102.5, because that is how they were representing themselves to their audience. If anything, 102.5 could itself be considered a failure. Any station that becomes notorious for constantly flipping formats might itself be considered jinxed!