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The NEW WOR - format speculation

F

FLjack2

Well, once CC owns this powerhouse, Rush will be moving to a new home -- along with any other CC product including Sean Hannity and Imus. And why not? It's 50kw. Just as good a signal.

Then WABC will carry all of the Cumulus product, adding to Geraldo which is already on the station. Mike Huckabee will be a definite. Others? Check here. http://adsales.cumulusmedianetworks.com/talents

Should be interesting.
 
I predict that CC will try a NYC version of KFI in Los Angeles. They will clear Rush and George Noory overnights (and likely some other Premiere programming) and will try to become the 'irreverent talk station'

Whether this will fly in NYC is anyone's guess - I have lived in both cities and they are VERY different.

The good news for them is WOR has one of the best signals in NYC - some would argue their signal in Manhattan is the best of the 'big 4' AM stations (WFAN, WCBS, WOR, WABC) .
 
Rush will be moving to a new home -- along with any other CC product including Sean Hannity and Imus.
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The Hannity show is "co-managed" by Cumulus and Clear Channel, so where it goes is not that easily determined.

And along with Imus, the Mark Levin show is a Cumulus product and likely will stay put on WABC.

Ultimately, WOR will be filled with as many of Clear Channel's own syndicated shows as possible, and WABC will be filled with as many syndicated Cumulus shows as possible.

The point for both group owners is to make as much as they can from syndication, and use the AM station they own in NYC to clear those syndicated shows in the top market, any local programming considerations will come after meeting those larger corporate goals.
 
This is the result of the Communications Act in 1996 that allows a broadcasting company to own up to eight radio station in a major market, and Clear Channel hasn't reached their limit in New York pending the sale of WOR.

I do think it will be a matter of time before we'll hear Rush on WOR nad Mike Huckabee on WABC in Limbaugh's timeslot.





Thanks,
Kevin L. Sealy
 
According to RadioInsight.com, Clear Channel will begin to operate WOR under an LMA agreement beginning Wednesday 8/15, pending closing of the sale.
Assuming this is correct (I have not seen the LMA mentioned elsewhere), I wonder whether CC will begin making any programming changes to WOR that soon.
A letter from a reader on RadioInsight opines that it may make sense for CC to negotiate to bring Yankees baseball to WOR. It asserts that it could bring new life to the station, and can be cross-promoted on the FM stations that it owns in New York.
 
Kevin L. Sealy said:
I do think it will be a matter of time before we'llhearRush on WOR andMike Huckabee on WABC in Limbaugh's timeslot.
Click to expand...
That assumes that Huckabee's radio career lasts that long. Godawful show, godawful ratings.... Next! Maybe Fox News commentator and former WMAL (Cumulus D.C.) morning show host Mary Katherine Ham will be given appropriate resources to start a syndicated talker the second go-round with Cheapulus. (She's apparently still filling in on MAL occasionally despite walking away from the fulltime gig.)
 
Knowing what's happened, it wouldn't be a surprise to tune into 710-AM on Wednesday or Thursday morning and hearing Glenn Beck.

As far as the Yankees go, WCBS has been losing millions a year by carrying the games, that add about half a million listeners a week to the WCBS cume during the baseball season.

Would Clear Channel really want to preempt its own syndicated programming, and network spots, on WOR as often as carrying a baseball team requires?

Would it be willing to lose millions of dollars a year to do that?

From a purely dollars and cents perspective the answer probably is...NO.

CBS was in a different position, it has the Mets on its sports talker, and wanted to keep both baseball teams off the rival ESPN sports talker for competitive reasons.

Clear Channel isn't in the sports talk business in NYC.
 
This might be a laughable prediction for a future format on WOR given the demise of WEMP and its sister station in Chicago but... How about a station that focuses on news? News blocks in both major drive times, with Rush in the middle (maybe Beck, too). Or is New York not ready for a new news station after the Merlin Marlin was drowned?
 
If I were WABC, I would dump Rush tomorrow. Clear the commercials (as likely required by their contract) and have Rush off the air in NYC as long as possible. I would put Huckabee on immediately in Rush's old time slot. It's the best way to get Huckabee known a bit and take the spotlight off Rush.
 
John Gambling's Future At WOR?

Believe it or not, Clear Channel has had local morning show hosts on their major-market news/talk stations. From KFI in L.A. to even the now-defunct "Talk 1200" in Boston.

It's very likely CC will remain local in morning drive, should WOR remain a news/talk station (which is expected should they grab Rush Limbaugh and the like). The question is, will they retain John Gambling, or will they put to an end a long generation of Gamblings on the radio at AM 710?
 
Re: John Gambling's Future At WOR?

I would say he's probably the safest person in the building, but that's not saying much.

I think CC will want to crank up the tempo a bit at some point.
 
Re: John Gambling's Future At WOR?

Gambling does a good non-confrontational talk show. He expresses opinions but is able to still interviews guests who disagree. Also, his show is a sponsor favorite with long relationships with many. That means the show makes money, the sales department likes it and him and CC would be foolish to go in another direction. Lets face it, listen to WABC and you'll hear all the holes in commercial breaks thanks to sponsors still reacting to Rush. CC needs all the income they can get!
 
Re: The NEW WOR Programming Speculation

DToTheJ said:
How about a station that focuses on news? News blocks in both major drive times, with Rush in the middle (maybe Beck, too). Or is New York not ready for a new news station after the Merlin Marlin was drowned?
Click to expand...
Or is it that two fulltime popular news outlets are already enough for the market? WABC positions itself as News-Talk despite having only 1 dedicated news hour, and that at 5AM. To do more in a market where the news format is owned by WCBS and WINS would be unprofitable and hence, futile. Ask Merlin, or even someone who could do news-talk right like WABC.

FLjack2 said:
If I were WABC, I would dump Rush tomorrow. Clear the commercials (as likely required by their contract) and have Rush off the air in NYC as long as possible. I would put Huckabee on immediately in Rush's old time slot. It's the best way to get Huckabee known a bit and take the spotlight off Rush.
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That the contract likely requires Rush to actually air daily aside, why would you "rush" to replace your format-defining program with an also-ran failed in-house product that likely has a short shelf life? Doesn't sound like much, if any, upside. Develop something with some appeal during the time left on the Rush contract, start airing it in another slot when ready and then promote the hell out of it so that when its intended slot becomes available, listeners are already familiar with it. Don't panic and throw on third-rate programming just because it 'exists' in-house. Why not have the cake and eat it?
 
I think Clear Channel IS involved with sports talk radio. WPOP-AM 1410 of Hartford was recently switched from ESPN Radio to FOX Sports Radio, which Clear Channel has a stake in. The Yankees and the ESPN Radio format moved over to WUCS-FM 97.9 of Windsor Locks/Hartford (it was a move-in FM from the Springfield, MA radio market). About the only thing I hear on WPOP-AM 1410 now is select games of the New Britain Rock Cats, a.k.a. minor League baseball. I don't listen to that station at any other time.
 
KML-224 said:
I think Clear Channel IS involved with sports talk radio. WPOP-AM 1410 of Hartford was recently switched from ESPN Radio to FOX Sports Radio, which Clear Channel has a stake in.
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Fox Sports Radio is a Premiere Network product, which is owned by CC. They pay Fox for the name. CC has quite a few sports stations. Most of them use at least some Fox Sports programming, some in smaller markets are little more than Fox Sports 24/7.
 
LA_Guy said:
I predict that CC will try a NYC version of KFI in Los Angeles. They will clear Rush and George Noory overnights (and likely some other Premiere programming) and will try to become the 'irreverent talk station'
Click to expand...

I wish they would, but I doubt it. In the late 90s, CC wanted to purchase WOR but Buckley wouldn't sell. If that had happened, WOR probably would've been a NYC version of KFI. Not now. This is a defensive purchase by CC to insure continued clearance of Premiere programming.

Whether New York wants it or not, welcome Rush Radio 710. Now New York will have two 50 kW blasters of syndicated talk and no local choice. Unbelievable, considering we're talking about market #1! :mad:
 
Re: John Gambling's Future At WOR?

TheBigA said:
I would say he's probably the safest person in the building, but that's not saying much.

I think CC will want to crank up the tempo a bit at some point.
Click to expand...

If CC wants to purge WOR's image as a "old fart" station, they may, unfortunately, have to clean house.
 
Re: John Gambling's Future At WOR?

luperm said:
If CC wants to purge WOR's image as a "old fart" station, they may, unfortunately, have to clean house.
Click to expand...

Sorry but they're not going to purge that image by putting Rush and the rest of their angry old white men on the air.
 
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