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Shocker: WABB 97.5 sold to EMF

N

Nate Wesley

http://blog.al.com/live/2012/02/wabb-fm_announces_sale_to_educ.html

http://www.wabb.com/goodbyewabb.aspx

Most of the discussion is going on at the Alabama board. But there's definitely folks in Northwest Florida familiar with the station, so I figured this thread isn't so out of place. Plus, the future of CHR on the Alabama/Florida Gulf Coast may involve a station (or two!?) licensed to Pensacola. A few questions:

Are Cumulus execs cheering or kicking the walls right about now?

Does Clear Channel merely stand pat with 'Hit Music Now' at 107.3 WRGV? Given the weird Mobile/Pensacola split amongst several Class C signals, are there at least discussions about swapping frequencies with say, 96.1? (WRKH does have an app to use 95kW instead of the 73kW its currently approved for--and it blankets the Mobile/Baldwin area better than WRGV.)

What does this mean for WKFP 95.7? IIRC, they aren't actually owned by the K-LOVE folks (unless 550AM Inc. is a shell).
 
I think it would be wise to swap frequencies 107.3 and 96.1. I hope CC considers this option.
107.3 will go mainstream CHR and Cumulus will launch a Hot AC station. And all will be set. At least that's how I see. But the question is: WHAT station, owned by Cumulus will take the initiative: 94.1 or 104.1? My guess will be one of those two.
 
Why does 94.1 keep getting brought up… did Cumulus buy them when everyone wasn't looking? Both my site and Wikerpedia say it's owned by Pamal still.

And people on Eastern Shore and Mobile will have 107.3. People in Pensacola and FWB will have that and Z 96.5 and to a lesser extent the "new" Q 92.

The only ones really losing out, it seems are people in coastal Mississippi.

On another note, if anyone needs reminding that people still do listen and love individual stations and take them to heart… the amount of anger and disappointment expressed over this change and the Q 92 change in FWB on each station's Facebook page has been surprising. I'd include the flip of i100 to Journey but Cumulus kept deleting all the negative press. Which is why they're dicks.
 
Looks like 107.3 already jumped on as the mainstream CHR bandwagon.
And so it begins, folks...
Cumulus? It's time to start thinking and planning!
 
... hoping The Rocket doesn't get caught up in this mess. The HD has been off for the last couple weeks (or longer) and I've started listening again.

Long Live The Rocket on 96.1!
 
The Rocket is doing good that will stay

I think we will see switches on 94.1 and 107.3, 107.3 will become (hopefully...) WTAM-FM (could that be 96.1's HD has been turned off??

94.1 Can be Blank 94..hit music.. NOW!! as 99.9 clearly covers Pensacola and that will be the only soft AC station in the area

As for 103.1, I see it becoming "The Classic Rock Station" back to where 92.1 was...

These are my predictions, I've been wrong before.

It just makes cents.

-Rob
 
poledo said:
... hoping The Rocket doesn't get caught up in this mess. The HD has been off for the last couple weeks (or longer) and I've started listening again.

Long Live The Rocket on 96.1!
Click to expand...

Funny, I quit listening when the HD went off. No more Coast to Coast for me on HD-2… Phil Hendrie on the "digital FM stereo 106.5" (which peeves me because WAVH is neither digital nor in stereo) is just as entertaining in a mindless sort of way. :D
 
Z-96 is FWB/Destin. People in PNS do not care about that station, period. Plus, they try and walk that fine line of Adult CHR/mainstream. Now they have a competitor in Q92 pushing them to choose a direction? Pensacola should not be anywhere in their thinking.

CC isn't going to bring in any more local jocks to 107.3. They have their way of doing things. They're not going to change that for mkt 120-whatever.

macab- I respect what you bring to the board. But, you said you're a radio/tv major? If that's the case, you need to stay in school. What you believe makes a mainstream CHR, or Hot AC, etc, proves you still have a lot to learn.
 
Dr voicetrack said:
Z-96 is FWB/Destin. People in PNS do not care about that station, period. Plus, they try and walk that fine line of Adult CHR/mainstream. Now they have a competitor in Q92 pushing them to choose a direction? Pensacola should not be anywhere in their thinking.
Click to expand...

Do you think Z 96 could change their place in Pensacola with this WABB sell off? They put a decent signal into the city, probably the best of the FWB stations unless I'm forgetting something obvious. I did see a few "I'll listen to Z 96" comments from people in Pensacola who were upset about losing 97-5.

I'm not saying they should abandon their market and try to go for broke, but I wonder if this will be a fringe benefit for them nonetheless.
 
macab4490 said:
Looks like 107.3 already jumped on as the mainstream CHR bandwagon.
And so it begins, folks...
Cumulus? It's time to start thinking and planning!
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I see this immediate 'mainstream turn' you seem to be indicating, either. From what I gather, 107.3 's playlist hasn't changed much since Friday. Since making the switch to CHR itself, The Groove/HMN has always leaned more rhythmic, being a little more willing to put straight-up urban songs on (which is likely how R-I mistakenly called The Groove 'urban' when it dropped that name.) Hearing any crossover hip-hop on 97.5 is something of a wonder for me knowing that it was notorious for playing rap-free versions of R&B crossovers (pretty much anything TLC, Mariah Carey, etc.had in the late 90s).


That said, WABB still isn't playing...um...how should I say it? "Ninjas In Paris"...!?
 
I don't know if anyone notices this but, there's a lot of noise on WABB, I checked on all of my receivers and it's there. Wonder if there pissed off and in protest. Sounds like another station bleeding in.
 
Does Clear Channel still run TOP 40 "KISS" stations around the US? Now might be a good time to bring that format to Mobile/Pensacola. Cumulus could also return i100 to Q100 and just duplicate Q100 Atlanta and get the WABB listeners or just change the name of 100.7, I'm not cool enough to understand where the "i" came from, it's not like we have an Interstate 100 in the area and if it came from the iPod, that's just promoting the competition. I think it's quite possible that Cumulus and Clear Channel will get into a CHR/Top 40 war in this market soon. Opportunities like this don't pop up very often... the only loss that might be bigger than WABB would be WBLX. If the Ditman's didn't sell the WABB call letters to EMF, I wonder if they are taking bids from Cumulus, Clear Channel, and maybe even Pamal for the WABB-FM calls? That could bring instant credibility to Cumulus for a new HOT 104.1 (or 100.7), WABB-FM...

just sayin'...
 
Here's a thought, CC can buy out 98.7 (Cat Country) and put their hit music NOW on there, not sure who owns 98.7 think it's family owned not sure.

If not, put 107.3 back at 98,000W and keep their tower height. Would blanket Destin easily. Nothing will replace WABB, this is indeed sad.
 
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