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Ratings in the Valley

Let me address a couple of questions...and make a few comments here.

Why did WZLR change? Well, basically because we found a "hole" for Classic Hits in Dayton. 'ZLR came on and, in the beginning because WTUE couldn't decide at the time whether it wanted to be "current" or "classic", 'ZLR had an initial impact on them. To their credit, they picked a direction and stuck with it. That, over time, reduced the market for a Class A peashooter. We transitioned to Classic Hits over several months time to reduce the impact that the slight change in direction would have. Now, 'TUE has their end of the street, and we have ours. Granted...we share some titles with Fly, expected (and got) an initial hit. We'll see how that goes, but we were encouraged by the latest trend. I still wish them well.

Eagle has never moved its' tower. It's still there in the horse pasture on Route 68 about halfway between Xenia and I-71. We did, however, get a new transmitter and processing in the past 2 years and it did help the signal a bit.

I was aware of the 95.3 "experiment" with all-80's before we put Star 107.9 on the air in Columbus. And, before we imaged it as the "first" all 80's station, I talked with a couple of consultants, as well as people like Kid Kelly (of "Backtrax USA" fame...who also was aware of the experiment). The general consensus was, though 95.3 did try it, it didn't last long enough to be considered a real "attempt" at a format, and I could feel confident enough to claim the mantle with Star. Since then, people close to the situation in the market have told me that, at the time it happened, the station was about 30 days away from changing owners and those in charge at the time were basically telling people to "play whatever you want". I've also been told it wasn't exclusively "all 80's"...that some wierd stuff was also getting on the air. Hence...my continued claim with Star.

Put me and other jocks on the air with Eagle? Well, thanks for the compliment, I do appreciate it. I won't completely ever rule that out. But having "no DJ's" seems to be a plus for the listeners right now and we wouldn't want to rock the boat. But, who knows?

And, my friend "Kentucky Media" also raises some good points. With the potential Clear Channel sales looming, who knows what the texture or landscape of the Dayton radio market may look like 12 months from now? I'm sure there's likely to be some changing of hands...what goes where to whom I haven't a clue. But it would be a plus to the market (I think) to get some fresh blood into the ownership of Dayton radio. I think listeners are getting tired of the 17-23 units an hour that is "less is more" (sorry, but that's my personal opinion there).

It's gonna get interesting around here....
 
Jason - Thank you! I support ya 100%.

WZLR is a niche station, and thats great! Why? Dayton is in an odd place, and its got a lot of stations. ZLR is a peashooter rimshot station, so instead of competing with a major format as would WMMX or WTUE or WLQT, etc. It needs to service that "Niche".

As for what Cox does with 95.3 once it moves to Beavercreek will be interesting. I would assume they replace 95.7 with this signal. The WHIO Simulcast is doing extremely well for them. I understand the reason they put it on the Piqua frequency was due to the limited northern exposure that the AM had, but a lot of radio stations across the country are finding out that if you simulcast your AM News/Talk on the FM band, its actually helping anchor their demos at 25-54 instead of 65+.

When it comes to the sale, this will sure be interesting. I bet Clear Channel will try to fight this off tooth and nail, but they made the decision, so they should suffer those consequences. Life isn't fair..why should it be for Clear Channel.
I do see some ultimate station swaps in the future, thats normal.

This also throw 101.5 into an odd situation. Mainline doesnt like the station, but it makes a TON of money in Clark County. Who would want to operate a signal in the county? Maybe the same person who could eventually purchase the AM in Springfield from Clear Channel and maybe make a run for 1600 while their at it. Whatever happens will be interesting to say the very least.

Mainline isnt in Dayton for the long run either. They like to make a profit then move along. They do have a while to do this...but it will be done. I bet with the changes they have made, they will be bringing in more money soon than what Radio One has in the past 3 years. FLY is a good station, it has a TON of potential and just needs some more promotion, marketing and music testing and Mainline will do just that. They spent $76 million for Dayton/Louisville. They probably hope to sell them for a minimum of $100 million. Also, Mainline can own up to one more radio station. They could be on the docket to purchase on of the Clear Channel step-children after the sale is complete. Common sense would say they purchase WDSJ and replicate the Smooth Jazz success to compliment their cluster. However Mainline doesnt always play by the rules and I wouldnt be too surprised to see something different happen.

Clear Channel is divesting stations. This includes cash-cow WLQT. As well WMMX, WTUE, WDKF, WDSJ, WXEG and WIZE/WONE. Aloha is going to market those stations for a nice sale. Look for them to go in the ballpark of 70 million minimum. A company like Journal, Entercom maybe even Wilks could come in there and pick up that super-cluster. But no matter what stations are going to flip, swapped and cleaned. Its going to happen.

Also remember that K-Love will soon be making its grand entrance into Tipp City with a new and improved 6,000 watt stick. The signal will blanket most of Montgomery County.
 
Thanks for the answers to those nagging questions, Jason...
I have no idea what the people that bought WDJK were thinking by putting (Basically) 1500 WBZI on the FM stick in 1993...I thought it was a bad move. At least they eventually made it an Oldies repeater of 95.7.
STAR 107.9...A truly great radio station. Who could forget "The Edge of 80s"(Music of the early 90s) or "The Deep End"(80s Alternative)? Not to mention the talent that went through there. I could BARELY pick it up where I was living at the time, but it was well worth the time to adjust the antenna and pick it up.
Dayton radio could get interesting here in the next several months. I had no idea that CC had to sell ALL their stations...I thought it was only two, but if they are all in the Aloha trust, it looks like the Dayton radio landscape could become interesting. I look for whoever gets ahold of those CC stations to put CHR/Pop on one of the big sticks in town. Could 101.5 become CHR once they move? Who knows? I wonder what Radio One's plans were for it before they sold it off to Mainline.
Kiss Country is EXTREMELY popular in the Springfield area...along with being a heritage signal. I have a feeling the SWAT team would have to be called in if Mainline flipped that station to something else. ;D If they would flip the heritage Z-93, ANYTHING is possible from them.
Why is Mainline not in it for the long run? I have a feeling that whoever would buy the station, if the ratings weren't there for FLY, would just flip it back to Z-93. What shocks me is that ML didn't just move the CHR/Rhythmic back to 92.1(Hey, they're still called U92 anyhow)and put the CHR/Pop on 102.9. At least they wouldn't leave a format hole anywhere. What do you think kentuckymedia? Could this be a possibility? Keep those awesome posts coming.
 
Mainline wants to get the gold out of the buy. The problem is there isnt much gold there to harvest!

So look for Mainline to keep tweaking and do yearly research studies. Thats what they do, and they are one of the few companies that believe in true market research. I do applaud them for that. They also believe in marketing. They spent close to $400,000 in television for this upcoming budget. Plus another $75,000 in billboard marketing. They arent afraid to spend money to make money.

Whoever does buy CC Dayton has a handful. The stations are in financial bind right now and with the new CC Decree to dump all budgets and no programming/sales hires or even marketing, your going to see some slippage in the market shares.

Here are my thoughts on whats going to happen....but I could be wrong. Just my guess!

MAINLINE moves 101.7 down the dial to 101.5. But it remains Kiss Country (maybe a new name) but pounds out the country format for Springfield, Xenia and a few Fairborn folks. It could see a 3.3 share potentially. Maybe more.

CLEAR CHANNEL sells to a company like Connoisseur, Journal or Entercom. 99.9 remains Lite AC as it does extremely well for them. 104.7 remains Classic Rock, another money maker. 107.7 is going to be at question. The primary reason behind that is Fly will eat their lunch and their form of Hot AC is working now, but it wont last forever. 106.5 gets dumped along the roadside to someone who can harvest money out of the west-side suburbia. Maybe a company in Richmond. WXEG is profitable...not a ton, but it fills a void and does okay. 94.5 will flip formats.

Im certain that whoever buys the cluster realizes the golden opportunity to mobilize an Adult Top 40/HAC Hybrid format on 107.7. Maybe drop the name, maybe not. Then turn 94.5 into an oldies outlet. It would be the most profitable bang for their buck.

COX will move their Talk format to 95.3 after the move into Beavercreek.

Mainline will co-exist WDHT with whoever buys 107.7. We may not have a "true" Top 40 in Dayton..but really is there any "True" top 40's anymore?
 
I don't think "Top 40" as it was originally designed, exists anymore. It's become another "urban" or "alternative" format, depending on its' musical leanings per market. That's what's wrong with it. Until some kind of "middle ground" surfaces in pop culture, what you hear is what you're gonna get.

The latest news on the Clear Channel budget cuts, in my personal opinion, is frankly, scary for them. I hope and pray for the security of the many colleagues I know who work for them. It sounds like the Titanic finally discovered no other direction than to hit the iceberg head-on.

Kiss could do a good job serving their hometown audience. There is one there. But, there are some problems with that station (and no...I ain't going to program it for them from here). But, if Mainline is doing what it's been contended here that they're doing research-wise, I think they'll figure it out soon enough.

As for station sales...they're all interesting hypotheses. Some of them could happen, I guess, but, like I said before...far as our place goes, you know what we know...which ain't much.
 
Please allow me a point of clairification to my previous post:

There's a great deal of speculation going on in the market about station sales and potential move-ins and the like. We hear it, too. But, at moment...it's all just that, "speculation".

When I say "you know what I know", I mean what's "public" is what we know. And, like I said...it's not much.

Anything else...your guess is as good as mine.
 
I ahd first heard that Clear Channel was going to have to spin off two Dayton properties, and I apparently missed the news about CC wanting to/having to sell the entire cluster. That certainly could make things interesting. Cox had not been known until now for dumping signals, but is it possible they could end up with one of CC's signals? I can see Kiss Country remaining Springfield-based, whether or not it does move down the dial and the road to 101.5. They do decently in Springfield, and if Mainline really is going to spend some money on marketing the station, it may well be there to stay. (By the way, Ultimate Oldies fans, should that move occur, the current translator will move to 101.1). Mainline definately is marketing the crap out of the Fly just at the time that CC has decreed no marketing, no research, no new hires and no nothing.
 
Interesting news on the Mainline front. They supposedly have had an interested buyer in their WKSW signal. The buyer wants to purchase that and an AM signal in Springfield to begin a new combo. Its a investment group thats relativly small based out of Illinois and owns 2 daily newspapers out there and a couple "entertainment" papers in larger metros. I guess they want to take a shot at the radio biz.
 
Kentucky,
If the potential new owners of CC Dayton would obviously keep the 99.9 stick AC and 104.7 classic rock, why would they put oldies on 94.5? Light is gold-based CA anyway, so wouldn't you kind of put yourself in a little pickle? The only way I could see this happening is if they would use 94.5 as a flanker to mess up stations like the Eagle or Fly.
 
Okay...someone needs to shed some light here....I think I know the answer, but I could be wrong!

My first initial thought is that Aloha Trust is two phases. The first phase is to get rid of the primary bulk of stations that need to be spun off for Ownership Caps. Then Phase II is when Bain starts selling off entire markets (Dayton, Orlando).

Aloha Trust Phase One -

Clear Channel Spinoff List

Long Island, NY
1370 WALK East Patchogue, NY Soft AC “Sunrise 1370″
97.5 WALK-FM Patchogue, NY AC “WALK Radio”

Cleveland, OH
96.5 WAKS Akron, OH CHR “96.5 Kiss-FM”


Orlando, FL
101.1 WJRR Cocoa Beach, FL Modern Rock “Real Rock 101-1″

San Jose, CA
92.3 KSJO San Jose, CA Spanish AC “La Preciosa”
98.5 KUFX San Jose, CA Classic Rock “98.5 The Fox”
104.9 KCNL Sunnyvale, CA Modern Rock “Channel 104.9″

Hartford, CT
104.1 WURH Waterbury, CT Modern Rock “FM 104.1″

New Orleans, LA
104.1 KYRK Houma, LA Rock “FM 104.1″

Albuquerque, NM
104.1 KTEG Santa Fe, NM Modern Rock “104.1 The Edge”
104.7 KABQ-FM Bosque Farms, NM Smooth Jazz “Smooth Jazz 104.7″

Jacksonville, FL
92.7 WROO Green Cove Springs, FL Gospel “Hallelujah 92.7″

Dayton, OH
94.5 WDKF Englewood, OH CHR “94.5 Kiss-FM”
106.5 WDSJ Greenville, OH Smooth Jazz “Smooth Jazz 106.5


Charleston, SC
100.5 WALC Mount Pleasant, SC AAA “100.5 The Drive”

Visalia, CA
92.9 KFSO-FM Visalia Spanish AC “La Preciosa”

Lancaster, CA
610 KAVL Lancaster, CA Sports “Fox Sports 610″
97.7 KTPI-FM Mojave, CA Country “KTPI”

Austin, TX
105.9 KFMK Round Rock, TX Rhythmic AC “Jammin 105.9″

Little Rock, AR
106.7 KHKN Benton, AR Classic Country “106.7 The Wolf”

Sussex, NJ
1360 WNNJ Newton, NJ Standards
106.3 WHCY Blairstown, NJ Hot AC “Max 106.3″

Syracuse, NY
105.1 WWDG Deruyter, NY Hot AC “Nova 105.1″

Grand Rapids, MI
96.1 WMAX-FM Holland, MI Hot AC “96.1 Max-FM”

Warner Robins, GA
102.5 WEBL Warner Robins, GA Country “102.5 The Bull”

Frederick, MD
930 WFMD Frederick, MD Talk
99.9 WFRE Frederick, MD Country “Free Country 99.9″

Vero Beach, FL
94.7 WSYR-FM Gifford, FL Hot AC “Star 94.7″
101.7 WCZR Vero Beach, FL Talk “Real Radio 101.7″
103.7 WQOL-FM Vero Beach, FL Oldies “Kool 103.7″

Panama City, FL
93.5 WPBH Port St. Joe, FL Classic Rock “Rock 93.5″

Columbus, GA
1270 WSHE Columbus, GA Gospel “Solid Gospel 1270″
98.3 WBFA Fort Mitchell, AL Urban “98.3 The Beat”

Roanoke/Lynchburg, VA
93.5 WSNV Salem, VA AC “Sunny-FM”
101.7 WSNZ Lynchburg, VA AC “Sunny-FM”
106.1 WZBL Vinton, VA Country “106.1 The Bull”

Lexington, KY
105.5 WMKJ Mount Sterling Oldies “Magic Oldies 105″

Louisville, KY
101.7 WKRD-FM Shelbyville, KY Sports “790 WKRD”

Augusta, GA
102.3 WIBL Augusta, GA Country “102.3 The Bull”

Bakersfield, CA
98.5 KDFO-FM Delano, CA Classic Rock “98.5 The Fox”

Portsmouth, NH
1540 WGIP Exeter, NH Talk “610 WGIR”

Waco, TX
102.5 KBRQ Hillsboro, TX Rock “102.5 The Bear”

Aloha Trust - Phase II

California
KHTY/Bakersfield
KSBL/Carpinteria
KAVL/Lancaster
KVVS-FM/Mojave (Los Angeles)
KSJO & KUFX/San Jose
KALZ/Fowler
KSFO-FM/Visalia
KBOS/Tulare
KSFO/Fresno
KRDU/Dinuba

Connecticut
WPOP, WHCN/Hartford
WPKX/Enfield
WKSS/Hartford-Meriden
WWYZ, WPHH/Waterbury

Delaware
WOSC-FM/Bethany Beach
WLBW/Fenwick Island

Florida
WTKS-FM/Cocoa Beach (Orlando)
WROO/Green Cove Springs (Jacksonville)
WOLL-FM/Hobe Sound (Ft. Pierce-Stuart-Vero Beach)
WAIL, WEOW & WKEY/Key West (The Florida Keys)
WEBZ/Mexico Beach (Panama City)
WMGF/Mount Dora
WQTM & WRUM/Orlando
WFLF/Pine Hills (Orlando)
WCTH & WFKZ/Plantation Key (The Florida Keys)
WXXL/Tavares (Orlando)
WKEZ/Tavernier (The Florida Keys)
WCZR/Vero Beach
WSYR-FM/Vero Beach

Georgia
WPCH/Macon
WAGH/Columbus

Louisiana
WRNO/New Orleans
WQUE/New Orleans
WODT/New Orleans
WYLD-FM/New Orleans

Maryland
WJDY/Salusbury
WSBY-FM/Salisbury
WTGM/Salisbury
WQHQ/Ocean City-Salisbury
WDKZ/Salisbury

Maine
WGUY/Bangor
WFZX/Bangor

New Hampshire
WTSL/Hanover
WMYF/Portsmouth
WHEB/Portsmouth

New Mexico
KTEG/Bosque Farms (Albuquerque)
KABQ Albuquerque
KZRR/Albuquerque

New York
WXXA-TV Albany - placed in trust due to ownership conflicts, controlled by Newport Television.
WWDG/Deruyter

Ohio
WXEG/Beavercreek Dayton
WONE, WMMX & WTUE/Dayton
WLQT/Kettering (Dayton)
WIZE/Springfield (Dayton)
WMMS/Cleveland
WMJI/Cleveland

South Carolina
WALC/Charleston

Texas
KFMK/Round Rock (Austin)
KWTX/Waco
KWTX-FM/Waco
KBGO/Waco

Vermont
WTSJ, WCVR-FM/Randolph
W247BC/White River Junction
W265AT/Springfield

West Virginia
WKEE-FM/Huntington
WVHU/Huntington
WZZW/Milton
WTCR/Kenova
WTCR-FM/Huntington

Wisconsin
WBIZ/Eau Claire
WBIZ-FM/Eau Claire
WQRB/Bloomer
WATQ/Chetek
 
Kentucky....is this an official list or speculation? As for a group being interestd in Kiss Country and an AM, they might as well grab both 1340 and 1600, which they could no doubt get for a song. A move to 101.5 still could be advantageous even if the focus remains Springfield, they certainly could move the tower to the rent Hot 102-9 tower, get the required city-grade signal in Enon and a better signal in Springfield.
 
Man am I glad I don't work at Clear Channel(I almost did a couple years ago). No $$$ to spend on anything is scary as Jason mentioned. I can only wish the folks there the best, especially WMMX. Fly is all over the TV and soon to be billboards. 2008 in Dayton radio just got interesting, especially with the article in the DDN about 'MMX, 'TUE, and 'ONE going to new owners.
If I was 'MMX, I would become like WBNS/Columbus(Mix 97.1), which is a CHR-leaning Hot AC. I think the Mix name should stay. 'TUE should stay the way it is. 'ONE? ANYTHING would do better than what they have on there now. I remember it doing mid 3s with Standards...Maybe they should do that format again. WING has the sports market covered in Dayton. Does WIZE get sold with WONE? It is sad what has happened to a once proud signal. Man was that station big when I was a kid in the early 80s. Now it has been reduced to being a repeater of WONE. Someone needs to buy WIZE and at least make it a Springfield station again. Somewhere, the late great John Hall is weeping. :'(
 
It would be great to have just a Springfield only cluster. 1340, 1600 and 101.5 would make a great power combo and could do well in sales if managed right.

The lists are official....so whatever thats worth.
 
I almost applied to CC's sales department. I have some people that worked with me at Flyer Radio over there, and again, can only wish them the best.
 
alans613 said:
Does WIZE get sold with WONE? It is sad what has happened to a once proud signal. Man was that station big when I was a kid in the early 80s. Now it has been reduced to being a repeater of WONE. Someone needs to buy WIZE and at least make it a Springfield station again. Somewhere, the late great John Hall is weeping. :'(

I must agree. WIZE (and Springfield itself for that matter) has been at the bottom of the barrel much too long. Should Radio Maria purchase WULM to run Catholic programming,it would only be fair to let WIZE go back to local people and make it the locally originating station it was meant to be. The inside of the building is in fair shape but needs a good cleanup,the studios itself operated by WULM were renovated a few years ago thanks to Bob Roberts(a close freind of John Hall who dedicated the studios in his memory)..but the outside driveway coming off of Miracle Mile has chuckholes and needs a makeover...also the double entrance doors can be upgraded to what it once looked like when Great Trails and Steve Joos ran that station. Bring back the old PAMS and TM jingles and Springfield can have an oldies format again.

Also,wasn't a construction permit granted for an FM in St. Paris not long ago? this would give those who may be intersted in purchasing WIZE an option to go for the St Paris FM and make it the AM/FM combo it should have been years ago. Purchase and throw in WKSW (and keep its country format and Lee Riley)and you have a local 2 FM/1AM cluster.
 
Cox had said once the move of 95.7 is completed to Sharonville. They would go to the FCC and ask for a CP in Saint Paris at 95.9. This of course is all hinged upon the move of 95.7 to Sharonville and the sale to First Broadcasting.
 
The old board at WULM is on its last legs and would need to be replaced. We almost moved back into the production room because it had gotten noisy and unreliable. Would the Springfield business community actually support a Springfield-only combo? We'd have to wait and see.
 
If Springfield got a "combo", and a local owner, (or at least one committed to serving the local community) regardless of how it was arranged...I would be fairly certain an audio console would be the least concern of a licensee.

Why would someone need to move "into the old building" to be successful?

The "old building" is a part of radio of the past. Springfield should want radio of the future.

I respect the heritage of WIZE and WBLY...but, I'd rather have a vibrant, local broadcasting operation there than an operation living in the past.

Yes...the advertisers would accept it...if it's done correctly.
 
I agree...if one was to run a local operation in Springfield (doesnt really matter where) but its primary target was Clark County with strong promtional support and marketing. Get involved in everything Clark County. The station could potentially pull a 2.5-3.5 share in the ratings. Plus make a nice penny in revenue.
 
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