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Should WABC Go to Oldies on the Weekends ?

Steve Green NEPA said:
@ Lawman ....

A radio-broadcast and DXer buddy of mine who is now in California was working at WQDR Raleigh (back when it was a Lee Abrams Superstars station). He and his wife, a lovely gal beyond description and also a DXer, drove to the Outer Banks of NC for a lark. Roger said he caught both WBZ Boston and The Big Ape Jacksonville midday on his portable. I still have his notes here from then.
His comment on WIBG : 'So THAT's where it all goes!'

Back in the JFK Airport DX days, WIBG was 10,000 watts, and faint but steady every afternoon. I have to wonder why their 990 signal was so weak there. WFIL used to be QUITE present daytimes, and louder, virtually shoehorned up against WMCA 570. So I doubt WIBG's signal needed to protect 1010 WINS all that much, reciprocally.

Niagara, of course, went on to a lot of fame as the afternoon DJ at WPEN. I had heard Jerry Stevens off WGLI Long Island, and was once almost hired by Dean Tyler to be his PD!

Thanks for the names and memories, Lawman!
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WIBG always suffered with a poor signal during the 60's, The 50kw daytime signal was pretty good, made it to the beaches, but at night the 10kw just about made it to Jersey. Management was aware of this because around 1967 they added a specific liner that said "turn up your radio for more power" and you could actually hear the signal drop and get distorted. I was pretty sure the 5 tower, 117 Ridge Pike array was aimed SE, same as WFIL and WPEN but those two were powerhouses at night with 5kw. Maybe someone can explain why.
 
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I hope not to go too far O/T here, Lawman, but to continue the WIBG signal thread a bit .....

In the late 60's one overnight, I was listening to some loud-ish station playing two songs over and over on 990. 'Harlem Nocturne' and 'Caravan'. Those were off some Les & Larry Elgart album I later found and bought.
(Repetition = appeal, I guess. Or is it contempt breeds familiarity? :)

:45 minutes into this queer concert, the testing station eventually ID'ed as WVSC Somerset PA -- the other side of the state. The NRC logbook listed them as 5000 watts, daytime only, plus directional.

There was no sign of WIBG until WVSC closed down their nocturnal experiment. I have no idea whether they were testing with their 5000 watt omni signal or their issued 5000 watt directional one.
Only when WVSC dropped their carrier did WIBG come in -- very, very faint.

Perhaps someone here who also surfs the Philadelphia board can say when WIBG raised power from their 10,000 watts to 50,000 in the day.
(Footnote: At the time I got the QSL letter back from WIBG, they mentioned that they also were on 94.1 FM)
 
Steve Green NEPA said:
I hope not to go too far O/T here, Lawman, but to continue the WIBG signal thread a bit .....

In the late 60's one overnight, I was listening to some loud-ish station playing two songs over and over on 990. 'Harlem Nocturne' and 'Caravan'. Those were off some Les & Larry Elgart album I later found and bought.
(Repetition = appeal, I guess. Or is it contempt breeds familiarity? :)

:45 minutes into this queer concert, the testing station eventually ID'ed as WVSC Somerset PA -- the other side of the state. The NRC logbook listed them as 5000 watts, daytime only, plus directional.

There was no sign of WIBG until WVSC closed down their nocturnal experiment. I have no idea whether they were testing with their 5000 watt omni signal or their issued 5000 watt directional one.
Only when WVSC dropped their carrier did WIBG come in -- very, very faint.

Perhaps someone here who also surfs the Philadelphia board can say when WIBG raised power from their 10,000 watts to 50,000 in the day.
(Footnote: At the time I got the QSL letter back from WIBG, they mentioned that they also were on 94.1 FM)
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I used to listen to WIBG FM a lot in the mid 60's, during the day they played automated adult contemporary music. after 6:00PM they would simulcast the AM when Hy came on until the next day. The main jocks would do the liners, informing the listener to hear them on the AM. They were in mono but non stop music on FM sounded great back then, they were a hard catch at times running 20kw at 125 feet from the middle tower, way out in Lafayette Hill. I have photos of them back then and the four bay, I will try to upload them.
 
What was once WIBG is now WNTP, a conservative talk radio station. Just like WABC, they run infomercials on the weekends.

They won't be playing oldies from the 60s any time soon.
 
TheBigA said:
They appear to be renting out their HD2 for Russian programming, and the HD3 carries audio from WFAS Bronxville.
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I didn't think the WPLJ argument for airing old WABC-AM content got shot down that fast now that EMF is currently in talks to get WPLJ, WYAY and KFFG from Cumulus.
 
I'm still trying to figure out why you think that someone would want to launch a station that would attract few advertisers and even fewer listeners. Please don't say it's an "under-served niche." It's under-served for a reason.
 
luperm said:
I'm still trying to figure out why you think that someone would want to launch a station that would attract few advertisers and even fewer listeners. Please don't say it's an "under-served niche." It's under-served for a reason.
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It's a very easy thing to do: A popular DJ who happens to be out of work buys the airtime from WABC, does an oldies show, and sells the commercial time himself. He uses some of the money to pay for the airtime, and keeps the rest. That's what Alan Freed did in Cleveland. Money talks, BS walks.
 
Wabc does a little better then the epic failed sister station 790 kabc in la. There ratings range from .03 to .06 like i said epic fail. Wabc does a bit better than that. Hey cumulus give the oldies a try in nyc. If something aint workin try something else.
 
hotpatrick2004 said:
Wabc does a little better then the epic failed sister station 790 kabc in la. There ratings range from .03 to .06 like i said epic fail. Wabc does a bit better than that. Hey cumulus give the oldies a try in nyc. If something aint workin try something else.
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Why do you characterize paid programming as a failure? There are clearly people willing to buy the airtime, and it costs the station nothing to run...especially on talk stations that generally have low utilization on weekends. I don't see anyone lining up to buy the airtime to run oldies. Radio is a business.
 
luperm said:
Why do you characterize paid programming as a failure? There are clearly people willing to buy the airtime, and it costs the station nothing to run...especially on talk stations that generally have low utilization on weekends. I don't see anyone lining up to buy the airtime to run oldies. Radio is a business.
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Loss of audience and, ultimately, loss of brand. As Tony Soprano said, it’s shortsighted.
 
Lee Linwood said:
Tony Soprano, even as a fictional character, was a smarter businessman than many ppl running radio stations.
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They're getting paid for the programming they run now. They wouldn't get paid if they played 60 year old songs.

You think it's smarter to not make money? I suggest Tony Soprano would not agree. Even if he was alive.
 
hotpatrick2004 said:
Wabc does a little better then the epic failed sister station 790 kabc in la. There ratings range from .03 to .06 like i said epic fail. Wabc does a bit better than that. Hey cumulus give the oldies a try in nyc. If something aint workin try something else.
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Not a good comparison.

KABC has a very reduced signal and covers mostly ethnic neighborhoods.

KABC could make considerably more money with an all Korean or all Mandarin format, even if that meant that it would not appear in the ratings.

As Big A says, it is about making money.
 
TheBigA said:
They're getting paid for the programming they run now. They wouldn't get paid if they played 60 year old songs.

You think it's smarter to not make money? I suggest Tony Soprano would not agree. Even if he was alive.
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I don’t think many educated, upscale people listen to radio infomercials for cancer doctors or cosmetic surgeons or diet doctors or for stock trading classes or for dehydrated fruit and vegetable pills. So, radio stations running them risk losing listeners to other stations, to other media, to the Internet or to alternate activities.
 
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