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The FM Talk Thread

T

travisl5678

Thought we could keep a running thread of all the stations that move to FM, I'll start
3/15 KXL Portland
3/18 KFFN Tucson (via Translator)
3/24 KMBZ Kansas City
4/2 KEX Portland (via translator)
4/2 WIOD Miami (via translator)
4/4 WBEN Buffalo
 
As I noted on the Cleveland board, Clear Channel bought a suburban translator and is in the process of moving it both frequency-wise and location (closer to Cleveland).

When it gets to its final destination, presumably 99.1 FM somewhere between downtown and the Parma antenna farm, I wouldn't be surprised to see them plant WTAM/1100 on it.
 
"But WAIT! There's MORE!"

This story is nearer the beginning than the end.

I'm working with 6 FM talkers now, and hearing increasing "curiosity" elsewhere.

Soon, in many markets, it'll be a-matter-of "Is it too late?" as available syndicated shows get gobbled up.
 
Time to add our one for this week, The New SportsRadio 95.7 in San Francisco!
3/15 KXL Portland
3/18 KFFN Tucson (via Translator)
3/24 KMBZ Kansas City
4/2 KEX Portland (via translator)
4/2 WIOD Miami (via translator)
4/4 WBEN Buffalo
4/15 KBWF San Francisco
 
And another, welcome to the world, Talk 107.3 Baton Rouge!
3/15 KXL Portland
3/18 KFFN Tucson (via Translator)
3/24 KMBZ Kansas City
4/2 KEX Portland (via translator)
4/2 WIOD Miami (via translator)
4/4 WBEN Buffalo
4/15 KBWF San Francisco
4/19 WYPY Baton Rouge
 
And there will be more to come! Keep an eye on San Francisco as Cumulus takes control of KGO. KGO lost its perennial #1 rating to all-news KCBS when it added FM. KGO's best chance to take back its customary perch in the Bay Area is to add an FM simulcast.

Watch out for KNBR, now that Entercom has flipped 95.7 to sports. Cumulus probably needn't panic, but a KNBR simulcast on FM is a strong possibility. IMHO, it'll likely land on 107.7, since that station already broadcasts all 49ers games. Listeners will easily be able to find KNBR-FM. :)
 
travisl5678 said:
And another, welcome to the world, Talk 107.3 Baton Rouge!
3/15 KXL Portland
3/18 KFFN Tucson (via Translator)
3/24 KMBZ Kansas City
4/2 KEX Portland (via translator)
4/2 WIOD Miami (via translator)
4/4 WBEN Buffalo
4/15 KBWF San Francisco
4/19 WYPY Baton Rouge
Click to expand...

We've got another FM talker, WKIM-FM Memphis, News Talk FM 98.9! The FM talk tsunami continues! :)

Here's the station's link. The website is obviously not yet complete.
http://www.989kimfm.com/
 
List Update

3/15 KXL Portland
3/18 KFFN Tucson (via Translator)
3/24 KMBZ Kansas City
4/2 KEX Portland (via translator)
4/2 WIOD Miami (via translator)
4/4 WBEN Buffalo
4/15 KBWF San Francisco
4/19 WYPY Baton Rouge
4/25 WKIM Memphis
 
Welcome Rush Radio 94.7 West Palm Beach!

3/15 KXL Portland
3/18 KFFN Tucson (via Translator)
3/24 KMBZ Kansas City
4/2 KEX Portland (via translator)
4/2 WIOD Miami (via translator)
4/4 WBEN Buffalo
4/15 KBWF San Francisco
4/19 WYPY Baton Rouge
4/25 WKIM Memphis
4/25 WPHR West Palm Beach
 
WPHR 94.7 can only decently serve the Treasure Coast, about 40-50 miles north of West Palm Beach. I think the talkers in WPB are safe for now..... :)

cd
 
If more talk shows that are traditionally on AM are being heard on more FM stations, they really need to change a few things on the production end. First, turn down the headphones. FM radio lets us hear who's talking to you through them. Second, please use bumper music that's of a quality matching music played via FM radio. This tinny 32k MP3 nonsense is ridiculous on FM. Third, if your show is based out of a local station and separates a syndicated feed for satellite, please make sure there is no bleed from the local station onto the syndication feed. I've been able to hear faint local station IDs during instances of dead air between show and network commercials.
 
travisl5678 said:
Welcome Rush Radio 94.7 West Palm Beach!

3/15 KXL Portland
3/18 KFFN Tucson (via Translator)
3/24 KMBZ Kansas City
4/2 KEX Portland (via translator)
4/2 WIOD Miami (via translator)
4/4 WBEN Buffalo
4/15 KBWF San Francisco
4/19 WYPY Baton Rouge
4/25 WKIM Memphis
4/25 WPHR West Palm Beach
Click to expand...

Honestly, this is just another trend that will fizzle. For about a year-and-a-half every station it seemed was turning into a Jack-FM station...now that is over with...this is what could very happen with talk on FM.
 
sdwulfdawg said:
Honestly, this is just another trend that will fizzle. For about a year-and-a-half every station it seemed was turning into a Jack-FM station...now that is over with...this is what could very happen with talk on FM.
Click to expand...

This is different from "Jack FM" or "Jammin' Oldies" or other fad formats.

Talk is a durable, standard format with a long history. The demographics of the AM band are rapidly aging, so it won't be all that long before saleable demos are going to be quite hard to find. In fact, the only thing keeping that from happening already is the presence of high-profile news/talk/sports formats on AM (especially the latter).

The current trend chronicled on this thread may indeed slow down, but the overall trend will still happen.

There is one caveat - stations are going to have to adjust and tweak their standard talk formats as FM-based talk becomes more common...to cater to the band's younger audience. Not an overhaul, but a tweak. They may well find that you just can't "move" an existing AM talk station and have long-term success, though the short-term success seems to be evident.
 
OhioMediaWatch said:
The current trend chronicled on this thread may indeed slow down, but the overall trend will still happen.

There is one caveat - stations are going to have to adjust and tweak their standard talk formats as FM-based talk becomes more common...to cater to the band's younger audience. Not an overhaul, but a tweak. They may well find that you just can't "move" an existing AM talk station and have long-term success, though the short-term success seems to be evident.
Click to expand...

Music on FM will not go away completely, but talk on the band is becoming more prevalent. Tweaking an existing AM talk station that migrates to FM is a necessity, but it would be dangerous to completely overhaul it. Many of these migrants have long-term brand identity that wouldn't be wise to tamper with. The challenge lies in cultivating new listeners on FM and retaining traditional AM listeners. :)
 
Yeah, that's why I said tweak.

And for now, the AM-to-FM migrants are doing pretty well on the FM band, with few changes. About the closest to a "big change" you can cite is Bonneville putting the younger-skewing "Nightside Project" evening show on KSL:

http://nightside.ksl.com/

Or when they put Luke Burbank on KIRO, also at night.
 
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