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Star 94.7 to Talk?

S

ScottBurns

I know this rumor is about a Treasure Coast station, but Star 94.7 has decent coverage in northern Palm Beach County, particularly in Jupiter. Have any of you heard that Star will flip to talk, possibly with the "Rush Radio" branding? Word is that there will be a full stable of syndicated conservative shows, including Rush and Hannity.

I am no fan of Star and its "Premium Choice" programming. However, I am in favor of keeping Star instead of Talk.

Might the possible format change have anything to do with Star's recent call-letter change, from WSYR to WPHR?
 
The call letter change is due to the WSYR-FM call letters being moved back to Syracuse, New York on an FM station there that Clear Channel started simulcasting WSYR-AM's news-talk programming. WPHR "Star 94.7" is held by Clear Channel's Aloha Trust and is for sale unless Clear Channel has found a legal loophole to retain 94.7. News-Talk on FM in the Treasure Coast is actually a very good move and should prove to perform much better in the ratings as well as with improved local, regional and national sales efforts.
 
1290 WJNO, another Clear Channel conservative talker, also has very good coverage along the Treasure Coast. Might FM Talk be a bit redundant for Star 94.7?
 
Looks like the changeover has occurred, complete with the Rush Radio branding. It also looks like there will be a local morning show, followed by Beck, Rush, Hannity, and Mark Levin.

I guess the speculation should re-start about WIOD gaining an FM signal at 103.5?
 
ScottBurns said:
Might FM Talk be a bit redundant for Star 94.7?
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Absolutely not! With AM listening scewing older (50+) the AM demographics are only getting older as new listening among the younger demo is listening to FM and not AM. Since news-talk has performed well on the AM band, to keep the target demos younger, it is imperative that news-talk programming migrate to the FM band. This formula has proven to work very well in other markets where AM news-talk began a simulcast arrangement on FM.

Additionally, the former Star 94.7 FM performed very poorly overall in the ratings. Keeping this in mind, it just makes good business sense to find something more viable for the 94.7 50kw frequency. Considering news-talk is the number two format nationwide, news-talk on 94.7 FM complete with Rush Limbaugh appears to be a very good fit.
 
Well, technically it is licensed to Gifford, but it serves the Treasure Coast and Vero Beach. South of West Palm Beach proper, WPHR's signal is unreliable. It is generally good in Jupiter and points north.

And Dr. Tillery, I was speaking somewhat selfishly about the viability of another FM talker. I am just tired of the same hosts and the same conservative format. It would be nice to hear some other opinions...and this is coming from a socially liberal and fiscally conservative person.
 
ScottBurns said:
And Dr. Tillery, I was speaking somewhat selfishly about the viability of another FM talker. I am just tired of the same hosts and the same conservative format. It would be nice to hear some other opinions...and this is coming from a socially liberal and fiscally conservative person.
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I understand and understood your opinion. And I am not necessarily disagreeing with you; However, in business, you go "where the money is" and the money isn't in commercial liberal talk radio. Each time any commercial radio station has attempted progressive talk, it has failed as a business model and revenue generator. We saw that failure using one such example as the failure of Air America. Conservative talk always wins in the ratings and in generating ad revenues, even in a market such as Palm Beach using WJNO as a conservative news-talk benchmark. Miami's WIOD is probably the best anomaly in contrast to conservative talk radio performing well.

In one top 100 market AM-AM cluster I was involved in, we attempted conservative talk on one signal with progressive talk on the other signal. The idea was to be fair, balanced and to present both sides to the community we served. The conservative talk outlet was very successful and profitable while the progressive talk signal was an utter failure. We soon scrapped progressive talk in favor of sports.

On the other hand, NPR and public radio is an excellent source for progressive talk radio. In Palm Beach you have WXEL-FM 90.7 and in Miami and South Florida you have WLRN-FM 91.3, both of which are excellent NPR public radio outets. I have personally found public radio to be an excellent alternative to the sameness of Rush, Hannity and Beck.
 
I largely agree with you regarding syndicated progressive talk. However, the Miami example demonstrates that local progressive talk can work. Remember, before syndication, Randi Rhodes was highly successful at WJNO in West Palm Beach - and she followed Rush!

While NPR is a good alternative to the nationally syndicated conservative talkers, I do not agree with the general conservative philosophy that NPR has a liberal slant. While there are many stories that are covered that are meant to appeal to liberals, in general, on NPR, both sides of the issue are presented. In addition, rarely do NPR hosts ADVOCATE for certain positions or political candidates, as is the case with many a syndicated conservative talker.
 
ScottBurns said:
I largely agree with you regarding syndicated progressive talk. However, the Miami example demonstrates that local progressive talk can work. Remember, before syndication, Randi Rhodes was highly successful at WJNO in West Palm Beach - and she followed Rush!
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I think Randi was successful, not because she was liberal, but she was LOCAL. She's no longer very successful. Neil Rogers -- same thing. If he went syndicated and did national "liberal" politics, he would have never succeeded.
 
Randi, however, largely discussed national political issues. And while Neil always spent time on local issues, he, too, often discussed national issues. Liberals can be successful at talk radio.
 
jmtillery said:
The call letter change is due to the WSYR-FM call letters being moved back to Syracuse, New York on an FM station there that Clear Channel started simulcasting WSYR-AM's news-talk programming.
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Could the WHEN calls be moved to Rush 94.7, with 620/Syracuse (which took 106.9's urban format with the WPHR-FM calls) taking WPHR? It'd be a great way to park the WHEN calls :)
 
If this is the case, am I wrong in saying that CC will have two FM talkers in one market with ZZR as well? Can West Palm support two FM talk stations?
 
Rush Radio 94.7 hardly covers Palm Beach County; at best, it covers northern Palm Beach County with a decent signal. 94.7 is a Treasure Coast station. WZZR has a different type of talk format. It is one of those "Hot Talk" or "Extreme Talk" stations that are a dying breed across the country. The thrust of the talk is not political, but more entertainment and socially-based.
 
jbrasco951 said:
WJNO's Morning Report gets syndicated and on this station is being retitled "The Morning Rush". More signal for Jim Edwards and Brian Mudd.
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Are the WJNO call letters making it onto 94.7 during the morning show? Or maybe they are "rebranding" the morning show so it can air on both stations simply as "The Morning Report"
 
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