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State of Country Radio in Cincinnati

I know nothing about what's actually happening, but had these thoughts....

1] In markets in the general size range of Cincinnati that have Clear Channel stations, if I remember right, at least half of those have a CC country station, and most of them are the number one country station in town, with many of not all in the top 5 overall.
2] CC's best FM signals for covering the metro are WOFX and WVMX. A good signal's critical if you directly compete with someone.
3] Country music, which used to be a M/F 25-54 format, has evolved into something that has somewhat more females listening.
4] WVMX, which has basically stood pat for years with kind of low ratings because of good (i.e. strongly female) demos, has fallen to a low enough point that if it could be a respectable number 2 country station, it would have more female listeners in good demos than the Mix format has now, while having a bunch of male listeners to throw in as a bonus. It would probably also have a much better cume, and perhaps an advertiser perception that it's a foreground station.
5] All the changes with 96.5/94.9/97.3 Young Eagle Star Wolf Whatever country have diminished its value as a flanker. It could gradually regain listeners, so jumping in before that happens might be smart for anyone wanting to do country.

94.1 is as good and maybe slightly better than WUBE in signal. And since country's so big in many places, but not as fragmented as AC, CHR, or Rock, CC probably has some country programmers available who have actually experienced direct competition for listeners, unlike some other formats where that has been pretty much unknown since consolidation.

Then there's the bonus of WUBE having just gone through a couple of format changes and fired their PD.

I don't know if current corporate edicts allow CC managers to be aggressive with a new format. It's seems like the most important thing to Clear Channel now is to promote the website.

So maybe we'll be saying hello to CountryPorn941.com
 
I've thought about the 94.1 change myself here recently. It makes perfect sense, especially when 97.3 moves their stick and becomes the market powerhouse FM. When that happens, I can't see Bonniville keeping The Wolf around. Their not going to compete with their own bread and butter B. Besides, I can't believe CC has stayed out of the country scene this long. I can see them starting a shake-up.
 
RRontheX said:
I've thought about the 94.1 change myself here recently. It makes perfect sense, especially when 97.3 moves their stick and becomes the market powerhouse FM. When that happens, I can't see Bonniville keeping The Wolf around. Their not going to compete with their own bread and butter B. Besides, I can't believe CC has stayed out of the country scene this long. I can see them starting a shake-up.
They upset the apple cart in Lexington with 98-1 The Bull. While I don't like the "Country Classics" that I didn't like as a kid and I think it's tacky that their "98 Minute Bull Rides" were less than 90 minutes each, they took 92.9 WVLK FM and forced them to fight for their life. The re-incarnated "92.9 The Bear" is a superb country station. Lexington wins & CC wins. I could see the same thing playing out in Cincinnati...BRING IT ON!!! Just make it live & local...
 
We have enough country stations we don't need another. We have one at 95.9FM , 97.3FM (if it stays after the move), 99.1FM, 99.3FM i beleave, Thier is one at 101.5FM if you can get it in, 103.1FM, 103.9FM, 105.1FM, 105.9FM, 106.5FM, and 106.7FM. That would be 11 total country station I can get here in Delhi. I don't need another damn country station. We have way too many as it is.
 
robmadden1 said:
We have enough country stations we don't need another. We have one at 95.9FM , 97.3FM (if it stays after the move), 99.1FM, 99.3FM i beleave, Thier is one at 101.5FM if you can get it in, 103.1FM, 103.9FM, 105.1FM, 105.9FM, 106.5FM, and 106.7FM. That would be 11 total country station I can get here in Delhi. I don't need another damn country station. We have way too many as it is.

Of all the signals you listed, very few are contenders, or have the potential to be, in the Cincinnati market. Most of them get buried by the locals.
 
especially if wolf stays country when they increase their signal.
 
RRontheX said:
I've thought about the 94.1 change myself here recently. It makes perfect sense, especially when 97.3 moves their stick and becomes the market powerhouse FM.
Let's set the record straight on what 97.3 will be when it moves. 25KW at 328' is equivelant to the B1 status that 107.1 enjoys(except that 107.1 gets better protection as a B1 than 97.3 will as a C3)...nothing more, nothing less. I'm not sure where the "powerhouse" and "strongest FM downtown" come from, but these terms are inaccurate. 92.5, 94.1, 98.5, 101.9, 102.7 & 105.1 are all full class B (50KW at 492') equivelants and are nearer to downtown than 97.3's facility will be. Better signal than now...you bet. Powerhouse/Flamethrower? Not quite...
 
onegreatplace said:
especially if wolf stays country when they increase their signal.

I doubt Bonneville will give up the protection that the Wolf offers B105.
 
To echo Bob they will comparable to the Wiz in Downtown coverage. What they gain in NKY they lose north of the Lateral. They're losing coverage in the parts of Hamilton, Butler and Warren Counties.

Powerhouse ROFL....
 
OK, OK. Maybe "powerhouse" wasn't the adjective I should have used. I'm not very keen when it comes to the technical end of the biz. But, I have to admit, I haven't heard "flamethrower" in quite a while. I was going by what Wylly posted on the topic [WYGY is about to take over]. Help me out here Wylly.
 
The antenna isn't as high in the air as some in the market, but RF is a strange animal. Think of FM coverage like an umbrella. More output power (wattage) = wider umbrella. An umbrella that's closer to the ground is not going to cover the same area as one that's held high. In this analogy, the dry area beneath the umbrella is signal coverage. But a large umbrella is going to cover a certain area very well, regardless of its height. Depending on what you want to keep dry, that may or may not be a bad thing. Maybe you don't care that some things are not going to be covered as long as what's important to you, is.

To gain a +3 dB increase in signal, output power must be doubled. Compare the licensed output to other area stations, and you will find that those 3 dB might be very helpful in a metro area... particularly when overcoming intermod (a type of interference). In its intended coverage area, it will also help tuners lock on when using the SEEK button as well as in general.

25kW is a hell of a signal, period. Yes, height and terrain affect signal. Even so, 25kW is a hell of a lot of signal. Repeat that until you've memorized it. It will have excellent penetration in downtown and further south. Compare this to WFTK (96.5). WFTK is well north of the city. It has a lower power output, but it's higher in the air. It's a monster north of the city but high ridges kill it in the river valley. Metro coverage, mostly due to its distance from downtown, has historically been a problem for this frequency (regardless of owner). WYGY's new permit is closer to the metro area, yet lower in the air. It should penetrate buildings well with its higher power, help tuners lock on with less interference, and accomplish its goal of being a flamethrower in its intended coverage area.

I seriously doubt that the decision to build and install a transmitter facility that could run well past a quarter of a million dollars was made haphazardly and without plenty of research. After it goes live, there will be another powerhouse in the Cincinnati market. No one said it was going to remain country after those tubes get fired up... all 25kW of them.
 
Hate to agree, but ......
There usually IS a "master plan" - examples of other recent FCC applications: 99.5 (WAOL) move from Ripley to Amelia, 95.7 (WHIO) move from Piqua to Sharonville, etc. I'm sure there are others I forgot and/or are "in the works" in the Cincinnati/Dayton/Northern Kentucky area.
Let the guessing begin?
 
No doubt that Clear Channel knows how to do Country. But $5 says their research tells them at WUBE is unassailable in Cincinnati--or at least that it would be extremely expensive & time-consuming to take them down.

They may also be a bit reluctant to tangle with Bonneville, an outfit that does FM news & news-talk real well in other markets (see WTOP/Washington & KSL/Salt Lake) and if they flipped YGY to N/T they could take a chunk--maybe 3 or 4 shares--out of The Big One, and vault WUBE into the top spot.

Come to think of it, that may be Bonneville's "master plan," anyway. With Burbank retiring, WLW may be more vulnerable than ever.

Don't be shocked to hear News 97.3 coming soon to a radio near you...
 
It very easily could be News 97.3 especially if they can get their hands on one of Clear Channel's AM stations...but, they do have that little contract that tells them to not compete with Cumulus. So I wouldnt be surprised to see them keeping it country.

97.3 The Wolf is only a flanker...and Bonneville loves having WUBE as a cash cow.

700 is extremely vulnerable

Kiss FM, they dont want it becuase they have Q102

WEBN they are competing with kinda on 94.9

Cumulus has the Oldies and AC

Maybe they will go after Radio One and put back a Jamin Oldies Format? Doubtful..but you never know.

Chances are, Cumulus and Bonneville have a plan of attack to keep chipping away at Clear Channel (which they have done very well). Neither company likes Clear Channel...so anything is up in the air right now.

Maybe Cincinnati Enquirer Radio?
 
kentuckymedia said:
It very easily could be News 97.3 especially if they can get their hands on one of Clear Channel's AM stations...but, they do have that little contract that tells them to not compete with Cumulus. So I wouldnt be surprised to see them keeping it country.

97.3 The Wolf is only a flanker...and Bonneville loves having WUBE as a cash cow.

700 is extremely vulnerable

Kiss FM, they dont want it becuase they have Q102

WEBN they are competing with kinda on 94.9

Cumulus has the Oldies and AC

Maybe they will go after Radio One and put back a Jamin Oldies Format? Doubtful..but you never know.

Chances are, Cumulus and Bonneville have a plan of attack to keep chipping away at Clear Channel (which they have done very well). Neither company likes Clear Channel...so anything is up in the air right now.

Maybe Cincinnati Enquirer Radio?

Jammin' Oldies would work well. It just doesn't make any money except with women. You see how good MOJO did. If MOJO wouldn't have flipped, it would still be puling in 3+ shares each book. What am I saying? More than that! It wouldn't really compete against any other of its family stations. It would beat the current MOJO. If they did, they wouldn't call it anything like MOJO, it'd be The Old School Station, or #1 For Old School. They wouldn't do Jammin' Oldies. I would love it. It'd be a good replacement for MOJO, good signal too. Or..... MOViN
 
Bonneville does do a Jammin oldies format in Chicago LOVE FM, which focuses on Motown Oldies with rhythmic 80's mixed in. I think if a similar format was tried in Cincinnati it would do well. It would also not hurt Q102 much since it would cater to an older audience.
 
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