inquisitor said:
Nu_Roo_2 said:
Seriously, the possibility of a TVN-to-93.3 switch was one of the first things that ran through my head. Not saying that will never occur, but based on ThomasBlixa's response there was a different reason for what I noticed.
Let's get real, people!
It's one thing to abandon a perpetually floundering AM station with a bad signal like WBNS, and something completely different to abandon a successful AM station with a strong signal. You have to look at this like businessmen and consider the plusses and minuses. I'm sure WTVN makes some pretty good coin and is always ranked one of the Top-3 or Top-5 stations in the market. The only reason to abandon the AM dial would be if you can improve upon that.
Let's say they did abandon the AM signal. Let's look at the plusses ... as in how would you make the most additional profit. Would the station make any more money going to FM? Hard to see how when it is already a Top-3 station. Now look at the minuses ... what would you lose? Is whatever you replace WTVN with going to make as much money as it currently is? Probably not. Is the AM replacement going to make more money than what WLZT currently is? Probably not.
In other words, from the standpoint of overall profitability it sounds like it wouldn't be the smartest move to me ... but then again, what do I know?
Oh and I might add that the number one and number two stations in Cincinnati are ... WLW-AM and WKRC-AM!!! Just like the old days!!!
I will tell you what I think would be two good ideas, though (again, what do I know) 1) Since WTVN is weak to the south, they should get their signal either on 107.1 (which has always been kind of a waste, anyway) or on that 92.7 translator in Chillicothe that rebroadcasts WLZT; or 2) Maybe go to kind of a combo like what you have in Cincinnati where WLZT has local talk and plays the role of WLW; and WTVN plays the role of WKRC with some local shows but mostly syndicated fare (which it kind of already does.)
I don't have a clue what they might considering, if they're considering it, but look at facts from about 60 miles down the road.
WHIO-AM was doing about a 6 share average 12 plus in Dayton with newstalk as a standalone...it would hit an 8 share on rating "peaks". One area the station's signal was weak was to the north of Dayton and over toward Springfield. Upon adding the "simulcast" from 95.7 (whose tower is in Southern Shelby County), within a year and a half, the station went from 6's to 10's 12 plus. The FM demos got a bit younger, too which is always a plus.
OK, look at WTVN. They are a dominant station, no argument there. They're lucky, because they enjoy a low-on-the-band frequency at 610. The downside? They're on AM...whose audience gets older every year. Today, few if any people under 40 listen to AM for any reason. 93-3 is south of town, where 'TVN has a null. Consider the possibilities if a simulcast would be done. It's possible the null would be filled. The 7 share 12 plus figure could potentially become a 9 or perhaps even a 10. The demos might end up being better 25-54, instead of somewhat top heavy 35 plus.
Put on your station manager hat here: If you could put another 2-3 share points on your ratings 12 plus, would it be worth it?
Oh...BTW: WKRC is a top 5 station...but not number 2 in Cincy. They have, however, peaked to #2 on occasional books.
The problem with AM is the problem with every AM in America big or small. The audience is slowly dying. It won't affect the big stations for a while. But no one is replacing the listeners who die off. When you add in FM's superior sound quality, moving newstalk to FM, while leaving the AM station to get whatever listeners it can makes dollars and sense.
