Questions about WECK...

[Gregg]

The last time I was in Buffalo I heard WECK and thought it was well-programmed for a 1000 watt AM station. It was a weekend, yet it sounded like the DJ was on live, playing music programmed locally.

Since WECK is owned by CBS, I thought I'd hear the co-owned Westwood One standards format. What used to be called "AM Only" is really more soft AC/soft oldies than adult standards. Compared to Stardust and Music of Your Life, it's the most contemporary of the three formats, with no Bing Crosby or Benny Goodman and only a few later standards artists per hour. Yet the reports about WECK switching to Classic Country say it had been progamming "Music of Your Life." Why pay a different company for its adult standards format (and the oldest-sounding one at that) when you own Westwood One?

I also thought I'd hear CBS News on the hour but instead it was CNN. I suppose Westwood One distributes CNN. But no one else in Buffalo carries CBS News on the hour, at least in the daytime... so why not the CBS-owned AM station? Or does WBEN still carry the CBS spots even though its own reporters deliver its hourly newscasts... maybe with some CBS actualities?

At least older Buffalo-area listeners have Toronto's CHWO 740 and 1400 WLVL Lockport which was airing ABC's Stardust when I heard it. WLVL sometimes makes the Buffalo book and CHWO made the most recent ratings, even with WECK still in the format. With a good radio you can also hear WYLF from Penn Yan

CBS really is nutty to give up what they said was $1 million billing annually at WECK, a 1000 watt station, a figure that will NEVER be duplicated with Classic Country. I really thought CHWO was going to take away half of WECK's ratings with its 50,000 watt signal and its towers right there on the lakefront with the Buffalo skyline visible 30 miles away. Yet 740 barely impacted WECK at all and CBS still blew up the format. Crazy.





Gregg
[email protected]

What is CBS saying to its Westwood One standards affiliates with this m

 

[Element9]

Some cogent observations.

Hard to attempt to explain or defend CBS' programming decisions. So many listeners have known WECK as "Music Of Your Life" and use that description to define the format (similar to, "I'll make a Xerox copy of the report," or "I need a Kleenex") when in fact, it was not "Music Of Your Life." The point is, everybody knew WECK was the "standards" station in Buffalo and even middle age, classic rockers liked to listen to the format from time to time because it was damn good. Too bad not too many people under 55 showed up in WECK's ratings.

WLVL is on 1340. WWWS is on 1400. WLVL is now local news-talk in the morning with syndicated talk, featuring O'Reilly, Hannity and Boortz in the afternoon and evening. The 1 kW signal is marginal in Buffalo, although it reaches the northtowns quite well in the daytime.

1400 airs a local brew of "Solid Gold Soul." It does OK. Its stick is in the geographical center of the urban audience the station serves.

WBEN airs CBS news, using the first part of the top of the hour network 'cast in morning drive, followed by local news.

A few of us were discussing just what the hell CBS is thinking these days, given Free FM, the mess it has on its hands with three underperforming FMs in NYC, and the morning drive experiment that it has on some of its FM properties in markets throughout America.

The Infinity cluster in Buffalo has three strong FM's: Country WYRK, the market champ; AC WJYE, which is getting strong competition from Hot AC Star 102.5 and Greatest Hits WHTT, now playing more 70's, 80's and even 90's music mixed with some 60's. CBS also owns Urban WBLK, which is the heritage urban FM.

WBUF changes format more frequently than some people change their socks. It has a propensity for doing "format of the month" programming. Now it's "Jack" and the jury is still out.

CHWO 740 is an alternative for those in the Buffalo market seeking adult standards. Although the massive signal reaches all of Western New York unimpeded, it really doesn't put up big numbers. It's there for the liking and listening.

WECK switching format from Standards to Classic Country has a more than a few people in this market scratching their heads, especially if the $1 million/year billing figure is correct.

In these revenue-challenged times, walking away from that kind of annual billing is unfathomable. This drives the rumor that Entercom was considering the Classic Country format for 107.7 The Lake, which has been faltering of late and CBS made a pre-emptive move.

Personally, I don't buy that, but these days, anything's possible.

-9-

 

[SirRoxalot]

WECK-FM?

Maybe the demise of WECK is the prelude to format #372 on 92.9 - WECK-FM...

They'll resurrect the old WADV format from 1977 and clean up. Either that or they've found the original reels of tape from WBUF circa 1970, and Carl Spavento is voice-tracking even as we speak.

 

[MediaBoy]

Re: WECK-FM?

Maybe they would like some old Dan Lesniak Polka Show tapes!

 

[Mike_O]

Re: WECK-FM?

> Maybe they would like some old Dan Lesniak Polka Show tapes!
>
It would be nice to see one of the stations in metro Buffalo become the new WECK. I understand CBS Radio wanting to pair WYRK with a Classic Country format, BUT you don't blow-up a station with a format that is doing $1M/yr on a Class C signal. True you have CHWO, but turning more listeners to Canadian stations is foolish at best. WECK was a station that any city in the country would be proud to have on the dial. It has been years since we had a station that matched WECK (like the mid 80's) and for the last three years absolutely no outlet for Adult Standards out of 97 stations in the Houston DMA.

All Access had the results of a study that has shown that the 16 to 25 demo is listening to Standards, in fact the amount went up from 14% in early 2005 to 34% by late 2005. This idea that the Standards is nursing home music is pure BS. Internet Radio where more and more people are turning for music and entertainment is where the 16 to 25 age group "discovered" Standards and like what they hear.

WNY lost a real jewel when WECK flipped to Classic Country, no matter how well programmed the new 1230 may be done by CBS Radio. Few cities in the US have a Standards station that is live and local 24/7 and I will miss it on my next visit.

This had to have been a decision by someone with no connection to or knowledge of WNY radio. And radio executives wonder why radio is becoming/has become secondary to other delivery methods.

At least in WNY when you scan the AM dial you know what Country you are in, here you can't even be sure of the continent, English is a rariety on AM and becoming nearly a 50-50 split on FM. If English is your first language, you have far more to choose from in WNY than the meager offerings in Houston. HD Radio has increased the English language formats on FM with all the current HD stations (12 in English) using the HD2 channel, however at this time it is like the tree falling in the forest and no one for miles around. The Houston board does not have anyone saying they are running out to buy an HD receiver. Ibiquity's chart of stations and multicasting is as good as their AM HD Radio, not worth sshit. There are three AM stations listed as not on the air, this is correct, however until AM HD Radio is ON CHANNEL, KCHN 1050 can never sign on without causing interference to 1070 KNTH and while not in market, Corpus Christi's 50kW KCTA 1030 with a powerful signal in metro Houston. I have doubts about KPRC 950 and 2nd adjacent KLUP 930 San Antonio which is weakly audible in Houston daytime and KMIC 1590 and 1st adjacents in Orange {1600} and Lake Charles {1580} or even 3rd adjacent 1620 WTAW College Station. True all out of market, but highly likely to suffer interference well outside of Houston. KPRC/KLUP would be a real test as they are both 5kW ND and their signals overlap from Houston to San Antonio. Since Ibiquity's chart of stations tells nothing, how is HD Radio progressing in Buffalo? Buffalo was a leader of innovation of the FM band back in the 60's.

Cherish what you have on the radio in the Buffalo area, you may not realize how fortunate you are in your choices. Unfortunately the Buffalo stations will become as bad as most cities in time. For whatever reason, Buffalo was given a rare break and you did not have Clear Channel move in and swoop up 7 or 8 stations and begin a downward spiral towards mediocrity that follows the evil empire. Houston had an all News station, KTRH 740 that I would have placed in the catagory of NYC's WINS 1010 or KCBS 880 or LA's KFWB 980, but that means people and expense. The last three words of the last sentence are not in CC's vocabulary and now it is syndicated talk. You want news it is a FM rim shot station from 70 miles away with a signal that is fair on it's best day, in fact it is not uncommon to hear Country music from Corpus Christi in it's place many times. The internet is where you have to turn to now. Pretty sad for a metro that is 5+ million people (although that figure may be wrong, no one seems to know the population post Katrina/Rita and then the comments of New Orleans mayor, a growth rate of 18% and the nearness of the Mexican boarder). Only 30% that cross the mighty Rio Grande (you might get your ankles wet) are Mexican though.
Mike O

 

[fybush]

> I really
> thought CHWO was going to take away half of WECK's ratings
> with its 50,000 watt signal and its towers right there on
> the lakefront with the Buffalo skyline visible 30 miles
> away.

CHWO's transmitter site is in Hornby, a good 15 miles north of the lakeshore. The only thing you can see from there is the traffic rushing by on the adjacent 401.

(Its signal is still a blowtorch into WNY, I'll grant you that!)

As for its ratings being less than stellar, I think that comes down to Buffalo listeners wanting to hear Buffalo stations. The content that surrounds the music on CHWO is distinctly Toronto. That's also made CHWO less of a threat than expected to Rochester's "Legends 990" WLGZ (which itself has an adequate daytime signal into the eastern parts of the Buffalo metro, especially up in Niagara County), which has a similar standards format.<P ID="signature">______________
Tower Site Calendar 2006 JUST RELEASED! - <a target="_blank" href=http://www.fybush.com/nerw.html#calendar>www.fybush.com</a></P>

 

[Bob1370]

> > I really
> > thought CHWO was going to take away half of WECK's ratings

Another thing we have to remember, is that CHWO doesn't marlet his programming outside southern Ontario. Having a strong signal into a market won't guarantee ratings in that market...you have to work to cultivate an audience, now more than ever in this period of expanding entertainment choices.

 

[Gregg]

> > > I really
> > > thought CHWO was going to take away half of WECK's
> ratings
>
> Another thing we have to remember, is that CHWO doesn't
> market its programming outside southern Ontario. Having a
> strong signal into a market won't guarantee ratings in that
> market...you have to work to cultivate an audience, now more
> than ever in this period of expanding entertainment choices.
>

Well, maybe yes, maybe no.

Folks in the 50+ age group have so few radio choices these
days, that if they can get a 50,000 watt signal at 740 on
their radios, playing their music, they'll lock it in. Let's
remember that there are no more easy listening stations.
Soft AC WJYE doesn't play the Carpenters anymore and Country
WYRK has lost all its Willie Nelson songs. If political talk
isn't your cup of tea, there's not much on the radio dial,
AM or FM, to listen to. So if 740 is playing your music,
even if the commercials talk about kilograms and liters and
the newscasts focus on the new Prime Minister, I'll guess
WECK's format switch will put CHWO above a two share by
year's end.




Gregg
[email protected]

 

[wyatt]

> Some cogent observations.
>
> Hard to attempt to explain or defend CBS' programming
> decisions. So many listeners have known WECK as "Music Of
> Your Life" and use that description to define the format
> (similar to, "I'll make a Xerox copy of the report," or "I
> need a Kleenex") when in fact, it was not "Music Of Your
> Life." The point is, everybody knew WECK was the "standards"
> station in Buffalo and even middle age, classic rockers
> liked to listen to the format from time to time because it
> was damn good.
>
Late last summer (aug 05?) WECK changed satellite service and did switch back to a music of your life format. Gone were the Beatles, James Taylor etc; in were the Andrews and McGuire Sisters, Rosemary Clooney etc. Advertisers who realized the change had to ask--isn't the audience old enough as it is?
Now they were positioned to lose their 45-55 audience and become 70+
May have been a prelude to the format change.